Russia Studies Program
CNA's Russia Studies Program provides critical analyses to U.S. leaders on Russian military capabilities and the Russian way of war. Program staff include analysts with native fluency in Russian and deep knowledge of operational and strategic issues. CNA’s experience in Russian-language analyses goes all the way back to studies on Soviet naval doctrine in the 1960s. The Russia Studies Program supports U.S leaders with classified and unclassified studies, workshops, conferences and wargames.
In The News
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Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Jun 05, 23] Sam Bendett on Russia-Ukraine & Byron Callan’s Week AheadDefense & Aerospace Report | 05 Jun 2023
Samuel Bendett says, “It is interesting that we don’t have any follow-up details, you indicated that the reaction was muted and has remained muted. There has not been a lot of public discussion about this, the government has tried to downplay this as much as possible.”
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Bayraktar TB2 drones were hailed as Ukraine's savior and the future of warfare. A year later, they've practically disappeared.Business Insider | 29 May 2023
Samuel Bendett says, "The general assessment of drones like TB2 is that they work well without sophisticated air and electronic warfare defenses arrayed against them.”
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What are realistic expectations for Ukraine's military offensive?NPR | 25 May 2023
Michael Kofman says, "It may require multiple offensives on multiple fronts and will likely be conducted over the period of several months rather than days or weeks."
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What’s Next for Russia After Spilling So Much Blood for Bakhmut?The New York Times | 24 May 2023
Michael Kofman says, “The battle for Bakhmut is less important in terms of territory and more in its impact on both forces and what it reveals about them.”
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Quadcopters: Why Russia, Ukraine And America Have Different Drone Strategies1945 | 23 May 2023
Samuel Bendett says, “Volunteers are still the main source of quadcopters for the Russian forces. It looks like the MoD would like its soldiers to think they can request a quadcopter via official channels, but it’s not clear how many are using such channels.”
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Holding the line, ahead of Ukraine’s counteroffensiveMilitary Times | 22 May 2023
Michael Kofman says that the Ukrainians will only have enough weaponry and ammunition, and time, to launch one major offensive this year, using their newly arrived Western supplies and employing thousands of troops trained by the U.S. and UK among others.
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Exploding underwater drone set to be unleashed against Russian NavyThe Telegraph | 20 May 2023
Samuel Bendett says, “Russia claims to have a multilayered drone defence in Crimea, with nets, buoys, planes, helicopters, ship-based and shore-based batteries. This is a lot of resources dedicated to catching a small and relatively inexpensive surface vessel.”
- Drones Over Ukraine
- To Robot or Not to Robot? Past Analysis of Russian Military Robotics and Today's War in Ukraine
- Start with the Political: Explaining Russia's Bungled Invasion of Ukraine
- Russia’s Artificial Intelligence Boom May Not Survive the War
- Russia’s Shock and Awe
- Russian Thinking on the Role of AI in Future Warfare
- Challenges to Broadening the of U.S.-Russian Arms Control
- Russian Military Strategy: Core Tenets and Operational Concepts
- Russian Combat Aviation: Procurement, Modernization, and Future Outlook
- Russian Military Expenditure in Comparative Perspective: A Purchasing Power Parity Estimate
- How Moscow Understands War and Military Strategy
- Russian Approaches to Competition
- The Role of Russia's Military in Information Confrontation
- Russian Forces in the Western Military District