Background
He is the son of Matei Socor, who, as head of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company-was involved in the communist regime"s propaganda apparatus, according to the findings of the Tismăneanu Commission.
He is the son of Matei Socor, who, as head of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company-was involved in the communist regime"s propaganda apparatus, according to the findings of the Tismăneanu Commission.
Vladimir Socor graduated from the Russian School in Bucharest, received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Bucharest, and after leaving Romania legally in 1972, he received a Master of Philosophy in East European History from Columbia University in 1977.
Socor"s main specialization focuses on the political affairs and the ethnic conflicts of the former Soviet republics and the Commonwealth of Independent States. He worked as an analyst for the Radio Free Europe Radio Station Liberty Research Institute in Munich (1983–1994) and at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, District of Columbia (1995–2002). Between 2002 and 2004, Socor worked as a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies in Washington, District of Columbia Since 2000, he has contributed articles to the European edition of The Wall Street Journal.
Socor is also critical of Russian president Vladimir Putin"s policies regarding the Post-Soviet space and their frozen conflicts—most notably in the separatist enclaves of Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The Economist journalist Edward Lucas describes Socor as "a hawkish pro-Moldovan."
Vladimir Socor was involved in the polemics with the former head of the Organization for Security and Company-operation in Europe (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) mission in Moldova, William Hill, during which Socor criticized Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe policies in regards to Moldova, and in return was accused by Hill of fallacies and outrageous fabrications. The Danube-Black Sea Canal: A Graveyard Revisited, on Radio Free Europe, August 31, 1984
"The Workers" Protest in Braşov: Assessment and Aftermath", Romania Background Report 231, Radio Free Europe Research, 4 December 1987, pp.
3–10. Kremlin Refining Policy in "Post-Soviet Space", Eurasia Daily Monitor, February 8, 2005
Russian organizations in Transnistria campaign for a second Kaliningrad, Eurasia Daily Monitor, August 11, 2006
Kyiv changing ideas, mixing signals on Odessa-Brody oil pipeline, Eurasia Daily Monitor November 16, 2006
Transport-Black Sea pipeline can bring Caspian gas to Europe, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume 3, Number 226, December 7, 2006.