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.
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Russia’s Nuclear-Capable Missiles: A Question of Escalation Control

William Alberque March 15, 2024 Recommended Reads
Aspects of Moscow’s military strategy in Ukraine, including its deployment of dual-use missile systems, have offered some potential insights into its nuclear-weapons doctrine.
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Russia’s Economy Once Again Defies the Doomsayers

The Economist March 10, 2024 Recommended Reads
As an election nears, Vladimir Putin now looks to have inflation under control
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West Sanctions Russian Aviation, But Moscow Decides to Keep Planes Flying Despite Risks

Steven E. Harris October 26, 2023 RM Exclusives
As Russia seeks cracks in Western countries’ united efforts to sanction Russia over its war against Ukraine, U.S. policymakers and their allies need to better explain not only the motifs, but also the goals of their punitive measures against Russia’s aviation sector.
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The Origins and Efficacy of the Price Cap on Russian Oil

Benjamin H. Harris September 14, 2023 RM Exclusives
The price cap on Russian oil is achieving its goals of lowering Russian revenue while preserving global supply.
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To Truly Pressure Russia’s Oligarchs, the West Should Target Their Wealth Managers

Ho-Chun Herbert Chang June 20, 2023 RM Exclusives
Russia's superrich rely on a small number of wealth managers, many of whom reside in Europe, making them relatively easy targets for Western policymakers hoping to ramp up sanctions amid Moscow's ongoing war with Ukraine.
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Why Putin Will Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

Kevin Ryan May 17, 2023 RM Exclusives
A former U.S. defense attaché to Moscow believes it's almost unavoidable.
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Sanctions Against Russia Ignore the Economic Challenges Facing Ukraine

Nicholas Mulder February 09, 2023 Recommended Reads
The West has shown that it possesses the tools to destroy the growth prospects of import-dependent middle-income economies. But sanctions have failed to cause crippling and insurmountable problems of the kind that will cause the collapse of either the Russian economy or Mr. Putin’s war effort.
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Russia vs Europe: Who Is Winning the Energy War?

Li-Chen Sim November 23, 2022 RM Exclusives
Some declare Moscow the victor. Others claim not only that this is a “myth” but that Russia faces “economic oblivion.” Who’s right depends on the time horizon.
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On The Design of Effective Sanctions: The Case of Bans on Exports to Russia

Ricardo Hausmann, Ulrich Schetter and Muhammed A. Yildirim September 01, 2022 Partner Posts
Well-coordinated sanctions can substantially increase costs to Russia with minimal impact on sanctioning countries, researchers find after examining the impact of export bans on 5,000 products.
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China’s Long Game in Russia: Violating Sanctions? No. Ensuring Russia’s Survival? Yes.

Lizzi C. Lee June 30, 2022 RM Exclusives
A floundering Russia and reinvigorated NATO would cut against China's core security interests by giving Washington a stronger hand in its Thucydidian rivalry with Beijing.
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As Markets Crash and War Fears Grow, Russia’s Business Elite Suffers in Silence

Pjotr Sauer and Jake Cordell January 25, 2022 Partner Posts
Some of the country’s most successful executives are preparing for heavy losses, but unable to speak out or influence events.
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Fact-Check: Is Russia's Economy 'Nuclear Weapons and Oil Wells and Nothing Else,' as Biden Claimed?

RM Staff December 28, 2021 RM Exclusives
The U.S. president’s July 2021 remarks about Russia’s economy may have been hyperbolic, but variations of the claim surface regularly and are not backed up by data.