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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Contrary to Expectations, US-Russian Relations Deteriorate Under President Trump

Thomas Graham January 18, 2018 RM Exclusives
One might think the relationship has nowhere to go but up. But the omens suggest otherwise, that relations will continue to deteriorate, as Trump begins his second year in office.
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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.
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Russia Has Been Meddling in Foreign Elections for Decades. Has It Made a Difference?

Lucan Ahmad Way and Adam Casey January 08, 2018 Recommended Reads
Since 1991, there have been two waves of Russian attempts at election interference around the world, but neither wave appears to have met with much success.
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The Russification of US Deterrence Policy

Nikolai Sokov December 25, 2017 Recommended Reads
The United States now shares the same concerns as Russia. This might be good news or bad news, depending on political decisions.
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Hacking Power Grids: New Tactic of War or Wave of the Future?

Nadiya Kostyuk November 03, 2017 RM Exclusives
Recent research suggests that cyberattacks have not yet become a force multiplier to conventional military tools in wartime, but this may very well change in coming years as countries invest in such capabilities.
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Containing Our Intelligence War with Russia

George Beebe October 31, 2017 Recommended Reads
Just as Russia should not misread U.S. support for democratization as a push for regime change, the U.S. should not conflate Moscow’s desire to change our international behavior with an intent to destroy our nation.
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At Valdai Putin Treats Trump Respectfully

Angela Stent October 26, 2017
In his searing critique of U.S. foreign policy delivered at the Valdai Club, the Russian president notably spared Donald Trump.
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Russian Nuclear Forces: Buildup or Modernization?

Hans M. Kristensen September 14, 2017 RM Exclusives
Russia is not increasing its nuclear arsenal, though some commentators keep saying it is. What's important, however, is to monitor how Russia is modernizing its strategic nuclear forces.
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America and Russia: Back to Basics

Graham Allison August 14, 2017 Recommended Reads
Cold War tenets may be the Trump administration's best hope to keep Americans safe.
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The US Sanctions Bill Is a Win for Russia

Angela Stent July 28, 2017 Recommended Reads
The EU may rethink its own sanctions regime if the U.S. sanctions bill moves forward. This, of course, would be good news for the Kremlin.
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How to Deter Russian Cyber Attacks

George Beebe July 12, 2017 Recommended Reads
A CIA veteran offers three practical steps the U.S. can take to deter cyberattacks from Russia and elsewhere.
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Open Letter to President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin

Des Browne, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov and Sam Nunn June 29, 2017 Partner Posts
Four influential foreign-policy thinkers—former senior officials from Germany, Russia, the UK and the U.S.—call on Moscow and Washington to “stop the downward spiral in relations" and work together on areas of existential common interest.
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