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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Want a Green Future? Let Nord Stream Go.

Stephen G. Gross May 06, 2021 Recommended Reads
U.S. sanctions against Germany over Nord Stream 2 would undermine diplomatic climate change efforts.
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Rebuttal: Ukraine Is Emerging as Critical Node for White-Supremacy Extremists

Mollie Saltskog and Colin P. Clarke September 24, 2020 RM Exclusives
The authors argue that the transnational threat of violent right-wing extremism emanating from the conflict in eastern Ukraine has not waned, even as the number of ultranationalist foreign fighters there has.
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The INF Treaty Crisis: Filling the Void With European Leadership

Nikolai Sokov March 01, 2019 Recommended Reads
The end of the INF Treaty and wavering on New START show just how much the U.S.-Russian arms control relationship has deteriorated. Europe can step in as mediator to renew effort in nonproliferation, but it must act quickly and develop the political will to move outside of its traditional place on the margins.
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Russian-Speaking’ Fighters In Syria, Iraq And At Home: Consequences And Context

Cerwyn Moore and Mark Youngman November 20, 2017 Recommended Reads
A key aspect of IS’s strategy has been the mobilization of supporters across Russia and the former Soviet Union. However, Russia’s domestic terrorism threat extends beyond both IS and returnees from Syria and Iraq, with domestic recruits and Turkic and Central Asian networks adding to a complex security picture.
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For Washington, Russia Makes Afghanistan Mess Even Messier

Jeffrey Mankoff June 14, 2017 RM Exclusives
As U.S. military efforts meet with little success, Russia has taken a much more active approach to Afghanistan, building bridges with the Taliban and hoping to enhance its role in the region.
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The Coming Of The Russian Jihad: Part I

Leon Aron September 23, 2016
The spread of Russian as the lingua franca among some jihadists is indicative of explosive internationalization and vastly expanded recruitment patterns among what might be called the Russian Jihad.
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Reviving Arms Control in Europe

Frank-Walter Steinmeier August 26, 2016 Recommended Reads
With geopolitical tensions rising across Europe, European security needs to become a top priority once more.
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Can the US-Russia Plutonium Disposition Agreement Be Saved?

Pavel Podvig April 28, 2016
Scrapping the U.S.-Russian deal to dispose of weapon-grade plutonium would mean a long-term setback for nuclear nonproliferation efforts. But current tensions make a compromise ever more elusive.