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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

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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

May 28, 2021

Kroenig and Ashford explore a Western response to Belarus’s act of air piracy

By Atlantic Council

On May 28, Foreign Policy published a biweekly column featuring Scowcroft Center deputy director Matthew Kroenig and New American Engagement Initiative senior fellow Emma Ashford discussing the latest news in international affairs. In this column, they discussed how the West should respond to Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s arrest of dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, the U.S. role in the […]

Belarus China

BelarusAlert

May 27, 2021

Putin sides with Belarus dictator over air piracy as Ukraine rejects Minsk talks

By Peter Dickinson

Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk has confirmed that Ukraine will seek to move peace talks with Russia away from Minsk as the international fallout from Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s recent act of air piracy continued to make waves throughout the region.

Belarus International Norms

In the News

May 27, 2021

Katz quoted in Middle East Eye on Russia desire to see the deterioration of relations between the US and Middle Eastern allies

By Atlantic Council

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

May 27, 2021

Russian cyber threat: US can learn from Ukraine

By Mark Temnycky

The US has recently been hit by a number of cyberattacks linked to Russia. These incidents echoed similar attacks carried out against Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities with Russia in 2014.

Cybersecurity Digital Policy

Seizing the advantage

May 27, 2021

A connected world is a vulnerable world. The US can help secure it.

By Benjamin Jensen

National security is no longer measured by the size of a country’s military forces. It is measured by how efficiently and securely a country, as part of a network of allies and partners, exchanges information, resources, and ideas.

China Cybersecurity

In the News

May 27, 2021

D’Anieri in The National Interest: Kyrgyzstan’s Japarov emulates Putin’s authoritarian model

By Atlantic Council

Central Asia Populism

BelarusAlert

May 26, 2021

Did Russia assist in Belarus dictator’s act of air piracy?

By Brian Whitmore

Did Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka get a stealthy assist from Vladimir Putin's Russia in hijacking a commercial airliner travelling between two European Union countries?

Belarus International Norms

MENASource

May 26, 2021

Do China and Russia want to replace the US as mediators in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

By Richard LeBaron, Mohamed Bin Huwaidin, Daniel Rakov, Jonathan Fulton, and Joze Pelayo

In this brief reaction piece, three experts from our working group on Chinese and Russian power projection in the Middle East offer their views on the viability of Russia or China bringing the parties closer to the negotiating table.

China Israel

In the News

May 25, 2021

Katz in Russia Matters: “Russia’s Competing Policy Interests in Syria and the Middle East”

By Atlantic Council

Middle East Russia

BelarusAlert

May 24, 2021

State-sponsored air piracy: Belarus dictator tests the international community

By Peter Dickinson

European leaders agreed to new sanctions against Belarus on May 24, the day after dictator Lukashenka sparked uproar by forcing an EU passenger jet to land in Minsk and abducting a high-profile dissident passenger.

Belarus European Union

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Events