Artur Mansurovich Vafin is a political scientist, psychologist, and author.
MA in Counselling, Candidate of Political Sciences (PhD equivalent).
Associate Professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
Advisor to senior executives and decision-makers. Expert in strategic communications, political psychology, ideology, and manipulation. Researcher and consultant.
Research & Analytics
- Research for businesses, government institutions, public and political organizations, and senior decision-makers
- Analysis of complex issues that cannot be adequately addressed through standard market research, open-source data, or conventional opinion surveys
- Research into public sentiment, political processes, organizational culture, reputational risks, target-group behavior, and informal relationships within organizations
Strategic Communications
- Communication strategies for companies and senior executives
- Development of messaging frameworks and speechwriting for senior decision-makers, including statements, interviews, books, speeches, and key messages
- Positioning of organizations, projects, and public figures
- Crisis communication strategies
- Communication scenarios for engagement with different stakeholder and influence groups
- Strategies for dealing with difficult, critical, and conflict-prone audiences
- Communication support for organizational, political, and reputational change
Experience
20 years of experience in consulting for businesses and government institutions, conducting research, and developing strategic documents.
I have written articles, columns, expert commentaries, and given interviews to numerous media outlets, including Vedomosti, Russian Federation Today, Personnel Management, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty, Ridus, Life, Lenta.ru, Mail.ru, and others.
I have also appeared as an expert on REN TV and TVC, as well as on Moscow FM radio.
Books
I am the author of six books, including the bestseller: Ideology in Organizations: Psychological Games of “Leaders” and Manipulation of the “Masses” Originally published in 2014 and reissued in 2020 and 2023.
My book “Black” PR in Russia and Abroad: Politics and Law (2021) has been translated into English, Italian, German, and French.
Selected Recent Research
Algorithmic Discrediting of a Political Actor: The Eleventh Technology of “Black” PR
Article in Social and Humanitarian Knowledge, 2026.
Ideology, Digitalization, Values, and Public Administration
Published in Greater Eurasia: Development, Security, Cooperation, 2025.
Group and Social Ideologies in the Context of Urbanization and Digitalization
Article in Vlast, 2024.
In the Service of Intelligence Agencies: The Ideology of Conservatism in American Popular Culture
Article in Knowledge. Understanding. Skill, 2024.
PR Strategy for a State Clinical Hospital: Public Service for the Benefit and Health of the People
Article in Marketing in Russia and Abroad, 2023.
The Ideology of Environmentalism in the Republic of India: The “Green Agenda”
Article in Vlast, 2022.
In Search of the Ideology of Public Serving: Analysis of Regulatory Legal Acts of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China
Book chapter published by Springer, 2021.
Government Policy on Orphanhood
Research study, 2021.
Succession as Micropolitics in Modern Companies
Article in Management Consulting, 2018.
I have published more than 40 academic and research articles.
Selected Interviews & Expert Commentary
Family Life in the Digital Age: Technoference, Sharenting, and Conscious Internet Use
Vedomosti, 2026.
Political Psychologist Artur Vafin: Trump Does Not See Europe as an Equal Partner
RT, 2026.
He Inherited an Empire but Not a Reason to Preserve It: Why Successful Business Heirs Lose Motivation
RuNews24, 2026.
Artur Vafin: A Family Business Starts with an Existing Set of Assets, Not from Scratch
RuNews24, 2026.
Psychologist Artur Vafin: Not All Motivation Is Equally Beneficial
RuNews24, 2026.
The Data Center as Media Infrastructure
Vedomosti, 2025.
BRICS: Diplomacy, Politics, and New Media Platforms
Vedomosti, 2025.
The Psychology of Peoples and Gods
Center for Political Analysis, 2025.
The Psychology of Donald Trump
Fontanka, 2024.
Manipulation for Good and for Evil
Interview with Artur Vafin for Personnel Management, 2015.
As an Interviewer
I have interviewed:
- Valery Tishkov, former Minister for Nationalities and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Yury Shuvalov, senior official of the State Duma administration
- Sergey Khaikin, professor at HSE University and head of the Institute for Social Marketing
- Alexey Podberezkin, Vice-Rector for Research at MGIMO University
Areas of Interest
- Psychology and ideology of management
- Manipulation and influence technologies
- Russian elites: from entertainment celebrities to politicians and senior public officials
- Creativity and marginality
- Media, social networks, and video games
Contact
Contact me via Telegram or request a callback using the red button on the website.
