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

Alternative History: Would Russia in NATO and EU Be Game Changer in West’s Rivalry With China?

Simon Saradzhyan November 20, 2019 RM Exclusives
Quantitative measurements show that while Russia’s decision to align with the West rather than with China might not have been a game changer, it would have diminished the latter’s might vis-à-vis the West.
podcast

Of Putin and Xi

Center for Strategic and International Studies September 20, 2019 Partner Posts
In this episode of Russian Roulette, CSIS senior fellow Jeffrey Mankoff sits down with Hilary Appel to discuss her memo “Are Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin Partners? Interpreting The Russia-China Rapprochement,” as well as the reinterpretation of Chinese investment as a ‘debt trap.’
Competing Views on Russia

George Kennan on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff August 21, 2019 RM Exclusives
From the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which will see its 80th anniversary this week, to the beginning of the 21st century, Kennan's views on America's Cold War rival went far beyond the "containment" policy for which he is perhaps best known.
article

Expert Round-Up: How Likely Is a China-Russia Military Alliance?

Simon Saradzhyan and Angelina Flood June 14, 2019 RM Exclusives
Dozens of scholars, analysts and officials assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Sino-Russian "comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction."
article

Ukraine and NATO: Disconnect Between State Policy and Public Opinion Is Less Dangerous Than Russia

Daniel Shapiro May 09, 2019 RM Exclusives
Governments in plenty of countries have pushed through major foreign policy initiatives such as NATO entry despite formidable opposition among their citizens. This doesn’t necessarily mean Ukraine should do the same.
interview

Getting Somewhere With Russia: A Q&A With Angela Stent

RM Staff May 01, 2019 RM Exclusives
An eminent Russia expert discuses Russia “as is,” competing and cooperating, the end of arms control, sanctions, Ukraine, Venezuela and much more.
article

The Open World

Mira Rapp-Hooper and Rebecca Friedman Lissner April 16, 2019 Recommended Reads
While the U.S. has had no major geopolitical rivals in the last 30 years, it now has two: Russia and China.
article

Not All Is Quiet On the Arctic Front

Elizabeth Buchanan March 25, 2019 Recommended Reads
2019 presents four clear windows for increased competition in the Arctic.
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?
article

Russia and China Beyond Realpolitik: The Bond of Respect and Values

Jeanne L. Wilson February 04, 2019 RM Exclusives
Converging and diverging interests play a big role in shaping Chinese-Russian relations, but so do “status granting” and shared political values.
article

A Sino-Russian Entente Again Threatens America

Graham Allison and Dimitri Simes January 29, 2019 Recommended Reads
U.S. policy could soon make a 'grand coalition' of China and Russia a geostrategic reality.
article

Gangster Geopolitics: The Kremlin’s Use of Criminals as Assets Abroad

Mark Galeotti January 17, 2019 RM Exclusives
Since the worsening of relations with the West in 2014, the Kremlin has increasingly adopted a “mobilization state” approach, turning to any available foreign-policy levers. Gangsters are no exception.
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