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.
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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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China and Russia: A Strategic Alliance in the Making

Graham T. Allison December 14, 2018 Recommended Reads
Defying the long-held convictions of Western analysts, and against huge structural differences, Beijing and Moscow are drawing closer together to meet what each sees as the "American threat."
Competing Views on Russia

Timothy Colton on Russia: Insights and Recommendations

RM Staff October 11, 2018 RM Exclusives
An eminent Harvard professor and author weighs in on Russia’s past, present and future and what they mean for the U.S.-Russian relationship.
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Skepticism About US Intentions and Other Enduring Consequences of Russia’s 1993 Crisis

Paul Saunders October 04, 2018 RM Exclusives
Twenty-five years ago this week, a confrontation between President Boris Yeltsin and Russia’s parliament became one of the most consequential events in Russia’s post-Soviet history.
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New Sanctions Won’t Hurt Russia

Andrey Movchan September 26, 2018 Recommended Reads
Moscow's foreign currency reserves are at an all-time high, and the falling value of the ruble has actually been a boon for Russia's state budget.
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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.
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How to Interfere in a Foreign Election

Stephen Kinzer August 19, 2018 Recommended Reads
Despite Yeltsin's unpopularity, Washington saw him as easy to control, and so, U.S. resources were thrown behind a Russian presidential candidate.
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A Sino-Russian Military-Political Alliance Would Be Bad News for America

Simon Saradzhyan May 12, 2017 RM Exclusives
Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing signals growing Russian support for China’s OBOR initiative and even the far-off prospect of a Sino-Russian alliance. America would be wise to gently pull Moscow from Beijing’s embrace.
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Russia and China’s Enduring Alliance

Jacob Stokes February 22, 2017 Recommended Reads
For Russia to turn against China, Moscow may seek anything from lifted sanctions to the abolition of NATO.
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How Western aid enables graft addiction in Ukraine

M. Steven Fish and Neil A. Abrams May 05, 2016 Recommended Reads
Can Western aid actually support the cause of reform in Ukraine? Or is Western assistance enabling an entrenched elite to continue stealing and avoid building a functioning state?
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