Russian Intervention in the 2016 Election: Separating Fact from Fiction Michael A. McFaul served as Ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation from January, 2012, to February, 2014. Prior to becoming Ambassador, he served for three years as the special assistant to the President and senior director for Russia and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council. McFaul is a professor of political science and a Hoover fellow at Stanford University. He is also director and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).