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.
Clues from Russian Views

Sanctions Trap. Which Sanctions Work, Which Do Not and Which Are More Dangerous for Russia Than They Seem

Sergey Aleksashenko, Oleg Buklemishev, Oleg Vyugin, Kirill Rogov and Yulia Starostina July 12, 2022
In this analysis for The Bell, experts discuss which Western sanctions work, which don’t and how they impact the Russian economy.
article

China’s Long Game in Russia: Violating Sanctions? No. Ensuring Russia’s Survival? Yes.

Lizzi C. Lee June 30, 2022 RM Exclusives
A floundering Russia and reinvigorated NATO would cut against China's core security interests by giving Washington a stronger hand in its Thucydidian rivalry with Beijing.
article

Why Putin Needs Peter the Great

Andrei Zorin June 23, 2022 RM Exclusives
A presidential adviser representing Russia at talks with Ukraine once claimed that historical truth is spurious and one must believe in facts that are beneficial to Russia. Putin clearly agrees.
Clues from Russian Views

How Regions Are Suffering From War

Natalya Zubarevich June 16, 2022
In this interview, the Moscow State University instructor says Russia's advanced regions, which are most closely tied to global value chains, are hurting more than others.
Clues from Russian Views

The Future Defederation of Russia

Alexander Etkind June 08, 2022
Contemporary Russia, a nation-state, calls itself a federation, like Germany or Switzerland, when in fact it is behaving like an empire in its hour of decline.
article

The Russian Military’s People Problem

Dara Massicot May 18, 2022 Recommended Reads
The culture of indifference to its personnel fundamentally compromises the Russian military’s efficacy, no matter how extensively it has been modernized.
article

Putin’s Perilous Imperial Dream

Cristina Florea May 10, 2022 Recommended Reads
Underpinning Putin’s righteous battle for Russians in Ukraine is an organic vision of Russian nationhood defined by blood and cultural and spiritual traits rather than by political contract or choice.
article

Ukraine’s Digital Fight Goes Global: The Risks of a Self-Directed, Volunteer Army of Hackers

Elisabeth Braw May 02, 2022 Recommended Reads
"There are serious risks involved in waging an informal cyber battle against Russia, particularly since cyber warfare may be one of the few remaining tools in the Kremlin’s playbook," the author writes.
Clues from Russian Views

Tested by Ukraine. Third Attempt

Konstantin Zatulin May 01, 2022
"After February 24 ... we have no other choice other than to win," says the Russian lawmaker.
article

Biden’s Dangerous New Ukraine Endgame: No Endgame

Michael Hirsh April 28, 2022 Recommended Reads
"Putin has year by year reintroduced nuclear weapons into his conventional war calculations. … Yet Putin has never come this close to threatening to use them, nor has he made clear if or how he might do so," the author writes.
Clues from Russian Views

This War Cannot End in a Victory

Alexei Yurchak April 25, 2022
When reforms start at the top—and they will start because this war [in Ukraine] cannot end in a "victory"—the regime will collapse. We know from our recent history that such changes happen quickly and unexpectedly.
article

How Silent Assent Made Bucha Possible

Andrei Kolesnikov April 07, 2022 Recommended Reads
Those who approve or stay silent bear, at the very least, collective responsibility for what is happening in their own country and what the state is doing.
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