News

Language in Trump’s Presentation of New Missile Defense Plan Implies It Can Be Someday Geared Against Russian ICBMs

January 18, 2019
Donald Trump’s vow that U.S. missile defenses should be able to “detect and destroy any missile launched against us, anywhere” implies these defenses may be eventually geared against Russian ICBMs. This and more in our latest news round-up.
Analysis

Gangster Geopolitics: The Kremlin’s Use of Criminals as Assets Abroad

Mark Galeotti January 17, 2019 RM Exclusives
Since the worsening of relations with the West in 2014, the Kremlin has increasingly adopted a “mobilization state” approach, turning to any available foreign-policy levers. Gangsters are no exception.
Blog

Do Trump’s Afghanistan Claims Mirror Moscow’s Rhetoric?

RM Staff January 11, 2019
Neither Russia’s Foreign Ministry nor the Kremlin supported Trump’s two propositions about the Soviet-era Afghan war, but his claims, especially about terrorists, do echo recent official assessments.
News
Language in Trump’s Presentation of New Missile Defense Plan Implies It Can Be Someday Geared Against Russian ICBMs
January 18, 2019
Analysis
Gangster Geopolitics: The Kremlin’s Use of Criminals as Assets Abroad
January 17, 2019
Blog
Do Trump’s Afghanistan Claims Mirror Moscow’s Rhetoric?
January 11, 2019
RM Staff Picks
Analysis

‘No Place for Russia’: How Much Are Old US Ambitions in Europe to Blame for Russia-West Tensions Today?

Joshua Shifrinson
In the 1990s, preserving NATO and, with it, U.S. preeminence in Europe became the sine qua non of U.S. European policy. Is this why Russia was left out of Europe’s post-Cold War security structure?
Read More
Analysis

Jihadists from Ex-Soviet Central Asia: Where Are They? Why Did They Radicalize? What Next?

Edward Lemon, Vera Mironova and William Tobey
Three authors draw on field work and other research to assess the motives, prospects and threats linked to Central Asian jihadists, including the thousands who joined Islamic State and other violent extremists in the Middle East.
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Debate

Debate: Russia and China—How Close Are They?

RM Staff
Relations between Moscow and Beijing have been growing increasingly cozy, but what’s stronger—the convergence of their grievances or the divergence in their national interests? Three experts debate.
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Analysis

How Well Are Russia Sanctions Working?

Nick Butler
If applied successfully and long enough, sanctions will undoubtedly undermine the relative economic successes upon which President Vladimir Putin depends for his position in power. But that's a big “if.”
Read More
Analysis

Isolation and Reconquista: Russia’s Toolkit as a Constrained Great Power

Marlene Laruelle
As relations with the West languish, Moscow has built a dual strategy, positioning itself at once as beleaguered and triumphant, an alternative to the U.S.-led world order. In the short term, this is probably its best bet.
Read More
Blog

RM Picks: What to Read on the Kerch Strait Crisis

RM Staff
Looking to make sense of the events between Russia and Ukraine in the Sea of Azov and their implications? Check out our recommendations.
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Analysis

Robert Legvold on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff
“The chances in … the next 10-15 years of a nuclear weapon being fired in anger are far greater now than they ever were during the Cold War.” This and more from one of America’s top Russia scholars.
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Analysis

With Russia and the US, Nuclear Risks Never Go Out of Vogue

Jon B. Wolfsthal
Thirty-five years after Able Archer, the lack of sustained, high-level engagement with Russia risks once again putting America and its allies at unnecessary risk of a nuclear conflict no one wants or even expects.
Read More
Analysis

After the INF Treaty: An Objective Look at US and Russian Compliance, Plus a New Arms Control Regime

Kevin Ryan
Russia, according to U.S. officials, has violated the INF Treaty. The U.S. is on the verge of violating, if it has not already done so. What’s needed now is a new treaty focusing on warheads instead of delivery systems.
Read More
Analysis

The ‘Who, What, When’ of Russia Sanctions: A Cheat Sheet for Laymen

Alexey Eremenko
This explainer spells out the major sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and EU since 2014: who has been targeted; what behaviors are to be punished or deterred; what activities have been restricted; and for how long.
Read More
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RM's Most Read Exclusives

Why did U.S.-Russian relations under Trump deteriorate contrary to the expectations of many? What can we learn from measuring Russia's national power? What is the publicly available evidence for and against Russia's involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election? Answers to these questions and many more in our wide-ranging top exclusives. Check them out here. 
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