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.
interview

CIA Director Burns on Ukraine: ‘We’re Running Out of Time to Help Them’

George W. Bush Presidential Center April 25, 2024 Recommended Reads
William Burns sat down with David Kramer at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Forum on Leadership to discuss Russia, the Middle East, U.S. competition with China and the role of emerging technologies in the world of intelligence.
article

8 Lessons for Taiwan From Russia’s War in Ukraine

Tzu-yun Su January 18, 2023 RM Exclusives
While the fighting in Ukraine is on land, and thus very different from the maritime battlefield that would surround Taiwan, there are still many things this island nation can learn from Ukraine's defensive operations.
article

Still ‘No Limits’? The China-Russia Partnership After Samarkand

Elizabeth Wishnick September 22, 2022 RM Exclusives
Despite their many conflicts of interest in Ukraine and elsewhere, Russia and China continue to be bound together, both by geopolitical factors and by their deep need for regime security.
article

The Toll of Economic War: How Sanctions on Russia Will Upend the Global Order

Nicholas Mulder March 23, 2022 Recommended Reads
The economic offensive against Russia has already exposed one important new reality: The era of costless, risk-free and predictable sanctions is well and truly over, the author writes.
article

Taiwan Is Not Ukraine: Stop Linking Their Fates Together

Kharis Templeman January 27, 2022 Recommended Reads
In the current geopolitical moment, the differences between Ukraine and Taiwan are far more important than their similarities—and linking together the security threats that the two countries face can make both situations worse.
article

Deeper US Engagement with Uzbekistan Stymied by Changing US Priorities, Russian Wariness

Scott Radnitz October 26, 2021 RM Exclusives
After a long hiatus, Uzbekistan is back on America's radar, but any U.S. reengagement with Uzbekistan is likely to be short-lived and superficial.
article

Russia’s Response to US Withdrawal From Afghanistan: Criticism of US, Concerns About Security Environment

Mary Chesnut and Julian G. Waller September 14, 2021 RM Exclusives
While schadenfreude and strategic anti-U.S. messaging is the most visible aspect of Russia’s immediate response, Moscow’s more material concerns—including regional instability and the spread of radical Islamic terrorism—should not be understated.
article

Russian Moves in Afghanistan Are About Regional Stability, Not Revenge on US

Artemy M. Kalinovsky July 22, 2020 RM Exclusives
U.S. politicians may feel betrayed by Russia’s engagement with the Taliban, but to understand what Russia is up to, they need to stop imagining that Moscow’s every move is somehow intended to undermine the U.S.
article

Pompeo’s Visit Lets Post-Soviet States Leverage US Backing Against Russia, China, But Real Support Remains Limited

Nikolas Gvosdev February 07, 2020 RM Exclusives
American policies designed to challenge Russian dominance in Eurasia have either proceeded as a result of autopilot within the bureaucracy or because Congress has imposed them via veto-proof majorities.
article

Russia-China Bomber Patrol Shows Stronger Alignment Between the Two

Michael Kofman July 26, 2019 RM Exclusives
This week’s unprecedented Russian-Chinese patrol, including Russia’s run-in with South Korean jets, signals both growing bilateral military cooperation and Moscow’s willingness to take on geopolitical risks for the sake of its relationship with Beijing.
research paper

Lessons for Leaders: What Afghanistan Taught Russian and Soviet Strategists

Simon Saradzhyan February 28, 2019 RM Exclusives
Moscow’s military intervention in Afghanistan lasted nearly a decade (1979-1989). It cost the USSR dearly in blood, treasure and power, but imparted lessons as well. Can some of these prove useful to the U.S. today?
research paper

Jihadists from Ex-Soviet Central Asia: Where Are They? Why Did They Radicalize? What Next?

Edward Lemon, Vera Mironova and William Tobey December 07, 2018 RM Exclusives
Three authors draw on field work and other research to assess the motives, prospects and threats linked to Central Asian jihadists, including the thousands who joined Islamic State and other violent extremists in the Middle East.
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