Ø         Prof. Alexander S. Skaridov : Professor of Law at the Russian State Humanitarian University and Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy

He also directs the Institute for Ocean Law Studies of the Academy of Humanitarian Education. He is the author of eleven books and over 100 scholarly articles and is currently an editor of the Academic Journal. He is a member of the Russian Intemational Law Association and has led its St. Petersburg branch since 2001.
He holds PhD degree in military science (strategy and international affairs-1991) and in 2000 became Doctor of law. He is an academic of Russian Academy of Humanitarian Sciences (1998) and an academic of Russian Academy of Natural Science (2001).In addition to his scholarly career, Professor Skaridov has a distinguished record of military service. Being enlisted in 1977 he was assigned as a missile system commander and later weapons division commander. He participated in Pacific Fleet operations near the Philippines (1978-1979), in operations of the Soviet Navy in Ethiopia (1979), near Mozambique (1980) and in 1981 deployed to the Persian Gulf and took part in the protection of merchant shipping during the Iran-Iraq war as an ExO of the Kresta II Guided Missile Cruiser. After service in the staff of a Pacific Fleet Squadron, based on the Cam Ranh (Vietnam)in 1983, he was assigned to the Mediterranean Command as a stafflegal adviser.
In 1986, he was reported to the Command faculty of the Russian Naval Academy. He taught International Policy and law and did legal research and writing on governmental and national security issues.In 1992 he became a senior lecturer and in 1994, an assistant professor of the Russian Naval Academy. In 1995 he graduated from the Defence Language Institute (Lackland, TX, USA) and in 1996 he graduated from the Naval Command College (Newport, RI, USA). In early 1997 he was promoted to Chief of the International Law Chair of the Russian Naval Academy (CAPT. Ret. in 2002), which made him second ranking layer in the Russian Navy.
From June to October 1993, he participated in informal academic study which was undertaken at Stanford University (USA). This research explored security arrangements on the grounds of the new understanding of the nature of sea power and the role of naval forces in the international order of the post- Cold War era.
In 2000, 2001 and 2003 he lectured International Law of the sea in Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy (Greece).