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.
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

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?
Competing Views on Russia

Thomas Graham on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff January 03, 2018 RM Exclusives
An esteemed Russia expert, former diplomat, policy advisor and scholar weighs in on the Russia-related issues most pertinent to Washington, including “the hard truth … that America cannot ignore Russia or seek to isolate” it.
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Latest US-Russian Effort on Syria: Good for Preventing Accidents, So-So for Everything Else

Nikolas K. Gvosdev November 15, 2017 RM Exclusives
Trump and Putin’s joint statement at the APEC summit masks deep divisions between Moscow and Washington over how to resolve the conflict.
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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.
explainer

25 Years of Nuclear Security Cooperation by the US, Russia and Other Newly Independent States: A Timeline

Mariana Budjeryn, Simon Saradzhyan and William Tobey June 16, 2017 RM Exclusives
At a time when the U.S. and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union still saw each other as mortal enemies, they found the courage, creativity and capacity for trust to work together in the name of preventing nuclear catastrophe.
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Snapshot Analysis: Was Chemical Attack in Syria Meant to Drive Wedge Between US and Russia?

Simon Saradzhyan April 07, 2017 RM Exclusives
The U.S. strikes against Syria have sharply escalated tensions between Moscow and Washington, but the two can still mend fences and work toward peace in Syria.
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Syria and the Call of the Quagmire

Paul R. Pillar April 06, 2017 Recommended Reads
America's immersion into the Syrian civil war carries with it the risk of widespread warfare.
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Looking for U.S.-Russian Cooperation? Try Asia

Jeffrey Mankoff December 12, 2016 RM Exclusives
U.S.-Russian ties in Asia have long been underdeveloped, but also far less contentious than in Europe. Maybe now is the time to focus eastward and help Moscow balance between Washington and Beijing.