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COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

The Power Vertical

The Power Vertical is a blog and podcast for Russia wonks and Kremlin watchers by Brian Whitmore. It covers emerging and developing trends in Russian politics, shining a spotlight on the high-stakes power struggles, machinations, and clashing interests that shape Kremlin policy today.

Host and Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Brian Whitmore invites guest experts to deliver their insights and analysis in this weekly podcast. The Atlantic Council and the Charles T. McDowell Center for Global Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington co-sponsor this production.

The Russia Tomorrow series

recent events

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.

Content

In the News

Sep 19, 2022

Kroenig in The National Desk on challenges posed by continued Sino-Russian alignment

By Atlantic Council

On September 16, Scowcroft Center acting director Matthew Kroenig was quoted in The National Desk on the geopolitical challenge posed by the continued alignment of Russia and China following Putin and Xi’s meeting in Uzbekistan.

China Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Sep 19, 2022

Untangling the Russian web: Spies, proxies, and spectrums of Russian cyber behavior 

By Justin Sherman

This issue brief analyzes the range of Russian government’s involvement with different actors in the large, complex, and often opaque cyber web, as well as the risks and benefits the Kremlin perceives or gets from leveraging actors in this group. The issue brief concludes with three takeaways and actions for policymakers in the United States, as well as in allied and partner countries.

Cybersecurity Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 18, 2022

Most multinationals remain in Russia and fund Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

By Diane Francis

Despite much coverage of multinational corporations leaving the Russian market in protect over the invasion of Ukraine, in reality the majority of international companies have yet to fully exit Russia.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

Inflection Points

Sep 18, 2022

As Putin escalates his war against Ukraine, the world faces a moment of maximum danger—and maximum opportunity

By Frederick Kempe

The United States and its allies must openly discuss the dangers Putin’s war poses to any sovereign country.

Conflict Eastern Europe

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2022

Putin’s Russian Empire is collapsing like its Soviet predecessor

By Taras Kuzio

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was meant to extinguish the Ukrainian state once and for all. Instead, Russian influence in the post-Soviet region is in danger of receding to levels not witnessed in hundreds of years.

Belarus Central Asia

Memo to...

Sep 16, 2022

Memo to the president: How to deter Russian nuclear use in Ukraine—and respond if deterrence fails

The US should issue vague public threats of serious consequences should Russia use nuclear weapons and be prepared to follow through with conventional military strikes if deterrence fails.

Conflict Europe & Eurasia
Ukrainian police patrol the town of Izyum, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, September 14, 2022. (Source: Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2022

Russian War Report: Ukraine secures new territory as Prigozhin recruits Russian prisoners 

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

As Ukraine recaptures its territory, Russia attempts to recruit convicts. Elsewhere, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan renews and hundreds of civilians are found dead in Izyum.

Conflict Disinformation

In the News

Sep 16, 2022

Kroenig on CNBC discussing the Xi- Putin meeting in Uzbekistan

By Atlantic Council

On September 15, Scowcroft Center acting director Matthew Kroenig was interviewed on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” discussing Xi and Putin’s meeting in Uzbekistan and the Sino-Russian relationship.

China Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Sep 15, 2022

Putin’s self-defeating invasion turns southern Ukrainians away from Russia

By Michael Druckman

Putin framed his Ukraine invasion as a crusade to rescue Russian-speaking Ukrainians but polling data indicates that the war has turned traditionally Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine decisively against the Kremlin.

Civil Society Conflict

In the News

Sep 14, 2022

Khakova joins Bloomberg Surveillance Podcast to discuss European price caps on Russian oil

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Experts

Events