Analysis

This listing contains all the analytical materials posted on the Russia Matters website. These include: RM Exclusives, commissioned by Russia Matters exclusively for this website; Recommended Reads, deemed particularly noteworthy by our editorial team; Partner Posts, originally published by our partners elsewhere; and Future Policy Leaders, pieces by promising young scholars and policy thinkers. Content can be filtered by genre and subject-specific criteria and is updated often. Gradually we will be adding older Recommended Reads and Partner Posts dating back as far as 2011.
book review

Negotiators, Take Heed: Whether You’re Talking With Russia or Others, New Book Is Master Class on Working Your Way to a Deal

Olga Oliker April 06, 2022 RM Exclusives
A striking aspect of Rose Gottemoeller’s story of New START is that she and her team faced as many challenges from the U.S. as from their Russian counterparts.
book review

Plokhy’s New Cuban Missile Crisis Book Offers Glimpse Into the Minds of Rank-and-File Soviet Officers

Simon Saradzhyan June 25, 2021 RM Exclusives
Harvard Professor Serhii Plokhy’s new book, “Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis,” offers new insights into the experiences of lower-level officers who participated in the perilous events that brought us to the brink of nuclear war nearly 60 years ago.
book review

Fearing and Ignoring Russia: A Recipe for Trouble

Paul Saunders October 01, 2019 RM Exclusives
Historian Mark Smith’s provocative book won’t give the U.S. a policy to manage its relationship with Russia, but it does offer some valuable guidance in thinking about strategic solutions.
book review

Russia’s ‘Peripheral Authoritarianism’ as Described by Grigory Yavlinsky

RM Staff March 22, 2019 RM Exclusives
In his new book, one of post-Soviet Russia’s most enduring liberal politicians describes the emergence of his country’s current system of governance and predicts its impending doom.
survey

Survey: What Next for the Iran Deal and What Will It Mean for US-Russian Relations?

RM Experts May 10, 2018 RM Exclusives
Eight experts on nuclear nonproliferation, security and the Middle East weigh in on the implications of President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA.
column

Yes, Russian Generals Are Preparing for War. That Doesn’t Necessarily Mean the Kremlin Wants to Start One

Simon Saradzhyan August 30, 2017 RM Exclusives
Past experience suggests that two conditions must exist for Russia to use military exercises as a cover for foreign military interventions and neither one is in place today.
survey

Survey: Tips for President Trump Ahead of His First Meeting With Putin

RM Experts July 03, 2017 RM Exclusives
What should be at the top of the two leaders’ agenda? Avoiding war, bolstering arms control, cooperating on counter-terrorism, Ukraine … and not getting their hopes too high.
book review

‘Return to Cold War’: A New Book Dissected

ISSF March 03, 2017 Partner Posts
Four eminent Russia experts—James Goldgeier, Rajan Menon, Condoleezza Rice and Angela Stent—review Columbia professor Robert Legvold’s new book.
survey

Survey: U.S. Vital Interests Vis-à-Vis Russia

RM Experts February 15, 2017 RM Exclusives
What are America’s vital national interests and where does Russia fit in, either as a constructive partner or as a spoiler? What does this mean for U.S. policy? Five eminent experts weigh in.
survey

Survey: Does Russia Matter?

RM experts October 24, 2016 RM Exclusives
Vis-à-vis the U.S., Russia has recently been called everything from a “declining power” to an “existential threat.” We asked a dozen experts: Does Russia matter—why or why not?