Eurasia Center

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center promotes policies that secure vital American interests by strengthening stability, opposing aggression by US adversaries, and supporting democratic values and economic opportunities from Eastern Europe to the South Caucasus to Russia to Central Asia.

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our regions in focus

Ukraine

Ukraine is the Eurasia Center’s main focus because Russia’s war threatens the vital interests of the United States and its allies. The outcome of the war will determine Ukraine’s future and Europe’s as well. Ukraine’s on-and-off efforts to reform are another area of great attention. Since the 2014 Maidan Revolution, Ukraine has made notable, if uneven, progress toward reform that must continue even as it fights off Moscow’s massive invasion.

Russia

Russia under Vladimir Putin violently menaces its neighbors and seeks to tear down the US-led global order. But the Kremlin aggression of today need not preclude a more peaceful and prosperous tomorrow. While Putin’s regime tries to paint US policy—and Eurasia Center activity—as anti-Russian, the Center’s efforts are based on the understanding that defeating Kremlin aggression in Ukraine will be positive not just for Ukraine, Europe, and the United States, but also for Russia itself.

The Caucasus

Named for the mountain range between southern Russia and northern Turkey and Iran, the South Caucasus is home to the nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. This geopolitically complex region has the potential to be a crossroads of global commerce. The Eurasia Center supports efforts for a just peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and works to help prevent further democratic backsliding by Georgia’s increasingly authoritarian leadership.

Central Asia

The Central Asian republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan —are located at the nexus of Russia, China, South Asia, and the Middle East. Growing dynamism in the region may provide openings for greater freedom and prosperity. It is in US interests that this region not fall under the outsized influence of either China or Russia. The Eurasia Center regularly hosts leaders from Central Asia for expert discussions and high-level events.

Belarus

When Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka attempted to steal the 2020 presidential election, he inadvertently set off a national movement in Belarus toward greater freedom and self-determination that persists today. The Center has reported actively on the efforts of the Belarusian opposition, led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and provided a premier platform to keep Belarus on the agenda in Washington.

Moldova

Moldova has moved fitfully toward an open society and market economy while Moscow has supported separatists in the region of Transnistria. But, its European Union candidacy may herald a better integrated future. The Eurasia Center’s Moldova programming actively promotes the country’s democratic and European future.

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

Blog

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.

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Report series

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.

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Featured events

Flagship event

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.
#ACFRONTPAGE

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.

all events

Leadership

Staff

John E. Herbst

Senior Director

Eurasia Center

Ukraine Politics & Diplomacy

Staff

Shelby Magid

Deputy Director

Eurasia Center

Ukraine Human Rights

Staff

Peter Dickinson

Editor, UkraineAlert

Eurasia Center

Ukraine Civil Society

Staff

Andrew D’Anieri

Associate Director

Eurasia Center

Ukraine Political Reform

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Experts

Fellow

William B. Taylor

Distinguished Fellow

Eurasia Center

English Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Tatiana Gfoeller

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Arabic Central Asia

Fellow

Brianne Todd

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Central Asia English

Fellow

Oksana Nechyporenko

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Civil Society Education

Fellow

Katerina Sedova

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Artificial Intelligence Eastern Europe

Fellow

Myroslava Gongadze

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Democratic Transitions Eastern Europe
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Content

In the News

Mar 9, 2015

Herbst on Further Russian Aggression in Eastern Europe

By John Herbst

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John Herbst joins CNN to discuss a possible Chechnya connection in the killing of Boris Nemtsov and the possibility of further Russian aggression in Eastern Europe:

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 6, 2015

Ukraine: The High Cost of Ignoring Russia’s Land Grab in Crimea

Report documents rights abuses; Kremlin ‘greatest security challenge,’ says Atlantic Council’s Herbst The apparent US indifference toward the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 amounts to giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a green light to commit similar acts of aggression against other countries, panelists warned during a March 6 conference at the Atlantic […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Mar 6, 2015

The Kremlin’s Secret War: Soldiers’ Families Shattered and Silenced

By New Atlanticist

A Vice News Documentary Shows What Russia Is Hiding—and How Since last summer, when President Vladimir Putin’s government first deployed major units of Russian conventional army troops to fight in its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin has used state secrecy, propaganda, intimidation, and violence to conceal the story. Police have obstructed journalists, arrested them—and in […]

Russia Ukraine

Testimony

Mar 6, 2015

US and Allies Risk War with Russia by a ‘Hesitancy on Ukraine’

By New Atlanticist

Wilson: Only the US Can Lead in Defending Europe Against Putin’s Rising Ambition The United States and its allies must confront the aggressive actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin because failing to do so will escalate his ambitions—perhaps to the point of forcing a war with NATO, the Atlantic Council’s Damon Wilson told the US […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2015

Before Russia’s Next Offensive, Obama Should Take the Lead

By New Atlanticist

Burns: Give Arms to Ukraine, More NATO Cover to Baltics—and Leadership for Europe President Barack Obama has given space for Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to lead recently in the Western response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. But it’s now time for the US president to take the reins back, writes former Undersecretary of State Nicholas […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2015

Unprecedented Uncertainty in Turkey’s AK Party

By Ross Wilson

Turkey today appears more unsettled than at any time since the Justice and Development (AK) Party came to power in late 2002.  The difficulties it faces now differ substantially from those during previous periods of discord, such as the Gezi Park-related protests in May-June 2013 or when the military intervened in the 2007 presidential election. […]

Turkey

Webcasts

Mar 5, 2015

Human Rights Abuses in Russian Occupied Crimea

By Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center

On Friday, March 6, 2014 the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted a panel discussion moderated by Ambassador John Herbst, and featuring Mark Lagon, President of the Freedom House, Andrii Klymenko, Chief Editor, Black Sea News and David Kramer, Senior Director for Human Rights and Human Freedom at McCain Institute for International Freedom.

UkraineAlert

Mar 5, 2015

The Myth of the West’s Threat to Russia

By Alexander J. Motyl

Did NATO Provoke a War By Trying to ‘Take’ Ukraine From Russia? Much Western thinking about the causes of the Russo-Ukrainian War is rooted in a myth. It posits that the West—or, more specifically, NATO—attempted to wrest Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of influence, thereby forcing Vladimir Putin to defend Russia’s legitimate strategic interests by going […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Webcasts

Mar 4, 2015

New Security Challenges in Georgia and the Caucasus with Mr. David Usupashvili

By Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center

Please join the Atlantic Council for a public discussion featuring Mr. David Usupashvili, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, on Wednesday, March 4th, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. at the Atlantic Council.

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2015

Europe Averts Winter Gas Cutoff for Now with Ukraine-Russia Deal

By New Atlanticist

For Long-Term Security, EU Should Push Moscow to Obey Rules and Kyiv to Reform Gas Sector By brokering a March 2 interim gas deal between Ukraine and Russia, the European Union helped avert a wintertime cutoff of gas to Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Russia had threatened to halt supplies to Ukraine in the […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance
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