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.
explainer

NATO or Bust: Why Do Ukraine’s Leaders Dismiss Neutrality as a Security Strategy?

Serhiy Kudelia February 09, 2022 RM Exclusives
Prominent U.S. thinkers have said a neutral status for Ukraine could defuse the crisis with Russia. Elites in Kyiv disagree. Here are their top concerns, which proponents of neutrality will have to address.
multimedia

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.
column

Georgian Democracy Stumbles Onward After Parliament Deal

Terrell Jermaine Starr April 26, 2021 Recommended Reads
A six-month stalemate over vote-rigging accusations has been partially, but messily, resolved.
podcast

Protests in Belarus

Sean's Russia Blog September 11, 2020 Partner Posts
A few weeks ago, Lukashenko’s rule seemed on the verge of collapse. But now things appear at a stalemate. For the larger context for these mass protests and what they mean, SRB turned to Elena Gapova for some insight.
article

Unplugging the Baltic States: Why Russia’s Economic Approach May Be Shifting

Emily Ferris July 01, 2020 RM Exclusives
The probability of Russia resorting to a Crimea-style intervention in the Baltics remains low. As a key energy supplier and major trading partner for the region, Russia has more to gain by using economic levers as opposed to military ones to retain influence.
article

Russia and Collective Security: Why CSTO Is No Match for Warsaw Pact

Dmitry Gorenburg May 27, 2020 RM Exclusives
The CSTO is too organizationally weak and insufficiently integrated to serve as a capability multiplier for its members, and the weakness of other member states' military forces make them of limited value to Russia as military allies.
multimedia

Stent and Hill on COVID-19 Challenging Putin’s Grip on Power

VOA May 01, 2020 Partner Posts
Russia experts Angela Stent and Fiona Hill discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the Russian leader as well as on the country's domestic and international positions.
multimedia

After the Colored Revolution

Sean's Russia Blog February 19, 2020 Partner Posts
In this episode of Sean's Russia Blog, host and Eurasia expert Sean Guillory speaks with Vasili Rukhadze, a visiting lecturer of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, about post-color revolution regimes.
podcast

The Politics of Immigration in Russia

Sean's Russia Blog September 07, 2019 Partner Posts
In this episode of Sean's Russia Blog, host and Eurasia expert Sean Guillory speaks with Caress Schenk, a specialist in the politics of immigration and national identity in Eurasia, on the politics of immigration in Russia.
multimedia

Video: Experts Discuss the Politics of New START and Strategic Nuclear Modernization

Brookings Institution January 07, 2019
Panelists at a Brookings event discuss the 2010 New START negotiations, the current state of the debate and steps that could be taken to maintain a level of bipartisanship moving forward.
explainer

25 Years of Nuclear Security Cooperation by the US, Russia and Other Newly Independent States: A Timeline

Mariana Budjeryn, Simon Saradzhyan and William Tobey June 16, 2017 RM Exclusives
At a time when the U.S. and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union still saw each other as mortal enemies, they found the courage, creativity and capacity for trust to work together in the name of preventing nuclear catastrophe.
explainer

For Russia and America, Election Interference Is Nothing New: 25 Stories

Arjun Kapur and Simon Saradzhyan March 22, 2017 RM Exclusives
As headlines scream about Russia’s “unprecedented” interference in U.S. politics, it’s helpful to get some historical perspective on how often countries try to tinker with each other’s elections.