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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Taiwan Is Not Ukraine: Stop Linking Their Fates Together

Kharis Templeman January 27, 2022 Recommended Reads
In the current geopolitical moment, the differences between Ukraine and Taiwan are far more important than their similarities—and linking together the security threats that the two countries face can make both situations worse.
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The Putin Doctrine: A Move on Ukraine Has Always Been Part of the Plan

Angela Stent January 27, 2022 Recommended Reads
As the United States and its allies await Russia’s next move and try to deter an invasion with diplomacy and the threat of heavy sanctions, they need to understand Putin’s motives and what they portend.
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Biden is Right that Global Democracy is at Risk. But the Threat isn’t China

Aaron David Miller and Richard Sokolsky December 03, 2021 Recommended Reads
Instead of chasing the goal of democratizing the domestic political orders of other countries, the Biden administration could collaborate with a small number of like-minded democratic countries that have the skill, will, resources and capacity to make progress on pressing global problems.
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A Greener Russia? Moscow’s Agenda at the COP26 Climate Summit

Anastasia Likhacheva November 09, 2021 Recommended Reads
Russia managed to formulate three climate principles ahead of COP26 that its delegation is promoting in Glasgow and, most likely, will continue to long after the summit ends.
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Not a Military Base: Why Did China Commit to an Outpost in Tajikistan?

Giulia Sciorati November 02, 2021 Recommended Reads
Strategic considerations have spurred Russia and China to develop balancing lines in Central Asia. Both countries, though, have crossed these lines at some point.
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The Future of Conquest

Dan Altman September 24, 2021 Recommended Reads
Modern conquest looks like what Russia did in Crimea and what China could do once again in the South China Sea. Unless the United States embraces a level of restraint not attempted since Pearl Harbor, sitting out future territorial conflicts may not come as easily as in the past.
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How Disastrous Would Disconnection From SWIFT Be for Russia?

Maria Shagina May 28, 2021 Recommended Reads
Seven years after threats were first made to cut Russia off from SWIFT, how well is Russia prepared to cope with disconnection from Western payment systems?
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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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Is Sanctioning Russian Sovereign Debt Such a Big Deal?

Timothy Ash March 18, 2021 Recommended Reads
The simple answer is no. Indeed, it’s the logical next step.
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Joe Biden’s Risky Russia Sanctions Game

Nikolas K. Gvosdev March 03, 2021 Recommended Reads
How will U.S. action towards Moscow affect two more critical relationships for Washington: the ones with Berlin and Beijing?
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It’s Better to Deal with China and Russia in Tandem

Thomas Graham and Robert Legvold February 04, 2021 Recommended Reads
Putting China and Russia into policy silos will be counterproductive.
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How Russia Wins the Climate Crisis

Abrahm Lustgarten December 16, 2020 Recommended Reads
While the consequences of climate change could be catastrophic for much of the world, for Russia, they could be just the opposite.
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