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.
book review

Negotiators, Take Heed: Whether You’re Talking With Russia or Others, New Book Is Master Class on Working Your Way to a Deal

Olga Oliker April 06, 2022 RM Exclusives
A striking aspect of Rose Gottemoeller’s story of New START is that she and her team faced as many challenges from the U.S. as from their Russian counterparts.
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.
book review

Plokhy’s New Cuban Missile Crisis Book Offers Glimpse Into the Minds of Rank-and-File Soviet Officers

Simon Saradzhyan June 25, 2021 RM Exclusives
Harvard Professor Serhii Plokhy’s new book, “Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis,” offers new insights into the experiences of lower-level officers who participated in the perilous events that brought us to the brink of nuclear war nearly 60 years ago.
multimedia

A Conversation Between Graham Allison and Angela Stent

Graham Allison and Angela Stent August 01, 2020 Recommended Reads
The U.S. leadership is slowly waking up to the reality of a Russia-China entente. This is an unnatural partnership. But U.S. policies have driven China and Russia closer, and Putin and Xi have managed their differences well.
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

Video: The Prospects for US-Russia Arms Control

Center for Strategic and International Studies January 15, 2020
With the demise of the INF Treaty and an unclear future for New START, what could future U.S.-Russian arms control look like?

explainer

Is 'Escalate to Deescalate' Part of Russia’s Nuclear Toolbox?

Kevin Ryan January 08, 2020 RM Exclusives
Russia's political leaders deny the existence of a supposedly new plan to use limited nuclear strikes in a local/regional conflict to shock an adversary into suing for peace. Has the U.S. misunderstood Russian intentions and plans?
explainer

What Is the State’s Share in Russia’s Economy?

Nini Arshakuni and Natasha Yefimova-Trilling June 26, 2019 RM Exclusives
While press reports say 70% of Russia’s economy is in state hands, some top experts think it’s closer to 35-45%. They’ve seen a trend of strategic nationalization under Putin and doubt the coming years will bring greater efficiency or competition.
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.