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

India and Russia: Ties that Bind

Aaditya Dave November 12, 2018 Recommended Reads
There is a strategic imperative for both India and Russia to sustain a strong bilateral relationship
article

Machiavellian Lessons From the Saudi and Russian Assassination Debacles

George Beebe October 20, 2018 Recommended Reads
Gratuitous political killing is not just a crime—it is a mistake.
article

The Rise of Authoritarian Capitalism

Kevin Rudd September 16, 2018 Recommended Reads
As democratic capitalism begins to show signs of sickness, on offer are other modes of governance, including Russian nationalism and China's model of authoritarian capitalism.
article

Entente Is What Drives Sino-Russian Ties

Dmitri Trenin September 12, 2018 Recommended Reads
A defense alliance between Russia and China may still be far-fetched, but their relationship is more than just a strategic partnership.
article

Vostok-2018: Russia and China Signal Growing Military Cooperation

Michael Kofman September 10, 2018 RM Exclusives
This year’s strategic military exercise demonstrates both that Russia is still a power in Asia and that it will work with China to offset threats from Washington.
article

Five Nations Bicker Over Whether the Caspian Is Lake or Sea

Rahim Rahimov September 05, 2018 Partner Posts
While the countries' leaders hailed the summit as a historic success, experts noted that the convention failed to resolve any disputes and instead merely formalized the existing status quo.
article

Russian Power Under Putin: Up and Down and Flatline

Andrew Kuchins August 22, 2018 RM Exclusives
While Moscow’s military power has grown considerably, Putin has not created the conditions crucial for sustained economic growth and the development of new commercial technologies.
article

In Helsinki, Trump Takes ‘Do No Harm’ Approach to Russia on 2 Issues: Syria and Energy

Nikolas K. Gvosdev July 17, 2018 RM Exclusives
For now, at least, the U.S. will not help its Middle Eastern and European allies pursue their own engagement with Moscow, but will not interfere with it a great deal either.
article

In Search of Light at the End of the Tunnel for US-Russian Relations

Alexey Arbatov June 26, 2018 Recommended Reads
Even if the situation in Ukraine is resolved peacefully, and if an armed clash between Russia and the United States is avoided in Syria, it will not be possible to overcome this wide-reaching crisis with a single package of agreements.
article

Terror Threat from Russian-Speaking Jihadists Won’t End with World Cup, and the West Should Care

Jean-François Ratelle June 13, 2018 RM Exclusives
The war in Syria has greatly expanded Russian-speaking extremist groups’ transnational networks in Europe and beyond, posing an international counterterrorism challenge for years to come.
article

Can Moscow Mediate Between Israel and Iran in Syria?

Mark N. Katz May 18, 2018 RM Exclusives
As tensions between Iran and Israel rise to new heights, Russia finds itself in a tricky position—trying to balance between two states that are friendly with Moscow but mortal enemies to each other.
article

Kennan Cable No. 33: A Russian Pivot to Asia? Russian Trade With Asia From 2006 to 2016

Michael Corbin May 18, 2018 Recommended Reads
For over a decade, in a pivot that began before the economic crisis, rising tensions with the West and Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization, Russian trade has been turning to the east—and Asian countries are turning to Russia, too.