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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False Alert: Is Russia Beefing Up Forces on NATO’s Border?

Ulrich Kühn July 08, 2016 Recommended Reads
While Russia has done an about-face on military reforms meant to switch from large divisions to smaller, more mobile brigades, Moscow is not (yet) creating additional armed forces.
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The Russian Military: A Force in Transition

Michael Kofman June 24, 2016 Recommended Reads
While the most recent Russian military reforms produced impressive results, they remain incomplete, resulting in a permanent change for the Russian military without an easily discernible destination.
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Why Does Putin Surprise Us Again and Again?

Stephen Blank March 07, 2016 Recommended Reads
Officials who disdain the need for specialists familiar with Russian language, culture and overall defense policy, or who believe that Russians generally think and act just as they do, have primed themselves for disaster.
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Unpacking Russia's New National Security Strategy

Olga Oliker January 07, 2016 Partner Posts
Russia's new national security strategy is the document of an ambitious Russia that sees constraints on its ambitions as threats to be overcome, whether they come from within or without.
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10 Reasons Why Russia Still Matters

Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill October 30, 2011 Recommended Reads
Russia matters a great deal to a U.S. government seeking to defend and advance its national interests.