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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Damage Done: How Russia Hysteria Has Hurt US-Russia Relations

Nikolas K. Gvosdev March 06, 2017 Recommended Reads
Cooperation and communication between Russia and the U.S. is a diplomatic necessity, but the previously difficult task of creating a normal bilateral encounter may now be all but impossible.
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Neo-McCarthyite Furor Around Russia Is Counterproductive

Katrina vanden Heuvel February 21, 2017 Recommended Reads
In this political climate, common sense is being lost and important questions are not being addressed.
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Why Trump Is Right on Russia

Anatol Lieven February 14, 2017 Recommended Reads
Recent policy failures suggest that cooperation with Russia is unavoidable.
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The ABCs of Russian Military Power: A Primer for the New Administration

Michael Kofman February 02, 2017 Recommended Reads
Russia has been busy restoring its military power, and these reforms have serious implications for the new U.S. administration.
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Nuclear War is No Longer "Unthinkable" for Russia

Nikolas K. Gvosdev December 07, 2016 Partner Posts
The newly-released "Foreign Policy Concept" of the Russian Federation contains some interesting changes and updates. Given that this document reflects the Kremlin's strategic mindset and how it views international relations, it is important to take what is says seriously.
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The Trump Administration and Nuclear Arms Control Treaties

Steven Pifer December 02, 2016 Recommended Reads
Before backing away from any arms control agreements, the Trump administration should consider the consequences for U.S. national security. For one thing, the recommendations could prompt a new arms race—and give Russia a big head-start.
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Putin’s Great Patriotic Pseudoscience

Maria Antonova November 29, 2016 Recommended Reads
The rise of pseudoscience is connected to Russia's growing isolation and nationalism.
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A Tale of Two Statues: Putin, Stalin and Russia's Bloody Past

Alexander Baunov November 07, 2016 Recommended Reads
Many Russians want a ruler who shows kindness to the masses and a far less forgiving attitude toward elites; Putin's style of rule doesn't quite fit that model.
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America's Awesome Military

Michael O'Hanlon and David Petraeus September 30, 2016 Recommended Reads
U.S. defense experts call to maintain, if not increase, U.S. military budget while diverting funding to areas with most need.
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The Cold War Is Over. The Cyber War Has Begun.

David Ignatius September 16, 2016 Recommended Reads
The United States must develop a new cybersecurity strategy to defend against an increasingly aggressive Russia.
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Ukraine’s Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

Nicolai N. Petro September 07, 2016 Recommended Reads
Amidst the brewing domestic political storm, the struggle for the right to define Ukrainian identity has become a “perpetual war, for perpetual peace,” a peace that can only come when all the enemies of Ukraine, at home and abroad, are fully vanquished.
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The Russian World in Moscow’s Strategy

Igor Zevelev August 22, 2016 Recommended Reads
The concepts of "compatriots" and "the Russian World" were created as tools to allow Moscow to honor post-Soviet borders and address the concerns of those who did not perceive them as fully legitimate. However, in 2014, these ideas were put to different purposes.
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