Eurasia Center - Atlantic Council

stay updated

our regions in focus

Ukraine

Ukraine has moved tentatively toward an open society and market economy since independence. The country has held several democratic elections but largely failed to address state control and corruption in its economy.

Russia

Russia was the dominant republic in the former Soviet Union and took tentative steps toward an open society and market economy in the 1990s. But during the early 2000s, under leader Vladimir Putin, its direction changed.

The Caucasus

Named for the mountain range between southern Russia, and northern Turkey and Iran, the Caucasus is home to the nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Central Asia

The Central Asian Republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—are located at the nexus of Russia, China, South Asia, and the Middle East.

Belarus

Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian tendencies became clear, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the only leader independent Belarus has ever known, was characterized as the last dictator in Europe.

Moldova

Since its independence, Moldova has sat on the divide between East and West. The Moldovan government has moved fitfully toward an open society and market economy, while Moscow has supported separatists in the region of Transnistria.

Commentary & Analysis

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Working with a wide community of experts and thought-leaders, the Eurasia Center delivers cutting-edge analysis and policy recommendations.

Eurasia Center

New Atlanticist Dec 4, 2024

A winning strategy to end Russia’s war against Ukraine

More than a dozen experts from the United States and Europe share their recommendations to the incoming Trump administration about how best to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

Eurasia Center

UkraineAlert Jul 22, 2024

Andriy Yermak: Ukraine and NATO are restoring Europe’s security architecture

By Andriy Yermak

Together with the country’s allies, Ukraine has set out on the path to restore the European security architecture, writes the head of Ukraine’s Office of the President Andriy Yermak.

Conflict Defense Industry

Flagship publications

UkraineAlert

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics, economy, civil society, and culture. UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders, politicians, experts, and activists from Ukraine and the global community. UkraineAlert has become a major publication in Ukraine’s news landscape and has established itself not only through its quality of content but also significant partnerships with English, Ukrainian, and Russian-language media through the country.

Russia Tomorrow

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center’s pathbreaking Russia Tomorrow series aims to reevaluate conceptions of Russia today and better prepare for its future tomorrow. Through a series of succinct, accessible policy papers, Russia Tomorrow’s expert authors address potential scenarios for Russia’s future, Putin’s web of confidants, the “kremligarch'” infiltration of the West, and much more. Led by Eurasia Center Senior Director John Herbst and nonresident senior fellow Brian Whitmore, Russia Tomorrow delivers insights and policy recommendations from leading experts to enhance our understanding of Russia.

Featured events

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dedicates his Global Citizen Award to the brave people of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted his Atlantic Council 2023 Global Citizen Award for leading the Ukrainian people in the fight to protect his country’s sovereignty. Zelenskyy dedicated the award to the men and women on the frontlines of the war, the teachers and doctors who kept working despite the threat of missiles, and the children who have been killed.

President Salome Zourabichvili on Georgian democracy and Russian influence

President Salome Zourabichvili joined the Atlantic Council to discuss the current political landscape in Georgia and the role Russia plays in undermining democratic processes in Europe and beyond.

The Eurasia Center regularly convenes with regional leaders and key global figures to galvanize support international support a free, prosperous, and peaceful future in Eurasia.

Leadership

Staff

John E. Herbst

Senior Director

Ukraine Politics & Diplomacy

Staff

Shelby Magid

Deputy Director

Ukraine Human Rights

Staff

Peter Dickinson

Editor, UkraineAlert

Ukraine Civil Society

Staff

Andrew D’Anieri

Associate Director

Ukraine Political Reform

support our work

Experts

Fellow

Oksana Nechyporenko

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Civil Society Education

Fellow

Katerina Sedova

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Artificial Intelligence Eastern Europe

Fellow

William B. Taylor

Distinguished Fellow

English Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Tatiana Gfoeller

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Arabic Central Asia

Active affiliation

Brianne Todd

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Central Asia English

Staff

Katherine Spencer

Program Assistant

Central Asia Conflict

Load More

Content

UkraineAlert

Why Ukraine sanctioned Putin’s ally Medvedchuk

By Andriy Yermak

Ukraine has introduced a number of measures during February 2021 to restrict the influence of Vladimir Putin's closest Ukrainian ally, Viktor Medvedchuk.

Conflict Disinformation

New Atlanticist

How to deploy economic tools against Putin’s aggression

By Brian O’Toole, Daniel Fried

Life doesn’t wait for any administration—and neither will Putin. Here's how the US government can deploy sanctions and other tools of economic statecraft as part of a broader Russia policy.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

In the News

Power Vertical Podcast: The plot against Navalny

By Atlantic Council

Eastern Europe Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Russia’s collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars is a war crime

By Wayne Jordash and Anna Mykytenko

As Ukraine seeks international justice over the Russian seizure and occupation of Crimea, Kyiv should consider holding the Kremlin to account for the collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars.

Conflict Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Biden must freeze Putin’s pipeline and prevent this “bad deal for Europe”

By Benjamin Schmitt

By taking steps to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, US President Joe Biden has a real opportunity to build a new transatlantic security consensus while revitalizing the US-German relationship.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Germany

UkraineAlert

Ukrainians protest “political justice” over activist jailing

By Solomiia Bobrovska

The jailing of a high-profile Ukrainian activist has sparked protests over fears that his conviction represents politicized justice and a victory for pro-Kremlin forces within the Ukrainian establishment.

Civil Society Conflict

BelarusAlert

Questions remain after Putin hosts Lukashenka

By Brian Whitmore

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed his Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka to Sochi this week but it remains unclear exactly what was agreed during their summit meeting.

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy

Report

Russia after Putin: How to rebuild the state

By Anders Åslund and Leonid Gozman

We do not know when and how President Putin’s regime will end, but there are signs that it is struggling and the end could come in the foreseeable future. We need to start discussing now how a new state should be built on the ruins of the old system.

Civil Society Corruption

UkraineAlert

Rethinking Yushchenko

By Brian Mefford

Ukraine's third president, Viktor Yushchenko, came to power on a tide of history but left office in humbling circumstances after a single term. Is it now time to reevaluate the transformative effect of his presidency?

Democratic Transitions Ukraine

BelarusAlert

US and EU must hold Russia accountable for enabling brutal Belarus crackdown

By Polina Sadovskaya

Belarus presents an opportunity for the US to partner with the EU in order to ensure that pressure is maintained not just on Alyaksandr Lukashenka, but on his enabler Vladimir Putin as well.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

Load More