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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

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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

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2020

Putin has hijacked WWII to justify Russian aggression

By Solomiia Bobrovska

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia's annual Victory Day holiday has morphed from a solemn WWII memorial honoring Soviet losses into a grandiose nationalistic celebration of Russia's return to the world stage.

Nationalism Russia

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2020

Putin woos Trump with WWII nostalgia but Russia’s hybrid war continues

By Eugene Czolij

Presidents Trump and Putin recently issued a joint statement praising the WWII meeting of US and Soviet troops as “an example of how our countries can build trust.” However, with Russia waging a hybrid war against the West, trust is in short supply.

Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

May 6, 2020

Robert Manning in Valdai on how COVID-19 aggravates great power competition

By Atlantic Council

Americas China

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2020

Zelenskyy prefers to stay silent on Russian war guilt

By Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made ending the country’s ongoing war with Russia his top priority. However, his reluctance to hold Moscow publicly responsible for the conflict risks complicating efforts to secure peace.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

May 4, 2020

A serious but flawed look at peace in the Donbas

By John E. Herbst

The conflict in the Donbas cannot be solved by Ukraine and Russia alone, but the West must not unconditionally accept a "Russian consensus" to achieve it.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

In the News

May 1, 2020

Kroenig and Ashford in Foreign Policy: What is the potential fallout from regime collapse in North Korea?

By Atlantic Council

On May 1, Foreign Policy published a biweekly column featuring Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Matthew Kroenig and the Cato Institute’s Emma Ashford discussing the latest news in international affairs. In this column, they debate the potential fallout from regime collapse in North Korea, with Kroenig arguing that this scenario opens the door to a denuclearized […]

China Coronavirus

In the News

May 1, 2020

Sherman in WIRED: The Russian Doll of Putin’s Internet Clampdown

By Atlantic Council

Internet Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Apr 30, 2020

Putin must end Ukraine war if he wants sanctions relief

By Lisa Yasko

The Kremlin is calling for sanctions to be relaxed as part of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, but Putin has shown no accompanying inclination to end Russia's six-year war in Ukraine.

Conflict Coronavirus

In the News

Apr 29, 2020

Carpenter in The Washington Post: Putin has just made two huge mistakes, and his timing couldn’t be worse

By Atlantic Council

Coronavirus Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Apr 29, 2020

Pandemic response should not equal isolationism, Swedish FM argues

By David A. Wemer

International cooperation will be crucial not only to “fight the pandemic” of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), but also “to get us back on track afterwards,” Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ann Linde said on April 29. She stressed that while leaders remain focused on containing outbreaks in their own countries, they must avoid the temptation to shun the benefits international trade and cooperation can bring as a much-needed economic recovery begins.

Coronavirus European Union

Experts

Events