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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Why Putin Will Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

Kevin Ryan May 17, 2023 RM Exclusives
A former U.S. defense attaché to Moscow believes it's almost unavoidable.
Clues from Russian Views

Russia's Prime Minister Mishustin: A Quiet Technocrat Who Toes the Line and Gets Results

Yana Demeshko, Natasha Yefimova-Trilling and Ingrid Burke Friedman May 11, 2023 RM Exclusives
Though he’s no warmonger, Mishustin has stayed in his post and not challenged the Kremlin’s messaging on the war in Ukraine.
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Nuclear Weapons in Belarus: History Repeats Itself

William Alberque March 31, 2023 RM Exclusives
Russia’s increasingly violent nuclear rhetoric and basing of nuclear weapons in Belarus are to be condemned. However, these developments do not alter the balance of power in Europe, nor do they significantly alter the risk of nuclear conflict.
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The moment when Putin turned away from the West

David Ignatius March 09, 2023 Recommended Reads
Bush had maintained a surprisingly close relationship with the Russian leader, centered on a counterterrorism alliance. The United States was battling al-Qaeda at the time; Russia was fighting Chechen separatists. But Putin came to believe that America was an unreliable, hypocritical partner — and that belief would curdle into the open feud that has deepened, year by year.
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What Led to Putin’s Blunder in Ukraine?

Simon Saradzhyan February 24, 2023 RM Exclusives
Three factors are likely to have contributed to shaping Putin’s decision to launch the invasion one year ago.
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Domestic Politics Encourage Continued War of Attrition in Ukraine in 2023

Thomas Graham February 22, 2023 RM Exclusives
The main question now: How far will the escalation go?
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The Top 5 Lessons from Year 1 of Ukraine’s War

Stephen M. Walt February 09, 2023 Recommended Reads
Europe’s brutal conflict has been a harsh but instructive teacher.
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Sanctions Against Russia Ignore the Economic Challenges Facing Ukraine

Nicholas Mulder February 09, 2023 Recommended Reads
The West has shown that it possesses the tools to destroy the growth prospects of import-dependent middle-income economies. But sanctions have failed to cause crippling and insurmountable problems of the kind that will cause the collapse of either the Russian economy or Mr. Putin’s war effort.
Clues from Russian Views

Devoted to Putin: Volodin's Views on Russia, the West and the Rest

RM Staff January 27, 2023 RM Exclusives
Despite his mastery of reductionist flattery and "unlimited devotion" to Putin, the speaker of the State Duma likely isn't a member of the Russian president's inner-most circle. Still, he may have a shot at the Kremlin when Putin steps down.
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No, Weakening Russia Is Not “Costing Peanuts” for the U.S.

Trita Parsi January 20, 2023 Recommended Reads
As support slips for military funding to Ukraine, some analysts argue that America is getting a great deal for its money. But there are a lot of strategic costs that don’t show up on the balance sheet.
Competing Views on Russia

Kevin McCarthy on Russia, Ukraine and US Interests

RM Staff January 13, 2023 RM Exclusives
As newly elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the 57-year-old congressman has become much more consequential for U.S. foreign policy.
Clues from Russian Views

Dmitry Medvedev in His Own Words: From Modernizing Liberal to Hateful Hawk

RM Staff January 04, 2023 RM Exclusives
Analysts believe the public metamorphosis is meant to keep the ex-president/ex-prime minister politically relevant and close to Russia's pro-war ruling elite.
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