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.
article

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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Putin’s Wager in Russia’s Standoff With the West

Michael Kofman January 24, 2022 Recommended Reads
Putin may see diplomacy as a last-ditch effort to avert war in Ukraine, but Russia’s posture suggests that he is leaning toward a unilateral solution.
article

Liberal Illusions Caused the Ukraine Crisis

Stephen M. Walt January 19, 2022 Recommended Reads
Had the United States and its European allies not succumbed to hubris, wishful thinking and liberal idealism and relied instead on realism’s core insights, the present crisis would not have occurred.
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The Ukraine Crisis Will End Inevitably in a Redivision of Europe

Thomas Graham January 04, 2022 Recommended Reads
The dividing line between Europe and the Russian sphere of influence in Europe has gravitated westward and eastward over the past three centuries as a consequence of periodic trials of arms.
article

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.
article

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.
article

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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Russia's Military Buildup Near Ukraine Is an Intimidation Tactic

Michael Kofman April 03, 2021 Recommended Reads
Russia's military posturing appears to be primarily coercive and demonstrative in nature.
debate

The Future of Russia

Thomas Graham, George Beebe, Steven Pifer and Michael McFaul March 01, 2021 Recommended Reads
In this four-part debate, Thomas Graham, George Beebe, Steven Pifer and Michael McFaul discuss the future of Russia and drivers of possible change.
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