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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A Brotherly Takeover: Could Russia Annex Belarus?

Artyom Shraibman January 29, 2019 Recommended Reads
As the Kremlin pushes for closer ties to Belarus, outside observers fear annexation. However, the process of unification between Russia and Belarus would be incredibly risky for Russia and is based on myths about modern Belarus.
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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."
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Contrasting China’s and Russia’s Influence Operations

Peter Mattis January 16, 2018 Recommended Reads
While Moscow's intelligence services play a robust role, Beijing prefers a softer approach.
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Russia Has Been Meddling in Foreign Elections for Decades. Has It Made a Difference?

Lucan Ahmad Way and Adam Casey January 08, 2018 Recommended Reads
Since 1991, there have been two waves of Russian attempts at election interference around the world, but neither wave appears to have met with much success.
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Containing Our Intelligence War with Russia

George Beebe October 31, 2017 Recommended Reads
Just as Russia should not misread U.S. support for democratization as a push for regime change, the U.S. should not conflate Moscow’s desire to change our international behavior with an intent to destroy our nation.
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Chaos and Order in a Changing World

Henry Kissinger August 02, 2017 Recommended Reads
In a recent speech, eminent statesman Henry Kissinger offered his views on how the West and NATO can deal with the growing challenges posed by Russia, China and the Middle East.
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How to Deter Russian Cyber Attacks

George Beebe July 12, 2017 Recommended Reads
A CIA veteran offers three practical steps the U.S. can take to deter cyberattacks from Russia and elsewhere.
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Bigger, Not Better: Russia Makes the SCO a Useless Club

Alexander Gabuev June 23, 2017 Recommended Reads
Moscow's fears over Beijing’s rise have led it to cripple the Eurasian organization.
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The Russian Defense Budget and You

Michael Kofman March 17, 2017 Recommended Reads
Russia's 2017 defense budget is smaller than last year's, but the reduction is not quite as drastic as some interpretations indicate.
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Russia, Trump and a New Détente: Fixing US-Russian Relations

Robert David English March 10, 2017 Recommended Reads
Demonizing Russia only widens the gulf of U.S.-Russian misunderstanding and encourages dangerous misconceptions.
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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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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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