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

Selling Peace to Ukrainians, Russians

Simon Saradzhyan May 29, 2026 RM Exclusives
With no military triumph in sight, leaders on both sides will face an uphill battle in convincing their constituents they have won the Ukraine war.
article

To Leave or Not to Leave: How Russian Technocrats Undermined Western Efforts to Isolate Russia

Kirill Shamiev May 01, 2026 Recommended Reads
A supposedly historic corporate exodus has been illusory. Companies rebranded, restructured ownership and rerouted revenues through hubs such as Dubai, Almaty and Yerevan, keeping open the option of return.
article

Mythos in Moscow: Why Russia Will be the Relative Winner of AI Cyber Proliferation

Naveen Krishnan April 30, 2026 RM Exclusives
Russia is the asymmetric beneficiary of this new period of cyberwarfare as its offensive ecosystem architecture is designed to take maximum advantage of the jump in capabilities Mythos enables.
article

In Iran’s War, Russia Serves as Backstage Partner

Nicole Grajewski March 05, 2026 RM Exclusives
Russia’s position in Iran’s war is that of a well-equipped backstage partner with a clear interest in the conflict’s prolongation and a sophisticated, if selective, toolkit for achieving it.

Why an Unjust Peace Is Better Than More War in Ukraine

Graham T. Allison February 24, 2026 Recommended Reads
Better an Unjust Peace than More Hot War
survey

Four Years Into Russia’s Invasion, Western Experts See Putin’s Aims Largely Unchanged, Prospects for Peace Dim

Jack Lennon, Angelina Flood February 23, 2026 RM Exclusives
Check out our compilation of views for more takes on the past, present and future of the war in Ukraine.
article

Bitcoin Bans to Blockchain Statecraft: Russia’s Secret War for Financial Sovereignty

Chris Conway, Horst Treiblmaier, Gayane Mkrtchyan February 12, 2026 RM Exclusives
What began as a ban on “monetary surrogates” has become a sprawling system of state-engineered stablecoin rails, a digital ruble designed to move money beyond the reach of sanctions and more.
article

Between the Inevitable and the Unreliable

Re:Russia February 10, 2026 Recommended Reads
Why Ukrainian society considers territorial concessions futile, yet is willing to discuss them.
article

Is There Life After New START?

RM Staff February 04, 2026 RM Exclusives
Most experts—regardless of country—stress that New START’s value was less in numerical limits than the transparency, verification and mutual predictability it provided.
book review

Gen. Zaluzhnyi on Ukraine’s War for Survival

Ivan Arreguín-Toft January 29, 2026 RM Exclusives
Throughout his book, Zaluzhnyi is clear that what’s at stake in the Russia-Ukraine war is far more than the loss of Ukraine’s easternmost territories to Russia: it’s the survival of even the memory of Ukraine as an independent nation.
explainer

Clarifying Territorial Disputes in Ukraine

Graham T. Allison December 23, 2025 RM Exclusives
Ukraine has already lost 89% of Donbas and will very likely lose the rest next year.
article

From Army to Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Corruption Scandal Rocks Country

Ray Furlong, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 12, 2025 Recommended Reads
Ukraine faces a major corruption scandal involving high-level officials and $100 million in alleged kickbacks in the energy sector.
Refine & Filter

By Section

By Topic

By Country

By Regions

By Groups

By Genre