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 Discouraging Demographics Shouldn't Change US Approach

Alexandra Vacroux December 21, 2021 RM Exclusives
The possibility that Russia might have fewer people and a smaller economy will not negate the fact that it is a nuclear superpower with unfriendly intent. What Russia becomes is less important than what Russia is willing to do.
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Biden is Right that Global Democracy is at Risk. But the Threat isn’t China

Aaron David Miller and Richard Sokolsky December 03, 2021 Recommended Reads
Instead of chasing the goal of democratizing the domestic political orders of other countries, the Biden administration could collaborate with a small number of like-minded democratic countries that have the skill, will, resources and capacity to make progress on pressing global problems.
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Not a Military Base: Why Did China Commit to an Outpost in Tajikistan?

Giulia Sciorati November 02, 2021 Recommended Reads
Strategic considerations have spurred Russia and China to develop balancing lines in Central Asia. Both countries, though, have crossed these lines at some point.
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US-Russian Cyber Stability Needs ‘Drunken Party’ Approach: Limits, Deterrence and Communication

Joseph S. Nye October 06, 2021 RM Exclusives
Even though a cyber treaty would be unverifiable, it may be possible to set limits on certain types of behavior and to negotiate rough rules of the road by combining deterrence and norms and appealing to the self-interest of the states involved.
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The Future of Conquest

Dan Altman September 24, 2021 Recommended Reads
Modern conquest looks like what Russia did in Crimea and what China could do once again in the South China Sea. Unless the United States embraces a level of restraint not attempted since Pearl Harbor, sitting out future territorial conflicts may not come as easily as in the past.
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30 Years After End of Soviet Union, Its Main Lesson for Russia Remains ‘Reform or Else'

Sergei Guriev August 31, 2021 RM Exclusives
Rapid economic growth requires reforms; reforms frighten entrenched elites; lack of economic growth will eventually force the regime to change—though whether this means more democratization or more repressiveness remains to be seen.
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Fact-Check: Has Russia’s GDP Per Capita Really Dropped By 30% Since 2013?

RM Staff August 25, 2021 RM Exclusives
This year, the FT wrote that Russia’s GDP per capita is 30% lower than in 2013—a surprising claim as neither Russia’s GDP nor its population had changed so drastically in that time. We find the number to be debatable.
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‘Green Burden’: How Global Climate Policies Could Impact Russia

Danila Bochkarev August 04, 2021 RM Exclusives
European carbon taxes and a broader push for less fossil fuel could cost Russia’s economy billions of dollars, nudging Moscow to adopt new policies.
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Be Careful What You Wish For: Russia, China and Afghanistan after the Withdrawal

Jeffrey Mankoff July 29, 2021 RM Exclusives
Do Beijing and Moscow have sufficient influence to oversee a managed transition, contain any spillover of violence, and provide reassurance to anxious Afghanistan neighbors? The whole region is about to find out.
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What Did Biden Achieve in Geneva?

Joseph S. Nye, Jr. July 08, 2021 Recommended Reads
Even if formal cybersecurity treaties are unworkable, it may still be possible to set limits on certain types of civilian targets, and to negotiate rough rules of the road.
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How Disastrous Would Disconnection From SWIFT Be for Russia?

Maria Shagina May 28, 2021 Recommended Reads
Seven years after threats were first made to cut Russia off from SWIFT, how well is Russia prepared to cope with disconnection from Western payment systems?
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Want a Green Future? Let Nord Stream Go.

Stephen G. Gross May 06, 2021 Recommended Reads
U.S. sanctions against Germany over Nord Stream 2 would undermine diplomatic climate change efforts.
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