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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Putin's Spies Can't Even Get Along With Each Other

Leonid Bershidsky July 17, 2018 Recommended Reads
The three agencies all have their distinct operational cultures and styles that make for heated competition. The ultimate objective is to please Putin, who likes variety in his toolbox.
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In Search of Light at the End of the Tunnel for US-Russian Relations

Alexey Arbatov June 26, 2018 Recommended Reads
Even if the situation in Ukraine is resolved peacefully, and if an armed clash between Russia and the United States is avoided in Syria, it will not be possible to overcome this wide-reaching crisis with a single package of agreements.
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From Mutually Assured Destruction to Mutually Assured Delusion (and Back?)

Simon Saradzhyan March 12, 2018 Recommended Reads
If U.S. and Russian decision-makers do not just profess but also genuinely believe in the continuing decline and pending collapse of each other’s countries, then chances are they will act more assertively against each other.
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America Ignores Russia at Its Peril

David Ignatius March 06, 2018 Recommended Reads
Putin’s address to the Russian parliament was meant to intimidate Washington, but it was also a plea for attention.
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Russia's Presidential Election Runs Into Reality

Nikolas K. Gvosdev January 21, 2018 Recommended Reads
The domestic and international problems plaguing Russia won't be solved by the March election.
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Don’t Speak, Memory

Nikita Petrov December 12, 2017 Recommended Reads
Returning to old habits is a real danger if Russia does not acknowledge the darker chapters in its history for what they are.
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Russia Takes a Step Toward the Post-Putin Era

Leonid Bershidsky December 07, 2017 Recommended Reads
Russian President Vladimir Putin's long tenure has been lacking, especially on the domestic front.
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Whenever America Is in Crisis, Russia Is Its Whipping Boy

Ivan Kurilla December 05, 2017 Recommended Reads
History shows how anti-Russia sentiment rises when the U.S. is at a low.
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What Does Putin Want? To Maintain His Power No Matter What Democracy

William E. Pomeranz October 30, 2017 Recommended Reads
If Putin’s victory in the March 2018 election is big, it would also be a triumph for the Russian autocratic state.
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These Two Former Intelligence Chiefs Differ Sharply on Russia and Trump

Paul J. Saunders May 15, 2017 Recommended Reads
Former U.S. intelligence chiefs James Clapper and Robert Gates are a study in contrasts in how they how they view Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election and wider relations between the countries.
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How the Sanctions Are Helping Putin

Andrey Movchan March 28, 2017 Recommended Reads
Tougher sanctions could have brought Russia down in months. Instead, Putin has gained leverage in domestic politics and Russian oligarchs have founded new monopolies.
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Russia, Trump and a New Détente: Fixing US-Russian Relations

Robert David English March 10, 2017 Recommended Reads
Demonizing Russia only widens the gulf of U.S.-Russian misunderstanding and encourages dangerous misconceptions.
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