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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

BelarusAlert

Oct 8, 2020

Putin’s fear of democracy is fueling the crisis in Belarus

By Peter Dickinson

The leaders of pro-democracy protests in Belarus have repeatedly denied any anti-Russian agenda but this has failed to prevent Moscow from offering its full backing to beleaguered dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Belarus Democratic Transitions
Czech Flashbang grenade

Article

Oct 6, 2020

Belarus riot police disperse crowds with Czech-made flashbangs

By Lukas Andriukaitis

Open-source clues on Czech arms company potentially supplying stun grenades to Lukashenka’s regime in violation of EU embargo.

Belarus Central Europe

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2020

The case for sanctioning Ukraine’s anti-Western MPs

By Daria Kaleniuk

Many of Ukraine's most prominent anti-Western figures also have considerable business interests in the West. Anti-corruption activists accuse them of hypocrisy and say sanctions are justified.

Corruption Non-Traditional Threats

Report

Oct 5, 2020

Lubyanka federation: How the FSB determines the politics and economics of Russia

By The Dossier Center

The FSB is one of Russia’s most closed government agencies, its work cloaked in secrecy. This report lifts the veil on how the organization works.

Corruption Defense Industry

In the News

Oct 4, 2020

Shamshur in Zerkalo Nedeli: Will Navalny’s poisoning be the last straw?

By Atlantic Council

Politics & Diplomacy Russia
Belarus Cyber Partisans

Article

Oct 1, 2020

Lukashenka’s regime confused by protest-driven cyber attacks

By Nika Aleksejeva

Government reactions to attacks by the Belarus Cyber Partisans marred by defensiveness, contradictions and ignorance.

Belarus Cybersecurity

UkraineAlert

Sep 30, 2020

Russia as aggressor, NATO as objective: Ukraine’s new National Security Strategy

By Alyona Getmanchuk

Ukraine unveiled a new National Security Strategy in September 2020 that clearly identifies Russia as the enemy and sets out NATO membership as the end goal of the country's security policy.

Conflict National Security

UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2020

Ukraine must think globally in its hybrid war with Russia

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine is likely to last decades. Kyiv's best hope of success lies in broadening the context of the conflict and backing international efforts to contain the Kremlin.

Conflict Non-Traditional Threats

Report

Sep 28, 2020

Competitive strategy insights from wargames

By Benjamin Jensen, John T. Watts, Christian Trotti, and Mark J. Massa

Warfighting eclipses the moment of battle. This report assesses the results from a series of competitive strategy wargames in order to explore how US military-modernization investments can shape adversary decisions long before the battle ever begins.

China Conflict

BelarusAlert

Sep 26, 2020

Lukashenka’s rapid decline is giving Putin nightmares

By Peter Dickinson

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka's worsening predicament is setting off alarm bells in the Kremlin, where events in neighboring Belarus are viewed as a possible blueprint for future unrest inside Russia itself.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

Experts