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

Russian Women in the Face of War Against Ukraine

Egle E. Murauskaite March 26, 2024 Partner Posts
Russia’s war against Ukraine has revealed stories about the heroic resistance efforts of Ukrainian women, but comparable stories have been entirely lacking on Russia’s side.
article

Why the Wagner Group Cannot Be Easily Absorbed by the Russian Military—and What That Means for the West

Kimberly Marten September 01, 2023 RM Exclusives
In one shape or another, the Wagner Group is likely to continue operating in the interests of Putin’s regime outside Russia, regardless of whether it comes under MoD command and the costs of doing so.
article

A World Transformed and the Role of Intelligence

William J Burns July 01, 2023 Recommended Reads
'We are ... at an inflection point. The post-Cold War era is definitely over. Our task is to shape what comes next,' says CIA Director William Burns, as he delivers the 59th Ditchley Annual Lecture.
article

Mutiny in Russia: What Happened, What’s Next and What To Be Thankful For

Simon Saradzhyan June 29, 2023 RM Exclusives
Deus ex machina or not, we should be thankful that this struggle for power within the Russian ruling elite did not acquire a nuclear dimension.
article

What Led to Putin’s Blunder in Ukraine?

Simon Saradzhyan February 24, 2023 RM Exclusives
Three factors are likely to have contributed to shaping Putin’s decision to launch the invasion one year ago.
article

Domestic Politics Encourage Continued War of Attrition in Ukraine in 2023

Thomas Graham February 22, 2023 RM Exclusives
The main question now: How far will the escalation go?
article

Putin’s Increasingly Loose Talk on Use of Nukes

Simon Saradzhyan November 10, 2022 RM Exclusives
The Russian leader’s loose talk on nukes even has Russia’s long-term strategic partners such as India and China worried.
interview

Graham Allison: ‘Time to Search for an Off-Ramp’ in Ukraine

Fyodor Lukyanov October 21, 2022 Recommended Reads
In this interview with Fyodor Lukyanov, Harvard political scientist and expert on the Cuban missile crisis Graham Allison says the sides have escalated far enough.
article

Will Putin’s War in Ukraine Continue Without Him?

Shawn Cochran October 10, 2022 Recommended Reads
History demonstrates that the leader who starts a costly, protracted war is rarely willing to end the war short of victory—but history also shows that leadership change does not always facilitate peace. 
article

Keeping Putin From Going Nuclear: Can Xi and Modi Help?

Simon Saradzhyan September 29, 2022 RM Exclusives
The collective West is right to take Putin’s nuclear threats seriously, but efforts to dissuade him require the pro-active involvement of China and India.
article

Fact and Analysis Check: Is Odesa ‘Putin’s Obsession'?

Graham Allison August 29, 2022 RM Exclusives
A recent New York Times article claims Odesa is “Putin’s obsession.” But is there any evidence to support this big idea?
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