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

US Intel Leaks Highlight Russia's Limited Options in Face of Ukraine's Counteroffensive

Pavel Luzin May 05, 2023 RM Exclusives
Moscow’s main bet militarily seems to be on playing defense, as it lacks the manpower, arms and commanders to regain strategic initiative on the battlefield.
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.
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.
Clues from Russian Views

‘We Fight How We Can’: Russian Views on Ukraine’s Counteroffensive—How It Happened and What Comes Next

RM Staff September 16, 2022 RM Exclusives
The response in Russia’s pro-war camp to Ukraine’s success generally fell into three categories: spin, spleen and silence.
article

What’s Missing from Mearsheimer’s Analysis of the Ukraine War

Joe Cirincione July 29, 2022 RM Exclusives
To make the facts fit his assessment, he must disregard Russia’s own pronouncements, its brutality and the security imperatives of its neighbors.
interview

Fiona Hill: Putin’s Running Out of Time

Foreign Policy July 14, 2022 Recommended Reads
In this interview, the former White House Russia adviser says Putin wants the Ukraine conflict over with.
article

From Accepting NATO Aspirations to ‘Denazifying’: 20+ Years of Putin’s Changing Views on Ukraine

RM Staff June 16, 2022 RM Exclusives
Our review of 22 years of official statements makes it clear that, typically, Putin has publicly signaled shifts in his views on Ukraine before translating them into policy.
Clues from Russian Views

Why We Are Missing the Cold War

Andrey Sushentsov May 06, 2022
It is obvious that the Americans’ interest now is to make the Ukrainian crisis last as long as possible, so that Russia comes out of it weaker: this will create a different negotiating reality.
multimedia

Negotiating with Vladimir Putin: Video Advice from Five Former US Secretaries of State

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs March 25, 2022 Partner Posts
Based on their personal negotiations with this challenging Russian leader, this compilation delivers highly relevant insights from Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Rex Tillerson for forging a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine.
interview

Fiona Hill to Politico: Yes, Putin Would Use Nukes

RM Staff March 02, 2022 Recommended Reads
In this interview, the former U.S. National Security Council official discusses Putin's goals and motives in Ukraine and his indications that use of nuclear weapons is on the table.
multimedia

Video: Spheres of Influence Webinar

Center for the National Interest April 08, 2020 Partner Posts
When policymakers in the United States declared in the aftermath of the Cold War that the age of “spheres of influence” had ended, were they misdiagnosing the issue?