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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Strategic Posture Commission Report Calls For Broad Nuclear Buildup

Hans Kristensen, Matt Korda, Eliana Johns and Mackenzie Knight October 12, 2023 Recommended Reads
On Oct. 12, the Strategic Posture Commission released its long-awaited report on U.S. nuclear policy and strategic stability. The 12-member Commission was hand-picked by Congress in 2022 to conduct a threat assessment, consider alterations to U.S. force posture and provide recommendations.
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The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Global Trade and Investment

World Bank May 01, 2022 Recommended Reads
The war has direct effects on the firms operating in Russia and Ukraine and on firms relying on suppliers from those markets. But the shock caused by the war goes well beyond these two countries, as geopolitical risks have increased globally.
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US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue: Purpose, Progress, Challenges and Opportunities

Leonor Tomero December 15, 2021 RM Exclusives
A serious and good-faith dialogue with Russia about the risks to strategic stability is necessary to understand the changing nature of those risks and the direction new arms races may take and to reduce the risk of unintended escalation.
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Who ‘Defeated’ ISIS? An Analysis of US and Russian Contributions

Domitilla Sagramoso May 06, 2020 RM Exclusives
There can be little doubt that the U.S. and its allies played a much bigger role in subduing the terror group than Russia. But ISIS has plenty of life in it yet and any alleged victory is fragile.
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Is 'Escalate to Deescalate' Part of Russia’s Nuclear Toolbox?

Kevin Ryan January 08, 2020 RM Exclusives
Russia's political leaders deny the existence of a supposedly new plan to use limited nuclear strikes in a local/regional conflict to shock an adversary into suing for peace. Has the U.S. misunderstood Russian intentions and plans?
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The ‘Who, What, When’ of Russia Sanctions: A Cheat Sheet for Laymen

Alexey Eremenko September 26, 2018 RM Exclusives
This explainer spells out the major sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and EU since 2014: who has been targeted; what behaviors are to be punished or deterred; what activities have been restricted; and for how long.
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When Does Vladimir Putin’s Russia Send In Troops?

Simon Saradzhyan August 07, 2018 RM Exclusives
Examining Putin’s three military interventions abroad, the author sees a pattern in which two conditions must be present for Russia to intervene with force: a threat to its vital interests and a reasonable chance of success.
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Nuclear Arms Control and US-Russia Relations

Sarah Hummel and Andrey Baklitskiy May 01, 2018 Partner Posts
Looking at U.S. and Russian perspectives on five key challenges to cooperation on nuclear arms control, the authors offer policy recommendations for improving the increasingly strained relationship.
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NATO Expansion: What Gorbachev Heard

Svetlana Savranskaya and Tom Blanton December 12, 2017 Recommended Reads
Newly declassified documents lend credence to claims that Western leaders repeatedly reassured their Soviet counterparts in the early 1990s that NATO would not budge "one inch eastward."
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A Roadmap for US-Russia Relations

Edited by Andrey Kortunov and Olga Oliker August 01, 2017 Partner Posts
This report by the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program and the Russian International Affairs Council looks at the troubled state of the U.S.-Russia relationship and recommends areas of potential cooperation.
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Strengthening Strategic Stability with Russia

Christopher S. Chivvis, Andrew Radin, Dara Massicot and Clinton Bruce Reach July 01, 2017 Recommended Reads
With the U.S. and Russia still possessing nuclear arsenals that could devastate whole continents, what can be done to shore up strategic stability amid rising tensions between the two countries? A new report looks for answers.
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Elevation and Calibration: A New Russia Policy for America

Andrew Kuchins December 01, 2016 Partner Posts
With the U.S.-Russia relationship at its most dangerous level since the 1980s, the arrival of a new administration presents an opportunity to clearly evaluate the significant risks current hostilities pose. Containment or deterrence alone cannot mitigate these risks; instead, Washington should pursue a policy of calibration and elevation.
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