Professor Lankov is a Russian historian of Korea. Previously, he taught Korean history and language at Leningrad State University before moving to South Korea in 1992. He moved to Australia in 1996 to take up a position at the Australian National University then returned to Seoul in 2004 to teach at Kookmin University. His research interests include the history and society of North Korea as well as Korean urban history. He is the author of five books written in English, published several academic articles, including in Foreign Affairs, and published columns in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Leningrad State University in 1986 and 1989, respectively. He also attended Pyongyang`s Kim Il-sung University from 1984-1985.