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.
interview

‘Above All, Avoid Zeal’: EastWest’s Cameron Munter on Russia’s Relations With the West

RM Staff September 07, 2018 RM Exclusives
A veteran U.S. diplomat specializing in conflict resolution weighs in on the potential for U.S.-Russian cooperation, as well as the threats, obstacles and prospects facing both countries.
article

Opposition to Nord Stream 2 Makes No Sense for America or Europe

Eugene Rumer August 12, 2018 Recommended Reads
U.S. President Donald Trump and his critics at home and in Europe have found common ground in opposing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
report

Living in (Digital) Denial: Russia’s Approach to Cyber Deterrence

Joss Meakins July 23, 2018 Partner Posts
For cyber deterrence to be effective, Western countries must do more to convince Russia that deterrence in cyberspace works for both sides and can be a force for stability.
article

In Helsinki, Trump Takes ‘Do No Harm’ Approach to Russia on 2 Issues: Syria and Energy

Nikolas K. Gvosdev July 17, 2018 RM Exclusives
For now, at least, the U.S. will not help its Middle Eastern and European allies pursue their own engagement with Moscow, but will not interfere with it a great deal either.
Competing Views on Russia

Trump on Russia: In His Own Words

RM Staff July 13, 2018 RM Exclusives
From election interference and the war in Syria to praise for Putin and weaponized cold snaps—read over two years' worth of the president’s comments on Russia.
article

How the Kremlin Corralled the FSB

Andrei Soldatov May 31, 2018 Recommended Reads
When the FSB failed to predict the mass protests of 2011 and proved unable to respond to them, Putin's trust in the agency began to wane.
article

Transformed Gas Markets Fuel US-Russian Rivalry, But Europe Plays Key Role Too

Morena Skalamera May 30, 2018 RM Exclusives
The new U.S. role as a gas exporter is not a magic antidote to Russia’s “gas dominance” in Europe. But Moscow has largely been forced to play by market rules thanks to a huge, underappreciated effort by Brussels.
article

Averting the US-Russia Warpath

James N. Miller, Richard Fontaine and Alexander Velez-Green February 22, 2018 Partner Posts
For Russia and the U.S., new incentives for using "nonkinetic" weapons, like cyber attacks, threaten the stability afforded by mutually assured destruction.
article

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.
article

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.
article

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.
Competing Views on Russia

Angela Stent on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff October 12, 2017 RM Exclusives
One of the West’s leading experts on Russia offers perspectives from a distinguished career in academia and government.