News

Allison: End of US Unipolarity Requires Accepting Spheres of Influence; Macron at MSC Says Sanctions Changed Nothing in Russia

February 18, 2020
Allison writes that Washington has awakened to “a new era of great-power competition”; Macron at the Munich Security Conference called for a European policy on Russia, not just a trans-Atlantic one. Much more in our latest analysis round-up.
Analysis

US Embrace of Great Power Competition Also Means Contending With Spheres of Influence

Paul Saunders February 13, 2020 RM Exclusives
Failing to discuss and develop strategies and policies that accept and manage spheres of influence could prove quite costly for the U.S.—indeed, it already has.
Analysis

Pompeo’s Visit Lets Post-Soviet States Leverage US Backing Against Russia, China, But Real Support Remains Limited

Nikolas Gvosdev February 07, 2020 RM Exclusives
American policies designed to challenge Russian dominance in Eurasia have either proceeded as a result of autopilot within the bureaucracy or because Congress has imposed them via veto-proof majorities.
News
Allison: End of US Unipolarity Requires Accepting Spheres of Influence; Macron at MSC Says Sanctions Changed Nothing in Russia
February 18, 2020
Analysis
US Embrace of Great Power Competition Also Means Contending With Spheres of Influence
February 13, 2020
Analysis
Pompeo’s Visit Lets Post-Soviet States Leverage US Backing Against Russia, China, But Real Support Remains Limited
February 07, 2020
RM Staff Picks
Analysis

2020 US Presidential Candidates on Russia: What Have They Said So Far?

Daniel Shapiro and Thomas Schaffner
Updated! With Buttigieg and Sanders neck and neck in the Democratic caucuses in Iowa, it is worth remembering what they and other candidates have said about their would-be Russia policies if elected. (Originally published May 23, 2019.)
Read More
Blog

This Week in History: The US Satellite Launch That Didn’t Start a Nuclear War With Russia

RM Staff
While some close calls genuinely brought Moscow and Washington to the brink of war, Jan. 25 marked the 25th anniversary of an incident whose danger level the two sides viewed quite differently.
Read More
Analysis

Military Assets in the Arctic: A Russia-West Correlation of Forces

Mathieu Boulegue
Should military tension in the region grow, overall military deployments would largely play in Moscow’s favor in the European Arctic and in Washington’s in the Pacific Arctic.
Read More
Analysis

Is 'Escalate to Deescalate' Part of Russia’s Nuclear Toolbox?

Kevin Ryan
Russia's political leaders deny the existence of a supposedly new plan to use limited nuclear strikes in a local/regional conflict to shock an adversary into suing for peace. Has the U.S. misunderstood Russian intentions and plans?
Read More
Blog

Putin Signals Intention to Continue Steering Russia Beyond 2024, but Will He Solve Country’s Structural Problems?

Simon Saradzhyan
Whatever new title he chooses in 2024, Putin will need to address Russia's structural socio-economic problems or continue to confront the reality that Russia remains too far behind the U.S. and China economically and demographically to be a true peer...
Read More
Blog

What Stops US and Russia From Stumbling Into War?

Simon Saradzhyan
Other than the fear of mutually assured destruction, what keeps the U.S. and Russia from stumbling into a war? Part of the answer lies in the bilateral and multilateral agreements specifically designed to prevent incidents that could escalate into a ...
Read More
Analysis

Angela Stent on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff
One of the West’s leading experts on Russia offers perspectives from a distinguished career in academia and government.
Read More
Analysis

Fiona Hill on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff
The National Security Council’s new senior director for European and Russian affairs has been producing scholarship, analysis and commentary on Russia for nearly 30 years. Get a sampling of it here.
Read More
Blog

Putin Predictions of Yore: What the Pundits Thought 20 Years Ago

Thomas Schaffner
Twenty years ago this month, resigning Russian President Boris Yeltsin tapped Vladimir Putin, still relatively unknown outside of Russia, to be his successor. Westerners were left with one question: “Who is Mr. Putin?”
Read More
Blog

From Interventions Abroad to Spacecraft Blessings at Home: RM's Most Read of 2019

RM Staff
From the costs and benefits of Russia's intervention in Ukraine and the lessons of the Soviet Union's intervention in Afghanistan, to the pitfalls of Russia's national projects and the likelihood (or not) of a military alliance between Russia and Chi...
Read More
Nota Bene
Russian money

Russians' Real Incomes

Have they fallen for 5 years straight? That depends on what you mean by real incomes.

Check out our latest fact-check! 

Jobs, Fellowships and More!

Find Russia-related research, employment and educational opportunities, plus a listing of Russia experts.
Check out our new Resources section!
US-Russia Relations: Quest for Stability

Whiskey & Vodka

A new interactive multimedia tool distills the fundamental issues (adversarial and cooperative) that define U.S.-Russia relations. Click to explore "U.S.-Russia Relations: Quest for Stability"!

Click to Subscribe

Russia Matters offers assorted weekly news and analysis digests, event announcements and occasional newsletters.
Choose and sign up here!
Bridge in Moscow, Russia.

RM's Most Popular Reads

From Russia’s foreign policy gambles and its relationship with China to gangster geopolitics and why the "reset" didn't last—here’s what Russia Matters readers wanted to know about most.
Latest News from The Moscow Times

Russia Hands 21-Year-Old Moscow Protester Suspended Sentence in Legal Victory

Putin Sacks Prominent Kremlin Ideologue, Ukraine Hardliner

Aide of Russia's Putin Leaves Post, Kremlin Says

Russia Bars Entry of Chinese Citizens Amid Coronavirus Threat

U.S. Sanctions Russia's Rosneft Over Venezuela Support

High Suicide Rate Plagues Russian Military, Lawmaker Says

2nd Russian Cruise Ship Passenger Hospitalized With Coronavirus Suspicions

‘You’ll Infect Us All’: Russian Clinic Turns Away HIV-Positive Patient

Russia to Immortalize 2018 World Cup With New Monument

Russia to Consider Making Ex-Presidents Immune from Prosecution