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.
article

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.
issue brief

With New START Setbacks Challenging Arms Control, US Must Work to Reduce Chances of Nuclear War, With or Without Russia

Leonor Tomero  March 15, 2023 RM Exclusives
Key goals are to invest in more resilient deterrence and to understand whether the two countries' views on strategic stability have fundamentally diverged.
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.
article

NPR 2022 Recognizes Importance of Risk Reduction, Falls Short on Reducing Role of Nukes

Leonor Tomero December 26, 2022 RM Exclusives
The latest Nuclear Posture Review maintains focus on both nuclear modernization and arms control/risk reduction as essential elements of deterrence but, in a way, seems to have broadened the role of nuclear weapons.
article

Can Lessons From Cuban Missile Crisis Help Stave Off US-Russia Confrontation?

Yana Demeshko and Natasha Yefimova-Trilling October 19, 2022 RM Exclusives
A look at 10 similarities and differences to get the conversation going
article

Does Ukraine War Pose Greater Risk of Nuclear Armageddon Than Cuban Missile Crisis?

RM Staff and Associates October 13, 2022 RM Exclusives
This month marks the 60th anniversary of "the most dangerous moment in human history." But has the current crisis in relations between the West and Russia become more dangerous than the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Clues from Russian Views

The World According to Patrushev

Simon Saradzhyan and Angelina Flood October 07, 2022 RM Exclusives
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, often comes up when discussion turns to possible Putin successors. Check out our compilation for some of his views on issues that impact important U.S. interests.
book review

Negotiators, Take Heed: Whether You’re Talking With Russia or Others, New Book Is Master Class on Working Your Way to a Deal

Olga Oliker April 06, 2022 RM Exclusives
A striking aspect of Rose Gottemoeller’s story of New START is that she and her team faced as many challenges from the U.S. as from their Russian counterparts.
article

US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue: Purpose, Progress, Challenges and Opportunities

Leonor Tomero December 15, 2021 RM Exclusives
A serious and good-faith dialogue with Russia about the risks to strategic stability is necessary to understand the changing nature of those risks and the direction new arms races may take and to reduce the risk of unintended escalation.
article

Russia, the United States and the Counterrevolutionaries: A Trilateral Chess Match in the Middle East

Jon Hoffman July 21, 2021 RM Exclusives
Russia's return to the Middle East must be assessed from the perspective of regional actors, namely how they seek to use competition between Moscow and Washington for their own strategic benefit, our latest exclusive argues.
Exploratory Paper

US-Russian Contention in Cyberspace: Are Rules of the Road Necessary or Possible?

Lauren Zabierek, Christie Lawrence, Miles Neumann and Pavel Sharikov June 10, 2021 RM Exclusives
Strategic thinkers in both countries have raised the idea of cyber “rules of the road.” This exploratory paper considers whether such an agreement is feasible, comparing American and Russian perspectives.
Competing Views on Russia

Matthew Rojansky on Russia

Aleksandra Srdanovic April 15, 2021 RM Exclusives
Rojansky is a proponent of de-escalating tensions between Russia and the United States and identifying mutual areas of interest for cooperation. Check out our compilation for his observations and policy ideas.
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