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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Why Russia’s Alliance With China is Improbable, But Not Impossible

Simon Saradzhyan September 21, 2020 Partner Posts
The relationship between China and Russia is getting stronger by the hour. While some might say that Russia and China are in a de facto non-aggression pact, a deeper alliance is still unlikely, though not impossible.
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Russia’s FDI Outlook Grim, with No Chinese Rescue in Sight

Nicholas Trickett July 11, 2019 RM Exclusives
Investment in Russia has plummeted for many reasons, both in and out of Moscow’s control. Meanwhile, the country is drifting toward an increasingly closed economy, with interest groups jostling for pieces of the state-funded pie.
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Expert Round-Up: How Likely Is a China-Russia Military Alliance?

Simon Saradzhyan and Angelina Flood June 14, 2019 RM Exclusives
Dozens of scholars, analysts and officials assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Sino-Russian "comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction."
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Ukraine and NATO: Disconnect Between State Policy and Public Opinion Is Less Dangerous Than Russia

Daniel Shapiro May 09, 2019 RM Exclusives
Governments in plenty of countries have pushed through major foreign policy initiatives such as NATO entry despite formidable opposition among their citizens. This doesn’t necessarily mean Ukraine should do the same.
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Video: Russian Economic Challenge 2018

Carnegie Moscow Center September 20, 2018 Partner Posts
In September 2018, the Carnegie Moscow Center held its third annual Russian Economic Challenge conference. This two-day event focused on global inequality, the consequences for Russia and ways to overcome it. 
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The Helsinki Summit: A Good Idea Turns Bad

George Beebe July 19, 2018 Recommended Reads
Expectations for the Helsinki summit were low, but the U.S. and Russia still managed to sail their listing bilateral ship directly into the rocks of the Russian cyber-meddling controversy.
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Why Did the Trump Administration Pass the Buck on Sanctioning Russia?

David Szakonyi February 01, 2018 RM Exclusives
This week the U.S. executive branch rejected a Congressional mandate to punish Moscow with additional sanctions. What happened and what does it portend for future U.S. policy toward Russia?
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Putin’s Peacekeepers: Beware of Russians Bearing Gifts

Fredrik Wesslau September 11, 2017 Partner Posts
The Russian president's proposal for a U.N. peacekeeping force in eastern Ukraine could be a trap—or it could provide a means of de-escalating the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
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Video: New US Sanctions on Russia

Center for the National Interest August 14, 2017 Partner Posts
Former officials from the Bush and Obama administrations discuss the impact and implications of the new Russia sanctions bill.
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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.
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Ukraine Between Russia and the West Buffer or Flashpoint?

Thomas Graham, Rajan Menon and Jack Snyder April 24, 2017 Partner Posts
Ukraine's domestic turmoil and relations with Russia, the U.S., and Europe may not make it an ideal candidate for a buffer state, but that outcome could be better than the other alternatives.
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5 Conservative Principles for Dealing With Russia

William Tobey April 12, 2017 Partner Posts
Reestablishing a rough consensus on principles to guide American relations with Russia is a high foreign policy priority.