issue spotlight

Stay updated

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

Feb 17, 2022

Klain interviewed in RFE/RL’s Romanian Service on NATO’s role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis

By Atlantic Council

Ukraine was officially a neutral country in 2014 when Putin decided to invade it. So no kind of neutrality, declared now, would change the situation at hand. Doug Klain More about our expert

Politics & Diplomacy Romanian

In the News

Feb 17, 2022

Wieslander interviewed by Radio Sweden on the history of NATO-Russian Relations

By Anna Wieslander

Since the 1990’s, many have contemplated Russian NATO membership and an EU-led European security order. Russia’s admission into NATO’s Partnership for Peace in 1994 established many areas of Russian-NATO cooperation around the world. However, Putin’s rise to power and increased opposition to the US-led world order caused early optimism to deteriorate into full-blown confrontation.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

TURKEYSource

Feb 17, 2022

Turkey’s Russia-crisis strategy rests on one fact: It has too much to lose

By Grady Wilson

Turkey's approach underlines the significant risks a conflict poses to the delicate balance between its diplomatic and economic relationships, and security concerns around the region.

Conflict Defense Industry

In the News

Feb 16, 2022

O’Toole quoted in The New York Times on Russia sanctions

Read the full article here.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

In the News

Feb 16, 2022

Kroenig and Ashford debate if there is a diplomatic offramp in Ukraine

On February 10, Foreign Policy published a biweekly column featuring Scowcroft Center deputy director Matthew Kroenig and New American Engagement Initiative senior fellow Emma Ashford assessing the latest news in international affairs. In their latest column, they discuss NATO allies’ varied responses to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and debate if a peaceful resolution is possible.

Conflict Defense Policy

New Atlanticist

Feb 16, 2022

Why Putin won’t invade Ukraine

By Harlan Ullman

By conflating three vital Russian national-security interests into four demands, the Russian leader created internal contradictions and conflicts that would make a military intervention in Ukraine disastrous.

Conflict Crisis Management

BelarusAlert

Feb 16, 2022

NATO allies fear Putin’s Belarus military build-up will be permanent

By Brian Whitmore

At the moment all eyes are on the Ukrainian border. But regardless of how Vladimir Putin's manufactured crisis in Ukraine ends, the threat to NATO's eastern flank from Russia's growing military presence in Belarus will remain.

Belarus Conflict

In the News

Feb 16, 2022

Wieslander interviewed by Radio Sweden on Russian troop movements

By Anna Wieslander

“This is a long-term game about the future of our security order. This is about the type of world we want to live in,” said Wieslander.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

New Atlanticist

Feb 16, 2022

Evacuating noncombatants from Ukraine will be a mess. The West needs to ditch the blame game this time.

By Thomas S. Warrick

In a further invasion of Ukraine, Putin would be to blame for any chaos that follows.

Conflict Crisis Management

In the News

Feb 16, 2022

Kroenig in the Atlantic on China’s nuclear capability

By Atlantic Council

Scowcroft Center deputy director Matthew Kroenig acknowledges China's growing nuclear capability in the Atlantic.

Arms Control China

Experts