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

Russian-Ukrainian Church Turmoil Driven by Political Ambitions

Nicolai N. Petro October 19, 2018 RM Exclusives
With a presidential election looming, Ukraine’s unpopular leader has teamed up with Orthodox Christianity’s top cleric to create a new church and boost their political clout at Moscow’s expense.
article

The August War, Ten Years On: A Retrospective on the Russo-Georgian War

Michael Kofman August 17, 2018 Recommended Reads
In 2008, Moscow demonstrated the will and ability to actively contest the U.S. vision for European security, veto NATO expansion in its neighborhood and challenge Washington’s design for a normative international order where small states can determine their own affairs independent of the interests of great powers.
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.
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.
article

Putin's Pivot: 4 New Features of Russian Foreign Policy

Daniel Treisman March 14, 2018 RM Exclusives
The annexation of Crimea in 2014 signaled a new phase of Russian foreign policy, characterized by risk taking, neglect of exit strategies, outsourcing and saber rattling. But can the success of these tactics last?
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

Putin’s Peacekeepers: Beware of Russians Bearing Gifts

Fredrik Wesslau September 11, 2017 Partner Posts
The Russian president's proposal for a U.N. peacekeeping force in eastern Ukraine could be a trap—or it could provide a means of de-escalating the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
article

The Foreign Policy Price of Trump’s Russia Scandal

Robert E. Hunter May 23, 2017 Recommended Reads
In the current maelstrom of U.S. domestic politics, it will be virtually impossible for the United States to do what’s needed to promote its interests regarding Russia and related security issues.
article

Dealing with Russia and Drawing Red Lines

Steven Pifer March 09, 2017 RM Exclusives
With new NATO deployments in Central and Eastern Europe, a former U.S. diplomat to the region considers America’s red lines vis-à-vis Russia: What should they be and how to enforce them?
article

The Ukraine-Russia Conflict: A Way Forward

Matthew Rojansky February 01, 2017 Recommended Reads
While the likelihood of the conflict’s resolution is low, Washington needs to keep aware of opportunities for resolution due to what is at stake: U.S. interests, relations with Russia and Europe and global security.
article

Back From the Brink: Toward Restraint and Dialogue Between Russia and the West

Deep Cuts Commission June 20, 2016 Recommended Reads
In its report, the Deep Cuts Commission provides recommendations aimed at preventing any potential catastrophic military escalation between Russia and the West.
article

Good News From Ukraine: It Doesn't Have Nukes

Graham Allison March 21, 2014 Recommended Reads
Considering the current crisis in Ukraine, Graham Allison reflects on the negotiation process for the denuclearization of Ukraine that was carried out in the 1990s.
Refine & Filter

By Section

By Topic

By Country

By Regions

By Groups

By Genre