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.
article

Averting the US-Russia Warpath

James N. Miller, Richard Fontaine and Alexander Velez-Green February 22, 2018 Partner Posts
For Russia and the U.S., new incentives for using "nonkinetic" weapons, like cyber attacks, threaten the stability afforded by mutually assured destruction.
article

New START Expires in 3 Years and Nobody Knows What Comes Next

Nikolai Sokov February 06, 2018 Partner Posts
Much stands in the way of a new treaty, but allowing New START to expire would not be in either country's interest.
article

Russia's Presidential Election Runs Into Reality

Nikolas K. Gvosdev January 21, 2018 Recommended Reads
The domestic and international problems plaguing Russia won't be solved by the March election.
article

The Russification of US Deterrence Policy

Nikolai Sokov December 25, 2017 Recommended Reads
The United States now shares the same concerns as Russia. This might be good news or bad news, depending on political decisions.
article

Don’t Speak, Memory

Nikita Petrov December 12, 2017 Recommended Reads
Returning to old habits is a real danger if Russia does not acknowledge the darker chapters in its history for what they are.
article

Russia Takes a Step Toward the Post-Putin Era

Leonid Bershidsky December 07, 2017 Recommended Reads
Russian President Vladimir Putin's long tenure has been lacking, especially on the domestic front.
article

What Does Putin Want? To Maintain His Power No Matter What Democracy

William E. Pomeranz October 30, 2017 Recommended Reads
If Putin’s victory in the March 2018 election is big, it would also be a triumph for the Russian autocratic state.
article

Brains, Not Oil, Should Fuel Russia’s Economy

John Thornhill October 02, 2017 Recommended Reads
Artificial intelligence could be a lucrative sector for Russia, but only if Russia allows greater freedom of creativity.
article

America and Russia: Back to Basics

Graham Allison August 14, 2017 Recommended Reads
Cold War tenets may be the Trump administration's best hope to keep Americans safe.
article

Russia’s New and Unrealistic Naval Doctrine

Dmitry Gorenburg July 26, 2017 Recommended Reads
Russia's new naval doctrine reveals a wide gap “between aspiration and feasible plans.”
article

Open Letter to President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin

Des Browne, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov and Sam Nunn June 29, 2017 Partner Posts
Four influential foreign-policy thinkers—former senior officials from Germany, Russia, the UK and the U.S.—call on Moscow and Washington to “stop the downward spiral in relations" and work together on areas of existential common interest.
article

The Russian Defense Budget and You

Michael Kofman March 17, 2017 Recommended Reads
Russia's 2017 defense budget is smaller than last year's, but the reduction is not quite as drastic as some interpretations indicate.