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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A Country Living in Three Eras: Reflections on the 75th anniversary of the DPRK

Alexander Solovyov September 22, 2023 Recommended Reads
Solovyov considers the Cold War, hegemony and the "grand narratives" underpinning Moscow-Pyongyang ties.
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Biden Must Heed JFK’s Lessons on Rolling Back Nuclear Dangers

Matthew Bunn June 10, 2023 Recommended Reads
On its 60th anniversary, Americans ought to remember President John F. Kennedy’s “A Strategy of Peace” speech and the positive diplomatic efforts it unleashed.
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Rattling the Nuclear Saber: What Russia’s Nuclear Threats Really Mean

Lauren Sukin May 04, 2023 Recommended Reads
It is precisely because of, and not in spite of, the fact that Moscow and Pyongyang have repeatedly held their nuclear arsenals over Western heads that leaders should take these threats seriously.
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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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No One Would Win a Long War in Ukraine

Vladislav Zubok December 21, 2022 Recommended Reads
The West must formulate a major policy vision that obviates the desire of Ukraine and its staunchest supporters to have Russia smashed and neutralized.
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A ‘Nothingburger’ Letter About Ukraine, the Backlash and Washington’s New Groupthink

Peter Beinart November 04, 2022 Recommended Reads
When a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine finally becomes possible, members of Congress will be wary of endorsing it, even if it enjoys Kyiv's tacit support.
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What Is America's Interest in the Ukraine War?

Joshua Shifrinson October 30, 2022 Partner Posts
Amid the continuing war and ongoing calls for the United States to “do more,” the question remains: what, if any, are the United States’ strategic interests in Ukraine—and how might the United States best service them?
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Putin Is Not Bluffing With His Nuclear Threats

Graham Allison October 03, 2022 Recommended Reads
What do Biden and his national security team know that makes them take Putin’s nuclear threat so seriously?
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The Cuban Missile Crisis at 60: 6 Timeless Lessons for Arms Control

Graham Allison October 01, 2022 Recommended Reads
Key lessons from the crisis have been adapted and applied by the successors of Kennedy and Khrushchev to inform fateful choices.
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What Do Americans Care About? Not a Cold War With Russia and China

Katrina vanden Heuvel September 20, 2022 Recommended Reads
Asked about the most urgent issue facing the country today, 27% of Americans—the highest number—ranked inflation as No. 1, while only 2% ranked Ukraine at the top.
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On The Design of Effective Sanctions: The Case of Bans on Exports to Russia

Ricardo Hausmann, Ulrich Schetter and Muhammed A. Yildirim September 01, 2022 Partner Posts
Well-coordinated sanctions can substantially increase costs to Russia with minimal impact on sanctioning countries, researchers find after examining the impact of export bans on 5,000 products.
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The World Putin Wants

Fiona Hill and Angela Stent August 25, 2022 Recommended Reads
Russia’s president ordered his "special military operation" because he believes that it is Russia’s divine right to rule Ukraine, to wipe out the country’s national identity and to integrate its people into a Greater Russia.
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