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.
article

Why Trump Is Right on Russia

Anatol Lieven February 14, 2017 Recommended Reads
Recent policy failures suggest that cooperation with Russia is unavoidable.
article

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.
multimedia

25 Years After the Collapse of the Soviet Union: What Comes Next?

RM staff December 08, 2016 RM Exclusives
Graham Allison, Niall Ferguson, Mary Elise Sarotte and Arne Westad consider the fall of the USSR as “applied history,” pondering what went right, what went wrong and what policymakers can learn.
podcast

From Oil Dependence to Cyber Conflict: 6 Podcasts on Russia

Carnegie Corporation of New York December 08, 2016 Partner Posts
Prominent Russia experts discuss Russia, its relations with the U.S. and their impact on international peace and security. Topics include policy drivers, NATO, Russia’s economy and more.
report

Elevation and Calibration: A New Russia Policy for America

Andrew Kuchins December 01, 2016 Partner Posts
With the U.S.-Russia relationship at its most dangerous level since the 1980s, the arrival of a new administration presents an opportunity to clearly evaluate the significant risks current hostilities pose. Containment or deterrence alone cannot mitigate these risks; instead, Washington should pursue a policy of calibration and elevation.
article

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.
article

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.
article

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.
research paper

Wargaming NATO's Defense of the Baltics

David A. Shlapak and Michael Johnson August 23, 2016 Recommended Reads
The games’ findings are unambiguous: At present NATO cannot successfully defend the territory of its most exposed members; fortunately, changing that will not require Herculean effort.
article

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.
article

How Dangerous Is Russia?

Nikolas K. Gvosdev July 30, 2016 Recommended Reads
Russia’s military may have only a fraction of the U.S. military's capabilities and equipment, but that is still far more than any other post-Soviet state. It is even enough to pose a challenge to European militaries.
article

Just How Dangerous Is Russia's Military?

Nikolas K. Gvosdev July 15, 2016 Recommended Reads
The Kremlin's lack of transparency leaves many wondering if Russia will continue down a path of military modernization in light of decreasing energy prices and the uncertainty of Western sanctions.
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