Richard A. Moss is an associate professor in the Russian Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College's Center for Naval Warfare Studies. His current research projects focus on the maritime dimension of Russia’s Syria intervention. He also specializes in the U.S.-Soviet relationship during the Cold War and is an expert on the Nixon presidential recordings. Professor Moss previously served as a government and contract military capabilities analyst with the Department of Defense and as an historian with the Department of State. The University Press of Kentucky published his book, “Nixon's Back Channel to Moscow: Confidential Diplomacy and Detente” in January 2017.