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

UkraineAlert

Feb 11, 2021

Rising EU-Russia tensions are good news for Ukraine

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's disastrous recent visit to Moscow has sparked a crisis in Russia-EU relations that could end up being to Ukraine's advantage.

Conflict European Union

In the News

Feb 10, 2021

Power Vertical Podcast: Corruption Is The New Communism

By Atlantic Council

Corruption Eastern Europe

BelarusAlert

Feb 10, 2021

Is Russia slowly annexing Belarus in plain sight?

By Brian Whitmore

Moscow's current efforts to turn Belarusian territory into a platform for Russia’s armed forces are accompanied by moves to accelerate an economic integration that could amount to a soft annexation.

Belarus Russia

UkraineAlert

Feb 9, 2021

Kremlin TV chief: Russia must annex east Ukraine

By Alvydas Medalinskas

Kremlin TV chief Margarita Simonyan called on Russia to annex eastern Ukraine's Donbas region during a recent high-profile forum that signaled an escalation in Moscow's seven-year hybrid war against Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Feb 7, 2021

Can Putin’s pet pipeline still be saved from sanctions?

By Diane Francis

Russia continues to defy US attempts to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but with the new administration of President Biden committed to stopping the project, can it still be saved?

Geopolitics & Energy Security Russia

In the News

Feb 6, 2021

Katz joins Sky News Arabia to discuss Moscow’s behavior toward its citizens

Civil Society Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Feb 5, 2021

Analysis: Ukraine bans Kremlin-linked TV channels

By Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy shut down three Kremlin-linked TV channels on February 2 in a move portrayed as a major blow to Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. The step has sparked debate over the balance between national security and free speech.

Conflict Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Feb 5, 2021

Emmanuel Macron’s plan to rebuild US-Europe relations

By Katherine Golden

For French President Emmanuel Macron, "the number-one priority in relations with the new US administration” is clear: to boost “results-oriented multilateralism.”

China European Union

In the News

Feb 5, 2021

Kroenig and Ashford discuss possible tension between values and interests in Biden’s foreign policy

By Atlantic Council

On February 5, 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 discuss Biden’s approach to democratic backsliding in Myanmar, Russian protests to Navalny’s prison sentencing, the Longer Telegram on China, the value of […]

China Civil Society

In the News

Feb 4, 2021

Kroenig appears on CNN International to discuss President Biden’s foreign policy speech

By Atlantic Council

On February 4, Matthew Kroenig appeared on CNN International where he discussed President Biden’s speech on foreign policy that he delivered at the State Department. Topics for discussion included 1) whether allies would be less likely to rely on the United States moving forward; 2) the president’s announcement that the United States will not support offensive […]

China Politics & Diplomacy

Experts