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.
Competing Views on Russia

John Ratcliffe on Russia and Ukraine

RM Staff May 23, 2025 RM Exclusives
The CIA director has expressed concern over North Korea’s growing alignment with Russia and warned that the Russia-Ukraine war continues to devastate the region while heightening the risk of the U.S. being pulled into a conflict with a nuclear-armed adversary.
Competing Views on Russia

Andrew S. Weiss on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

Julian Gonzales-Poirier, RM Staff May 16, 2025 RM Exclusives
A through line in Weiss’ views is that Putin has directed great resources—resources that have and will continue to diminish Russia’s long-term security and prosperity—to “make Russia great again.”
interview

Ian Bremmer on Russia-Ukraine, "Reverse Nixon," Iran Nuclear Deal, and Demographic Decline

Dasha Zhukauskaite, Chris Conway April 25, 2025 RM Exclusives
In this exclusive interview with Russia Matters, Belfer Center Senior Fellow Ian Bremmer answers Russia Matters' questions about the Russian-Ukraine war, the unlikelihood of “Reverse Nixon” diplomacy success, Russia’s role in a potential deal on Iran’s nuclear program, and the impact of a global demographic decline.
article

Battlefield Conditions Impacting Ukraine Peace Negotiations

Alex Vershinin April 18, 2025 RM Exclusives
Historically in many conflicts, peace negotiations lasted years, even as the war raged on. Thus, the balance of power—measured in resources, losses and quality of strategic leadership—are critical to the outcome of negotiations.
article

What Americans Believe About Ending the War in Ukraine

William A. Galston, Jordan Muchnick April 04, 2025 Partner Posts
The sympathies of the American people are clearly engaged in the struggle between an invading power [Russia] and a country seeking to preserve its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity [Ukraine].
article

To End the Ukraine War, Trump Should Think Like Ike

Graham T. Allison April 02, 2025 Partner Posts
Harvard Kennedy School's Graham T. Allison argues that if Trump can repeat Eisenhower's approach to ending the Korean War... Trump will be able to claim that he has achieved the peace “deal of the century.”
article

It’s Time for Ukraine to Accept an Ugly Peace

Graham T. Allison March 18, 2025 Recommended Reads
Seven things for Zelenskyy to keep in mind as cease-fire negotiations start.
Competing Views on Russia

Steve Witkoff on Russia and Ukraine

Dasha Zhukauskaite, RM Staff March 12, 2025 RM Exclusives
Witkoff, a New York real estate magnate and long-time friend of Donald Trump, was initially appointed to serve as Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, but is now playing a key role in ending the war in Ukraine.
article

Putin's Preventive War: The 2022 Invasion of Ukraine

Barry R. Posen March 01, 2025 Recommended Reads
MIT political scientist Barry R. Posen argues the strategic rationale for Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine was preventive war, an illegal but historically common way for declining great powers to engage a near-term perceived threat to their security.
report

A New Transatlantic Bargain: The Case for Building a Strong European Pillar

Belfer Center Task Force February 12, 2025 Recommended Reads
This landmark report presents a bold strategy for rebalancing the transatlantic security relationship, strengthening Europe's defense capabilities and redefining the U.S.-European strategic partnership in an era of shifting global threats.
Competing Views on Russia

Keith Kellogg on Russia and Ukraine

Chris Conway January 31, 2025 RM Exclusives
Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia sees ending the war as a vital foreign policy objective since, in his view, it will allow the U.S. to undermine solidarity between the “axis” of authoritarian states.
article

Fighting a ‘Holy War’: North Korea’s Role in Putin’s Crusade Against Ukraine

Martin Kragh January 27, 2025 Partner Posts
Russia’s deepening ties with China, Iran, and North Korea reflect a dangerous alliance targeting countries like Ukraine and Taiwan, as Putin balances claims of Russian sovereignty with a narrative of victimhood to rally support against Western influence.
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