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

The Putin Doctrine: A Move on Ukraine Has Always Been Part of the Plan

Angela Stent January 27, 2022 Recommended Reads
As the United States and its allies await Russia’s next move and try to deter an invasion with diplomacy and the threat of heavy sanctions, they need to understand Putin’s motives and what they portend.
article

Putin’s Wager in Russia’s Standoff With the West

Michael Kofman January 24, 2022 Recommended Reads
Putin may see diplomacy as a last-ditch effort to avert war in Ukraine, but Russia’s posture suggests that he is leaning toward a unilateral solution.
article

Liberal Illusions Caused the Ukraine Crisis

Stephen M. Walt January 19, 2022 Recommended Reads
Had the United States and its European allies not succumbed to hubris, wishful thinking and liberal idealism and relied instead on realism’s core insights, the present crisis would not have occurred.
article

The Ukraine Crisis Will End Inevitably in a Redivision of Europe

Thomas Graham January 04, 2022 Recommended Reads
The dividing line between Europe and the Russian sphere of influence in Europe has gravitated westward and eastward over the past three centuries as a consequence of periodic trials of arms.
article

Russia's Military Buildup Near Ukraine Is an Intimidation Tactic

Michael Kofman April 03, 2021 Recommended Reads
Russia's military posturing appears to be primarily coercive and demonstrative in nature.
multimedia

Will Pro-Navalny Protests Threaten Putin’s Power?

Angela Stent and Adrianna Pita February 04, 2021 Recommended Reads
The recent protests in Russia are fueled by a combination of frustrations with Vladimir Putin’s repressive government, Russia’s stagnant economy and the impacts of COVID, but whether demonstrations will grow into a larger, sustained movement remains to be seen.
article

Dueling for the Soul of Russia

Peter Rutland February 03, 2021 Recommended Reads
Navalny’s battle of wills with Putin is not likely to end well – at least in the short term. But his very existence serves as a moral rebuke: a symbol of the Russia that might yet be.
article

Navalny’s Bravery Is Unlikely to Shift Putin’s Entrenched Power

Jeff Hawn January 25, 2021 Recommended Reads
While Alexei Navalny’s return to Russia following his poisoning with Novichok five months prior was a brave act, it has almost no chance of immediately deposing the current regime.
article

The United States and the NATO Non-extension Assurances of 1990: New Light on an Old Problem?

Marc Trachtenberg January 25, 2021 Recommended Reads
An examination of the debate on NATO accession leads to the conclusion that Russian allegations of U.S. assurances of NATO's non-expansion into former Warsaw Pact states are not baseless. This affects our understanding of the U.S.-Russian relationship today.
article

A New Path Forward for NATO and Russia

Sergey Rogov, Adam Thomson and Alexander Vershbow December 07, 2020 Recommended Reads
Relations between NATO member states and Russia are complex and troubled. It will take concerted efforts by both sides to move their interaction to a more positive plane.
article

Stay Out of the Regime Change Business

Benjamin Denison June 16, 2020 Recommended Reads
Pursuing short-term wins through covert regime change may ultimately undermine U.S. foreign policy.
article

Ukraine, Not Russia, Will Sue for Peace as Pandemic Pressure Rises

Joseph Haberman May 14, 2020 Recommended Reads
With the prospect of a major economic crisis, Russia and Ukraine may face increasing pressure to lessen the burden to their economies and populations by seeking a peace settlement in Donbass. The pandemic could compel Ukraine to capitulate first.
Refine & Filter

By Section

By Topic

By Country

By Regions

By Genre