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

The Origins and Efficacy of the Price Cap on Russian Oil

Benjamin H. Harris September 14, 2023 RM Exclusives
The price cap on Russian oil is achieving its goals of lowering Russian revenue while preserving global supply.
debate

Debate: Is US Support for Ukraine Costing ‘Peanuts’ or Too Much?

Yana Demeshko March 30, 2023 RM Exclusives
Western policymakers are asking themselves whether the billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv have been well spent. Two analysts offer opposing assessments in a debate co-hosted by Russia Matters.
issue brief

With New START Setbacks Challenging Arms Control, US Must Work to Reduce Chances of Nuclear War, With or Without Russia

Leonor Tomero  March 15, 2023 RM Exclusives
Key goals are to invest in more resilient deterrence and to understand whether the two countries' views on strategic stability have fundamentally diverged.
article

What’s Missing from Mearsheimer’s Analysis of the Ukraine War

Joe Cirincione July 29, 2022 RM Exclusives
To make the facts fit his assessment, he must disregard Russia’s own pronouncements, its brutality and the security imperatives of its neighbors.
debate

West’s Quandaries on Russia in Ukraine: Ends vs. Means, Rollback vs. Containment

Nikolas K. Gvosdev June 09, 2022 RM Exclusives
Kissinger's and Soros's very different perspectives and policy recommendations flow from fundamentally different assumptions about the nature of the international system and whether "means" or "ends" should have primacy in the formulation of policy.
debate

On West’s Response to Russia in Ukraine: Confrontation Has Risks, but So Does Appeasement

Melinda Haring June 09, 2022 RM Exclusives
We have a dangerous European war right now, but if Putin’s ambitions aren’t checked, we are likely to end up in a much worse situation that could easily bring about a third world war.
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.
article

Russia's Discouraging Demographics Shouldn't Change US Approach

Alexandra Vacroux December 21, 2021 RM Exclusives
The possibility that Russia might have fewer people and a smaller economy will not negate the fact that it is a nuclear superpower with unfriendly intent. What Russia becomes is less important than what Russia is willing to do.
article

US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue: Purpose, Progress, Challenges and Opportunities

Leonor Tomero December 15, 2021 RM Exclusives
A serious and good-faith dialogue with Russia about the risks to strategic stability is necessary to understand the changing nature of those risks and the direction new arms races may take and to reduce the risk of unintended escalation.
issue brief

Why There Won’t Be a People’s Republic of Left-Bank Ukraine Just Yet

Simon Saradzhyan November 23, 2021 RM Exclusives
Putin may have lost patience with Zelenskiy, but he is unlikely to give marching orders to Russian troops until he exhausts options with Biden.
article

NDAA-2022: How US Priorities Regarding Russia Have Shifted

Aleksandra Srdanovic November 05, 2021 RM Exclusives
This comparison of all provisions of the enacted 2021 and proposed 2022 NDAAs that affect Russia, former Soviet republics and Baltic countries highlights how U.S. priorities regarding Russia have shifted in recent years.
article

The Global War on Chechnya: What Does 9/11 Teach Us About Counterterrorism Cooperation With Russia?

Paul Kolbe October 13, 2021 RM Exclusives
Mutual interest in fighting terrorism simply cannot counter all the negatives in current U.S.-Russian relations to serve as a basis for improved overall bilateral ties.
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