 From 1985 to 1990, Dr. Plekhanov participated in the development of reform policies of Mikhail Gorbachev and took part in Russia’s democratic movement.Since 1992, he has taught as a visiting professor at the University of California, Irvine, and Occidental College in (Los Angeles).His areas of interest include Russian politics and foreign policy, history of Russian communism, problems of post-communism, US-Russian relations, and the local, regional, and global aspects of the crisis in Afghanistan.