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

2020 US Presidential Candidates on Russia: What Have They Said So Far?

Daniel Shapiro, Thomas Schaffner and Angelina Flood March 17, 2020 RM Exclusives
Updated! With the primaries underway, it is worth remembering what the candidates have said about their would-be Russia policies if elected. (Originally published May 23, 2019.)
book review

Rice and Zelikow on ‘Catalytic Choices’

Simon Saradzhyan November 13, 2019 RM Exclusives
The former U.S. officials examine catalytic episodes in history and the choices late Cold War and post-Cold War leaders were faced with in those critical moments.
book review

Fearing and Ignoring Russia: A Recipe for Trouble

Paul Saunders October 01, 2019 RM Exclusives
Historian Mark Smith’s provocative book won’t give the U.S. a policy to manage its relationship with Russia, but it does offer some valuable guidance in thinking about strategic solutions.
Competing Views on Russia

George Kennan on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff August 21, 2019 RM Exclusives
From the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which will see its 80th anniversary this week, to the beginning of the 21st century, Kennan's views on America's Cold War rival went far beyond the "containment" policy for which he is perhaps best known.
Competing Views on Russia

Esper on Russia: Pentagon Nominee Sees Moscow as ‘Strategic Competitor,’ ‘Potential Adversary’

RM Staff July 17, 2019 RM Exclusives
U.S. Defense Secretary nominee Mark Esper often pairs Russia with China in his remarks, classifying both among America’s biggest security challenges. Now updated with statements from Esper's Senate confirmation hearing.
book review

7 Pillars of Putin’s World: New Book Shows US Policymakers Russia as It Is

Nikolas K. Gvosdev April 04, 2019 RM Exclusives
Angela Stent clearly lays out Russia’s strategic imperatives and the mindset of Putin and his circle to present a coherent, compelling analysis of contemporary Russian behavior in the world.
book review

Russia’s ‘Peripheral Authoritarianism’ as Described by Grigory Yavlinsky

RM Staff March 22, 2019 RM Exclusives
In his new book, one of post-Soviet Russia’s most enduring liberal politicians describes the emergence of his country’s current system of governance and predicts its impending doom.
book review

How the US Managed, and Mismanaged, Russia: A Superstar Diplomat Tells His Story

Graham Allison March 12, 2019 RM Exclusives
William Burns’ new book describes his warnings to the Bush administration that pushing for NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine would spur Moscow to use armed force in the former and to meddle in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
multimedia

Video: Trump’s Impact on the World—Timothy J. Colton on Russia

Weatherhead Center for International Affairs January 15, 2019 Partner Posts
Harvard professor of government and Russian studies Timothy Colton discusses the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Russia under the Trump administration.
book review

‘No Place for Russia’: How Much Are Old US Ambitions in Europe to Blame for Russia-West Tensions Today?

Joshua Shifrinson January 03, 2019 RM Exclusives
In the 1990s, preserving NATO and, with it, U.S. preeminence in Europe became the sine qua non of U.S. European policy. Is this why Russia was left out of Europe’s post-Cold War security structure?
Competing Views on Russia

Robert Legvold on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff November 20, 2018 RM Exclusives
“The chances in … the next 10-15 years of a nuclear weapon being fired in anger are far greater now than they ever were during the Cold War.” This and more from one of America’s top Russia scholars.
Competing Views on Russia

Timothy Colton on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff October 11, 2018 RM Exclusives
An eminent Harvard professor and author weighs in on Russia’s past, present and future and what they mean for the U.S.-Russian relationship.
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