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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

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2021

Nord Stream 2 will test new German government’s European solidarity

By Olga Bielkova

If the new German government does not block Vladimir Putin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline weapon, Ukraine will be irreversibly weakened while Germany and Europe as a whole will be sleepwalking into a perpetual gas crunch.  

Conflict Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2021

NATO thwarted a Russian invasion in 1980. Could its playbook work today?

By Ian Brzezinski

As NATO foreign ministers meet this week in Riga, Latvia, they should consider how President Jimmy Carter blocked the Soviets from crushing Poland’s Solidarity movement.

Conflict Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Nov 28, 2021

EU regulations may yet disarm Vladimir Putin’s pipeline weapon

By Diane Francis

Russian President Vladimir Putin is pushing hard to secure fast track certification for his Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but these efforts will likely prove no match for the EU’s anti-trust laws and regulatory system.

Economic Sanctions European Union

AC Selects

Nov 28, 2021

AC Selects: Addressing Russia and the impacts of Chinese engagement

Week of November 28, 2021 Experts from the Eurasia Center convene to discuss what the US and Europe can do to deter Putin from another military invasion of Ukraine. The GeoEconomics Center launches its new Economic Statecraft Initiative, highlighting the global shifts in economic statecraft due to the rise of China. Finally, the Africa Center […]

Africa China

UkraineAlert

Nov 27, 2021

Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine obsession could spark a major European war

By Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Alexander Khara

Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ukraine obsession could spark the largest European conflict since WWII. With Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border, Western leaders must demonstrate their readiness to back Ukraine and impose crushing costs on the Kremlin.

Conflict Cybersecurity

In the News

Nov 24, 2021

Preble on the Net Assessment podcast: America and the Arctic

By Atlantic Council

On November 24, Christopher Preble joined his co-hosts of the Net Assessment podcast to discuss US policy towards the arctic region. They discussed how climate change is causing flooding and environmental damage but is also providing new opportunities for navigation, mining, fishing, tourism, and defense. They discussed how US national security and economic interests best […]

China English

UkraineAlert

Nov 23, 2021

How to Deter Russia Now

By Daniel Fried, John E. Herbst, Alexander Vershbow

With Russian troops once more massing on the Ukrainian border, the United States and Europe must make clear to the Kremlin that they stand with Ukraine and will impose serious costs in the event of an offensive.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

BelarusAlert

Nov 23, 2021

Lukashenka, Putin, and the art of geopolitical extortion

By Brian Whitmore

The Putin-Lukashenka axis of autocrats is engaging in repeated acts of geopolitical extortion. Rewarding this with phone calls, summits, and concessions will only encourage more dangerous behavior.

Belarus Conflict

UkraineAlert

Nov 23, 2021

Vladimir Putin is testing the “weak” West in Ukraine and Poland

By Taras Kuzio

Russia's current military build-up on the Ukrainian border is part of Vladimir Putin's hybrid war against the democratic world and an attempt to exploit what many in the Kremlin perceive to be Western "weakness."

Belarus Conflict

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2021

What’s Russia doing in Ukraine? Its latest military drills provide critical clues.

By John R. Deni

Here's what the Zapad-2021 joint exercise between Russia and Belarus revealed about the Kremlin's strategic plans.

Defense Policy Eastern Europe

Experts