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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What Is America's Interest in the Ukraine War?

Joshua Shifrinson October 30, 2022 Partner Posts
Amid the continuing war and ongoing calls for the United States to “do more,” the question remains: what, if any, are the United States’ strategic interests in Ukraine—and how might the United States best service them?
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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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Weapons of Mass Destruction: What Will Be New in the 2022 NATO Strategic Concept?

Rose Gottemoeller June 27, 2022 Partner Posts
The alliance will likely emphasize resilience but also maintain its dual-track approach toward Russia, combining deterrence and defense with détente and dialogue.
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The Causes and Consequences of the Ukraine War

John J. Mearsheimer June 23, 2022 Recommended Reads
The United States has pushed forward policies toward Ukraine that Putin and other Russian leaders see as an existential threat, a point they have made repeatedly for many years.
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Putin’s Invasion Was Immoral but Not Irrational

Mark F. Cancian May 10, 2022 Recommended Reads
Evaluating Putin’s decision requires capturing what was known at the time, not what became evident later.
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Would Putin’s Russia Really Nuke Ukraine?

Graham Allison April 22, 2022 Recommended Reads
If a nuclear strike killed 10,000 or 20,000 innocent Ukrainians, how would the United States or NATO respond?
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Opportunity for Diplomacy: No Russian Attack Before Feb. 20

Graham Allison February 04, 2022 Recommended Reads
Most of the American foreign policy community has still not come to grips with the relationship that has developed between Russia and China in the decade since Xi Jinping became president.
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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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Where is the Confrontation Over Ukraine Heading?

Center for the National Interest January 05, 2022 Partner Posts
On Jan. 5, 2022, the Center for the National Interest held an event on the conflict in Ukraine.
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PONARS Eurasia Fall Policy Conference 2021

PONARS Eurasia October 24, 2021 Partner Posts
Leading experts from around the world discuss US-Russia relations, security and geopolitics topics.
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Will Russia’s Upcoming Duma Elections Change Anything At All?

Andrei Kolesnikov September 15, 2021 Partner Posts
The authorities are faced with the fiendish task of convincing democratic-minded voters that there is no point in voting, while making every effort to boost turnout among the conformist, state-dependent electorate.
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Vaccine Hesitancy in Russia, France and the United States

PONARS Eurasia September 01, 2021 Partner Posts
Maria Lipman chats with Denis Volkov, Naira Davlashyan and Peter Slevin about why COVID-19 vaccination rates are still so low across the globe, comparing vaccine hesitant constituencies across Russia, France and the United States.