Ruslan Trad

Ruslan Trad specializes in Eurasia, Syria, conflicts, hybrid warfare, and mercenary groups. He worked as a risk analyst, consultant, and freelance journalist. In recent years, his work has focused on open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations and due diligence reporting. He is the author and co-author of three books and numerous articles on the Syrian civil war, Russian foreign policy, and security.

Ruslan Trad is a member of the Association of European Journalists–Bulgaria and co-founder of De Re Militari, a Bulgarian online journal for conflict analysis. During his over a decade journalism career, he reported as a war correspondent from Lebanon, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Thailand. In 2014, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee awarded Ruslan Trad Activist of the Year for his coverage of the Syrian war.

His work has appeared in outlets including Bellingcat, BBC, Carnegie Middle East Center, New Lines Magazine, Die Presse, European Eye on Radicalization, Vocal Europe, Bild, Vocativ, IB Times, Der Standard, Muftah, Internazionale, and Al Jazeera.

Personal blog:Intidar

My book: The Murder of a Revolution (BG, 2017)

Co-author of Conflict reporting in the smartphone era (EN, 2016)

Documentary from N. Iraq [BG, 2014]

Co-author of The Russian Invisible Armies (BG, 2020)

My interviews and materials have found a place in BBC, Bellingcat, European Eye on Radicalization, The New Arab, Vocal Europe, Bild, Vocativ, IB Times, Der Standard, Muftah, Internazionale, Al Jazeera, and others.

Examples:

- From Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh: Russia and Turkey's complex regional rivalry (The New Arab)

- Moscow's mercenaries: How Russia is swelling the global market for private military companies (The New Arab)

- Western Withdrawal is Helping ISIS’s Resurgence (EER)

- What Russia Gets About Warfare That the West Does Not (Fletcher Forum)

- Under the Radar: Iran’s ‘Stealth’ Presence on the Balkans (Globe Post)

- An experimental playground: The footprint of Russian private military companies in Syria (Defense Post)

- Expanding global footprint: Russia builds on Syria experiments in Central Africa (Defense Post)

- The Alliances of Criminal and Terrorists Groups in Europe (EER)

- Self-Appointed Defenders Of “Fortress Europe”: Analyzing Bulgarian Border Patrols (Bellingcat)