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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Biden Must Heed JFK’s Lessons on Rolling Back Nuclear Dangers

Matthew Bunn June 10, 2023 Recommended Reads
On its 60th anniversary, Americans ought to remember President John F. Kennedy’s “A Strategy of Peace” speech and the positive diplomatic efforts it unleashed.
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Why Putin Will Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

Kevin Ryan May 17, 2023 RM Exclusives
A former U.S. defense attaché to Moscow believes it's almost unavoidable.
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Rattling the Nuclear Saber: What Russia’s Nuclear Threats Really Mean

Lauren Sukin May 04, 2023 Recommended Reads
It is precisely because of, and not in spite of, the fact that Moscow and Pyongyang have repeatedly held their nuclear arsenals over Western heads that leaders should take these threats seriously.
explainer

How Will the ICC’s Arrest Warrant for Putin Actually Work?

Gleb Bogush April 04, 2023 RM Exclusives
A major legal obstacle will come from his status as head of state, which can pose significant challenges for a state that aims to arrest him under its ICC obligations.
explainer

Can International Law Bring a Measure of Justice to Ukraine?

Kevin Jon Heller March 22, 2023 RM Exclusives
Very few options currently exist for prosecuting the high-ranking Russian government and military leaders who are responsible for the invasion.
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Good News from the Russian Front

Graham Allison December 24, 2021 Recommended Reads
As we celebrate Christmas 2021, we should pause to remember: How many nuclear weapons from the former Soviet arsenal have proliferated? Not the 250 Cheney predicted. Not twenty-five. Indeed, not a single nuclear weapon has been discovered outside the control of Russian authorities.
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A Greener Russia? Moscow’s Agenda at the COP26 Climate Summit

Anastasia Likhacheva November 09, 2021 Recommended Reads
Russia managed to formulate three climate principles ahead of COP26 that its delegation is promoting in Glasgow and, most likely, will continue to long after the summit ends.
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‘Green Burden’: How Global Climate Policies Could Impact Russia

Danila Bochkarev August 04, 2021 RM Exclusives
European carbon taxes and a broader push for less fossil fuel could cost Russia’s economy billions of dollars, nudging Moscow to adopt new policies.
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When Allies Go Nuclear: How to Prevent the Next Proliferation Threat

Chuck Hagel, Malcolm Rifkind, Kevin Rudd and Ivo Daalder February 12, 2021 Recommended Reads
The United States faces a new nucler proliferation threat, this time from its own allies.
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How Russia Wins the Climate Crisis

Abrahm Lustgarten December 16, 2020 Recommended Reads
While the consequences of climate change could be catastrophic for much of the world, for Russia, they could be just the opposite.
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Khodorkovsky Marks the Spot: Russia’s Turning Point From Economic Freedom to State Control

Sergei Guriev May 28, 2020 RM Exclusives
Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s sentencing 15 years ago this month signaled the end of Russia's market reforms and the beginning of ever-increasing state control.
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The Golunov Case Exposes Russia’s ‘Submerged State’

Alexey Yeremenko June 13, 2019 Recommended Reads
The 'submerged-state' is the level of government most often interacted with by investors and is capable of derailing the policies of the ‘outer state.’
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