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.
book review

The Role of Russian Espionage in Re-Shaping the West

Arthur Martirosyan August 26, 2020 RM Exclusives
Luke Harding scrupulously presents every bit of data behind the hypothesis that Vladimir Putin controls Donald Trump and Boris Johnson in a book that can be extolled by one political camp and dismissed as a “fake” conspiracy theory by another.
multimedia

A Conversation Between Graham Allison and Angela Stent

Graham Allison and Angela Stent August 01, 2020 Recommended Reads
The U.S. leadership is slowly waking up to the reality of a Russia-China entente. This is an unnatural partnership. But U.S. policies have driven China and Russia closer, and Putin and Xi have managed their differences well.
column

The Curious Case of ‘Russian Lives Matter’

Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon July 11, 2020 Recommended Reads
In Moscow, the Kremlin attacks U.S. racism while the liberal opposition ignores it, or worse.
book review

Belton: Russia’s Kleptocracy Is a Tool for Undermining the West

Lynn Berry June 17, 2020 RM Exclusives
Through interviews with key figures, Belton sheds new light on Putin and argues that the kleptocracy of the Putin era was about far more than just lining pockets: It was about buying influence and threatening the West.
book review

The Dark Arts of Disinformation Through a Historical Lens

Arthur Martirosyan May 20, 2020 RM Exclusives
Understanding the fantastic past of disinformation is key to deciphering the present, argues Thomas Rid in his pioneering analysis of modern disinformation warfare from a historical perspective.
book review

Rice and Zelikow on ‘Catalytic Choices’

Simon Saradzhyan November 13, 2019 RM Exclusives
The former U.S. officials examine catalytic episodes in history and the choices late Cold War and post-Cold War leaders were faced with in those critical moments.
interview

Timothy Colton on Political Succession in Russia

Ekaterina Karpenko and Mariam Dadashyan October 31, 2019
Harvard's Timothy Colton discusses the problem of orderly succession in Russia, the chances for a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations and much more in this interview with Gazeta.ru.
book review

Fearing and Ignoring Russia: A Recipe for Trouble

Paul Saunders October 01, 2019 RM Exclusives
Historian Mark Smith’s provocative book won’t give the U.S. a policy to manage its relationship with Russia, but it does offer some valuable guidance in thinking about strategic solutions.
book review

Anders Aslund Examines Russia’s ‘Authoritarian Kleptocracy’

Chris Miller September 18, 2019 RM Exclusives
Corruption is a feature, not a bug, of the Russian political system, and self-enrichment is crucial to understanding why Russia’s leaders make the decisions that they do, Aslund argues in his new book.
interview

Getting Somewhere With Russia: A Q&A With Angela Stent

RM Staff May 01, 2019 RM Exclusives
An eminent Russia expert discuses Russia “as is,” competing and cooperating, the end of arms control, sanctions, Ukraine, Venezuela and much more.
book review

How Much Did Orthodox Church Help Revive Russia’s Military and Nuclear Complex?

Dmitry Gorenburg April 23, 2019 RM Exclusives
A highly readable and informative new book sheds light on a woefully understudied topic—the relationship between Russia’s Orthodox Church and its military—while raising many questions worthy of further study.
book review

7 Pillars of Putin’s World: New Book Shows US Policymakers Russia as It Is

Nikolas K. Gvosdev April 04, 2019 RM Exclusives
Angela Stent clearly lays out Russia’s strategic imperatives and the mindset of Putin and his circle to present a coherent, compelling analysis of contemporary Russian behavior in the world.
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