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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The Problem With Fearmongering About Russian Electoral Interference

Joseph Haker and Andrew Paul February 24, 2020 Recommended Reads
Blaming outsiders distracts attention from the very real domestic problems that make "disinformation" campaigns coherent in the first place.
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Can Washington and Moscow Agree to Limit Political Interference?

Samuel Charap and Ivan Timofeev June 13, 2019 Recommended Reads
The concept of elaborating norms of non-interference on a mutual basis might be the best way to stabilize U.S.-Russian relations and prevent the damaging episodes of recent years from happening again.
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The US, Not Russia Is the New Spoiler in the Arctic

Elizabeth Buchanan May 15, 2019 Recommended Reads
While Pompeo delivered a doomsday sermon on the region becoming an "arena for power and for competition," Lavrov articulated the need for "deeper state-to-state cooperation."
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The Folly of ‘Russiagate’

Stephen Kinzer April 04, 2019 Recommended Reads
The election of U.S. President Donald Trump was not, we now learn, the result of a conspiracy directed from Moscow. But this finding by special prosecutor Robert Mueller will change few minds: once again, as in the 1950s, everything is Russia’s fault—no matter what Mueller says.
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Not All Is Quiet On the Arctic Front

Elizabeth Buchanan March 25, 2019 Recommended Reads
2019 presents four clear windows for increased competition in the Arctic.
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How Not to Compete in the Arctic: The Blurry Lines Between Friend and Foe

Stephanie Pezard February 27, 2019 Recommended Reads
Recent U.S. strategic documents portray Russia as a competitor of the United States and an unambiguous rival. Yet in the Arctic, Russia is also a neighbor with whom trivial matters need to be discussed and de-conflicted before they become nontrivial.
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How to Interfere in a Foreign Election

Stephen Kinzer August 19, 2018 Recommended Reads
Despite Yeltsin's unpopularity, Washington saw him as easy to control, and so, U.S. resources were thrown behind a Russian presidential candidate.
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The Helsinki Summit: A Good Idea Turns Bad

George Beebe July 19, 2018 Recommended Reads
Expectations for the Helsinki summit were low, but the U.S. and Russia still managed to sail their listing bilateral ship directly into the rocks of the Russian cyber-meddling controversy.
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Musings … ‘Russiagate’ Hysteria

Jack Matlock June 02, 2018 Recommended Reads
Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has become increasingly accepted as "fact" by both the media and Congress. This is not the most important aspect of that election.
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'Blame Russia' Is Getting Old

Benjamin Haddad March 14, 2018 Recommended Reads
Although voters worldwide have been giving voice to their dissatisfaction with political elites, those elites keep trying to explain away the explosion of populism as a product of Russian interference.
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Our National Obsession With Russia Is Preventing Sane Debate

Eugene Rumer January 22, 2018 Recommended Reads
Saying Russia doesn't matter simply isn't true anymore.
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Contrasting China’s and Russia’s Influence Operations

Peter Mattis January 16, 2018 Recommended Reads
While Moscow's intelligence services play a robust role, Beijing prefers a softer approach.