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.)
article

16 More Years of Putin: A Promise of Stability That Looks Like Stagnation

Simon Saradzhyan March 13, 2020 RM Exclusives
Putin's choice to keep presidency in his menu of post-2024 options bodes ill for Russia's stability in the longer-term.
article

Putin’s End Game?

Henry Hale March 11, 2020 Partner Posts
Even if current appearances are correct that Putin is bidding to stay in power for another decade, the Russian leader’s aging means the issue of succession will not completely go away.
issue brief

Why Does Congress Not Care About Normalizing Relations With Russia?

Daniel Shapiro and Arthur Martirosyan February 26, 2020 RM Exclusives
There are several major reasons why, whether under the Clinton, Bush, Obama or Trump administrations, Capitol Hill has been reluctant to normalize relations with Russia and even at times hit the brakes on reset attempts.
article

The Problem With Fearmongering About Russian Electoral Interference

Joseph Haker and Andrew Paul February 24, 2020 Recommended Reads
Blaming outsiders distracts attention from the very real domestic problems that make "disinformation" campaigns coherent in the first place.
article

A Demographic Trap and Low Growth Are Putin’s Biggest Challenges

John Dizard January 17, 2020 Recommended Reads
Despite Western expectations of reports of doom and gloom from Russia, the country is in fact adopting expansionary economic and social policies that appear to be financially sustainable.
article

Alternative History: Would Russia in NATO and EU Be Game Changer in West’s Rivalry With China?

Simon Saradzhyan November 20, 2019 RM Exclusives
Quantitative measurements show that while Russia’s decision to align with the West rather than with China might not have been a game changer, it would have diminished the latter’s might vis-à-vis the West.
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.
article

Why Putin Sounds Alt-Right Though He Really Isn’t

Leonid Bershidsky November 06, 2019 Recommended Reads
Bershidsky argues that "Putin sees Trump, Brexiters, the European far right and alt-right as his natural allies against the established global order, one of steady alliances and stable multilateral organizations."
interview

Timothy Colton on Political Succession in Russia

Ekaterina Karpenko and Mariam Dadashyan October 31, 2019
Harvard's Timothy Colton discusses the problem of orderly succession in Russia, the chances for a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations and much more in this interview with Gazeta.ru.
article

Experts on Putin: 20 Years in Power

RM Staff August 07, 2019 RM Exclusives
Some of America’s best-informed experts on Russia offer a wealth of insights into President Vladimir Putin’s rule, objectives, historical context and personality.

The Mueller Report and the Silence of the Experts

Timothy Frye July 24, 2019 Recommended Reads
Frye argues that discussions in the media during the run-up to the Mueller Report release lacked the "hard-edged skepticism, demand for evidence, and appreciation of what we can and cannot know" that academics and experts can provide.
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