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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

Dec 11, 2018

How to Weaken Putin’s Hand (The Answer Isn’t What You Think)

By Andreas Umland

Ukraine is making international headlines again. Conflict in the Black Sea, war in eastern Ukraine, new anti-corruption institutions, and the imminent independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been widely reported and hotly discussed. But one important topic has gone largely unnoticed in the West—Ukraine’s ongoing local governance reform. The transformation of Ukraine’s administrative structure […]

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Dec 7, 2018

Sultoon Quoted in Bloomberg on US Penalties against Viktor Vekselberg

By Samantha Sultoon

Read the full article here.

Russia

Inflection Points

Dec 1, 2018

It’s time to stop appeasing Putin—here’s how to deter the emboldened Russian president

By Frederick Kempe

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko this week warned, "The only language [Putin] understands is the solidarity of the Western world. We can't accept Russia's aggressive policies.

Conflict NATO

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2018

From the Azov Sea to Washington DC: How Russophobia Became Russia’s Leading Export

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin had a simple explanation for the wave of international condemnation that engulfed Moscow in the wake of Russia’s November 25 Black Sea attack on the Ukrainian Navy. According to the Kremlin leader, it was all Ukraine’s doing. “Kyiv is actively stirring up anti-Russian sentiment,” he lamented. “That’s all they have—and it works.” This […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2018

How the West Got Martial Law in Ukraine Totally Wrong

By John E. Herbst

The past several days have been historic ones in Ukraine’s development as a sovereign and democratic nation. Moscow’s unprovoked attack on and seizure of three Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea on November 25 began this process. This attack represents a serious escalation of Kremlin aggression because it was done openly by regular Russian military […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 30, 2018

What Would a Tymoshenko Presidency Mean?

By Andreas Umland

Many Western observers would like to see a change in Ukrainian leadership following the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. Some would prefer to see a young MP from parliament’s Euro-Optimists group become president; others hope the country’s next leader will come from one of Ukraine’s new parties, such as Democratic Alliance or Power of the […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2018

Trump cancels meeting with Putin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

“I have strong doubts that the Ukraine crisis was the real reason given the timing of the president's announcement, which came only hours after news broke about his business dealings with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential campaign," said Michael Carpenter, Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow at the Eurasia Center.

NATO Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Nov 29, 2018

How to Put Putin in His Place

By Michael Carpenter

Russia’s act of aggression against Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea on Sunday should not be dismissed as an isolated incident in its four-and-a-half year old war against Ukraine. This pre-meditated attack is part of a broader effort by Moscow to take full control of the Kerch Strait—a strategic chokepoint that connects Russia to Crimea […]

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2018

The West has an opportunity, yet again, to push Back against Russia

By Mamuka Tsereteli

Russia’s deep commercial interests in the Black Sea provide a powerful leverage that the United States and its allies must be willing to use. 

Russia The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2018

Is another Trump-Putin meeting a good idea?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and the Eurasia Center, said: “A meeting would make sense if, but only if, Trump is willing to send the right message to Putin, and the president’s track record doesn’t lead to confidence.”

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

Experts