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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Vostok-2018: Russia and China Signal Growing Military Cooperation

Michael Kofman September 10, 2018 RM Exclusives
This year’s strategic military exercise demonstrates both that Russia is still a power in Asia and that it will work with China to offset threats from Washington.
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Russian Power Under Putin: Up and Down and Flatline

Andrew Kuchins August 22, 2018 RM Exclusives
While Moscow’s military power has grown considerably, Putin has not created the conditions crucial for sustained economic growth and the development of new commercial technologies.
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.
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Of Russian Military Reforms From Georgia to Syria

Center for Strategic and International Studies May 22, 2018 Partner Posts
In this episode of Russian Roulette, CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program expert Olga Oliker sits down with defense analyst Anton Lavrov to discuss Russian military reforms, what new capabilities Russia demonstrated in Syria and where the Russian military may (or may not) be heading.
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Contrasting China’s and Russia’s Influence Operations

Peter Mattis January 16, 2018 Recommended Reads
While Moscow's intelligence services play a robust role, Beijing prefers a softer approach.
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Russian Military Buildup in the West: Fact Versus Fiction

Michael Kofman September 07, 2017 RM Exclusives
Until 2014 Russia was largely cutting the number of troops on NATO's borders to move them elsewhere. The war with Ukraine changed that, reawakening Moscow to the possibility of a large-scale war on its western front.
Competing Views on Russia

Brzezinski on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff June 01, 2017 RM Exclusives
The former presidential advisor on national security retained a deep skepticism about Russia’s aims and intentions, even when calling on the U.S. to integrate it into the West.
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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.
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False Alert: Is Russia Beefing Up Forces on NATO’s Border?

Ulrich Kühn July 08, 2016 Recommended Reads
While Russia has done an about-face on military reforms meant to switch from large divisions to smaller, more mobile brigades, Moscow is not (yet) creating additional armed forces.
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Can the US-Russia Plutonium Disposition Agreement Be Saved?

Pavel Podvig April 28, 2016
Scrapping the U.S.-Russian deal to dispose of weapon-grade plutonium would mean a long-term setback for nuclear nonproliferation efforts. But current tensions make a compromise ever more elusive.