Lajos F. Szaszdi
3245 Rio Drive, Apt. 202
Falls Church, VA 22041
Home (703) 820-0852
Cell. (703) 473-1072
lajosszas@hotmail.com
EDUCATION
The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Ph.D, World Politics, 2005
Dissertation Topic: Civil-Military Relations and the Causes of the Second Chechen War.
GPA: 3.60. Have taken graduate courses offered in the Pentagon by the Politics
Department.
The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
M.A., World Politics, 1997
The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
M.A., Security Policy Studies, 1994
Concentration: Russian Armed Forces and Russian Navy.
Graduated with distinction in the fields of Russia and the Russian Military Power, and
Military History.
The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
B.A., International Affairs, 1992
Dean's List.
University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
B.A., International Relations
Studied from 1985 to 1988. Transferred to GWU.
LECTURES
Arlington Learning in Retirement Institute, Arlington, Virginia
Instructor, October - November 2004
Taught together with Dr. Charles F. Elliott the course "Russia Enters the 21st Century."
Sessions covered were "Russian Geography, Demography, and History," "Moscow,
Baltics, Scandinavia, and the Russian North," "Putin, Russia, and the World,"
"Chechnya and the Russian Military," and "Moscow, the EU, and NATO, and Russia's
Post-Soviet Identity Crisis."
July 1999
Lectured on Military Power and Soviet & Post-Soviet Foreign Policy for the course
Political Science 168 of Dr. Charles F. Elliott at The George Washington University.
October 1997
Lectured on Soviet/Russian Naval Policy and Strategy for the course Political Science
269 of Dr. Charles F. Elliott at The George Washington University.
October 1995
Lectured on Soviet/Russian Naval Policy and Strategy for the course Political Science
269 of Dr. Charles F. Elliott at The George Washington University.
April 1995
Lectured on the Russian Navy and the Russian submarine force for a course of
Dr. Charles F. Elliott at The George Washington University.
PRESENTATIONS
March 2006
Gave briefing on "Russian Multirole Fighter Exports: Aircraft Capabilities and Strategic
Implications" at the Institute for Defense Analyses as part of a day of job interviews that
included meetings with six members of the staff and a business lunch with the director
and sub-director of the program.
WRITING ACTIVITIES
As a training effort for the purpose of exercising my analytical skills, wrote in a voluntary
fashion and for my own benefit between 1997 and 1998 several papers on the balance
of military power between Peru and Ecuador. Emphasis was given to the balance of air
power and naval forces of Peru and Ecuador, considering also potential armored
warfare scenarios between the two countries. Possible modernization schemes of
military weapon systems were analyzed, with particular emphasis on air warfare and
naval weapon systems. Russian-made combat aircraft of Peru were studied in contrast
with Israeli-made fighters from Ecuador.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Eurasia Foundation, Washington, D.C.
External Relations Intern, 2006
 Assisted with research, writing, editing, proofreading and document/template
formatting tasks.
 Established contacts with the press and VIPs.
 Updated databases, created new contact files, and carried out open source
Internet searches for contacts.
 Updated the Eurasia Foundation website.
Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, The Woodrow Wilson Center,
Washington, D.C.
Research Assistant to the Director of the Kennan Institute, 1995 - 1996
 Provided research skills in helping to gather sources for Dr. Blair Ruble's work on
an incoming book.
 Researched Russian primary sources.
 Research was conducted mainly at the Library of Congress and the National
Archives.
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
Intern in the Americas Program, 1992
 Conducted research on macroeconomic indicators of the Mexican economy and
developed graphs to display their trends.


Did research and conducted interviews for projects on the future of the Panama
Canal and on the U.S.-Mexican cooperation on the war against international drug
trafficking, among others.
Researched issues pertinent to the Americas Program in various government
agencies and institutions, international organizations, the Library of Congress
and several embassies.
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
April 2006
Worked as a facilitator for the graduate students participating in the Russia and EU
teams of the one-day Crisis Simulation organized by the US Foreign Policy Institute at
the Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University.
MEMBERSHIPS
U.S. Naval Institute, Naval Submarine League
CONFERENCES
 Roundtable Discussion on Insurgency and Iraq – Center for Asymmetric Warfare
and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service’s Center for Peace and
Security Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 2006
 38th National Convention – American Association for the Advancement of Slavic
Studies, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, 2006
 Defense Forum, 5th Annual Sea Services Forum: "Implications of the Long War
on Naval Expeditionary Capabilities and Forces" – U.S. Naval Institute and the
Marine Corps Association, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA, 2006
 Twenty-Fourth Annual Symposium – Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 2006
 Twenty-Third Annual Symposium – Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 2005
 Twenty-Second Annual Symposium - Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 2004
 Seventeenth Annual Symposium - Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 1999
 Sixteenth Annual Symposium - Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 1998
 Fifteenth Annual Symposium - Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 1997
 Fourteenth Annual Symposium - Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 1996
 Thirteenth Annual Symposium - Naval Submarine League, Mark Center,
Alexandria, VA, 1995
CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS
Secretary & Advisor Public Affairs, Vice-President - - Euro-Club, The George
Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1991 - 1992
Suggested and organized conferences by Crown Prince Kardam Saxe-Coburg of
Bulgaria, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Spain, and by Gennadi
Udovenko, then Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Nations.
SKILLS
 Computer: PC literate, Microsoft Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint,
and experienced in Internet-based research tools.
 Languages: Spanish (native-speaker), English (fluent), Russian (intermediate).
 Strong research and writing skills, with strong communication skills. Experienced
in oral presentations.
 Open sources intelligence analysis: Have extensive knowledge in matters of
modern military technology and modern warfare, including air power, naval
affairs, and armored warfare.
INTERESTS
 Have skills in Defense Analysis, Systems Analysis, Operations Research
Analysis, and Engineering Analysis, with particular emphasis in national security
strategy and military strategy, air warfare, naval warfare, and armored warfare.
 Specifically interested in the strategy, operations, and tactics of modern air to air
combat and air strike scenarios, with interest in combat aircraft, air-launched
missiles and precision guided weapons, particularly those made in Russia.
 Interested also in naval strategy, operations, and tactics, particularly regarding
submarine warfare, undersea warfare, and naval surface warfare, being
concerned in addition with anti-ship missiles, land-attack missiles, and naval air
defense missile systems. Also interested in the study of amphibious warfare.
 Concerned with the study of strategy, operations, and tactics of modern armored
warfare, being additionally interested in the latest trends of armored combat
vehicle design and armament.
 Attracted by the study of modern military technology in general and from Russia
in particular, civil-military relations in Russia, military history, the politics of
energy resources (oil, gas, electrical power) in Eurasia, and geopolitics.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
 La operación anfibia y batalla de la isla Tercera en las Azores de 1583 (The
Amphibious Operation and Battle of the Azores Island of Terceira in 1583). In
Spanish and forthcoming.

Russian Civil-Military Relations and the Origins of the Second Chechen War
(Approved for publication).

"Russian Civil-Military Relations in 1999: Origins of the Second Chechen War."
Ph.D. diss., Catholic University of America, 2005.
Articles
 "Russian Defense Exports to Venezuela: The Naval Dimension" (Submitted to
the Naval War College Review for publication).

"Soviet ‘Flat-Tops’ in China: A Case of Off-The-Shelf Aircraft Carrier Capability"
(To be published by the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings).

"Croatia: A Source of Submarines for Taiwan." Submarine Review (April 2006):
97-108.

"La operación anfibia de la Isla Tercera en 1583" ("The Amphibious Operation of
the Island of Terceira in 1583"). In Spanish and soon to be published at the
Boletín de la Academia Puertorriqueña de la Historia (Bulletin of the Puerto
Rican Academy of History).

"About Hungarian Saints: PIROSKA." Hungarian Online Resources.
http://hungaria.org/hal/hungary/index.php?halid=14&menuid=397. November
2004.

"Air Defense of Hungary: Strategic, Operational, and Tactical Considerations."
Hungarian Online Resources.
http://hungaria.org/hal/hungary/index.php?halid=14&menuid=423. June 2004.

"La Ley Húngara de la Condición de los Magiares en los Estados Vecinos, su
Reforma e Integración en el Derecho Europeo" (The Hungarian Law on the
Condition of the Hungarians in the Neighboring States, Its Reform and
Integration into European Law). Revista de Estudios Europeos. Valladolid, Spain:
Instituto de Estudios Europeos, Universidad de Valladolid, September December 2003, 111-121. Co-authored with Dr. István Szászdi.

"Count Mihály Károlyi's Policies Led to the Destruction of Hungary." Hungarian
Online Resources. http://www.hungaria.org/articles.php?id=583. December 2003.

"A Short Reference to the Origin of Prince Dracula." Hungarian Online
Resources. http://hungaria.org/hir.php?topicid=552&messageid=569. November
2003.

"The Siege of Nandorfehervar." Hungarian Online Resources.
http://hungaria.org/send.php?hirid=254&messageid=264. March 2003.

"Some Comments Regarding the 1956 Hungarian Revolution." Hungarian Online
Resources. http://hungaria.org/hal/hungary/index.php?halid=14&menuid=422.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Saint Anthony of Padua Parish, Falls Church, VA
Lector, 1994 – Present
Saint Stephen of Hungary Catholic Community, Washington, DC
Sponsor, 2006
PERSONAL DATA
Nationality
U.S.-born citizen.
TRAVEL
Traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Americas, including several times to
Spain, Ecuador and Puerto Rico, and to Colombia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic,
England, France, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Scotland, and Switzerland.