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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

Sep 7, 2018

Why Does the Press Still Take Moscow at Its Word?

By Paul Niland

Reporting on the recent killing of Alexander Zakharchenko in Donetsk, Ukraine, has enraged many, and with good reason. Far too many reports from top outlets included the phrase or something similar, “Moscow denies sending regular troops and heavy weaponry to Ukraine, the rebels, or separatists.” Of course, Moscow regularly issues such denials. However, the time […]

Russia Ukraine

Report

Sep 7, 2018

Teaser: Kremlin Trojan Horses 3.0

By Henrik Sundbom

Sweden’s leadership in pushing European values in former Soviet republics, combined with the end of its neutrality, has placed the country in a values-based conflict of interest with Russia. Sweden faces a time of political turmoil. In recent years the migration crisis in Europe has come to dominate Swedish politics, with the debate growing more […]

Disinformation Elections

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Forget Javelins. What Ukraine Needs to Get Putin’s Attention

By Stephen Blank

US Ambassador Kurt Volker recently toldThe Guardian that the United States was prepared to offer Ukraine new weapons to defend itself. There is no doubt that Ukraine needs these weapons; in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, Moscow is waging a simultaneous military and economic war against Kyiv. It has blockaded the Sea […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2018

The Past Comes Back to Haunt Putin’s Man in Ukraine

By Mykola Vorobiov

A current controversy brewing in Ukraine illustrates just how relevant the Soviet past is to Ukraine’s present and future—and just how powerful the forces are that aim to reconnect Ukraine and its former hegemon, Russia.

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Sep 6, 2018

Fried Testifies Before the Senate Banking Committee on “Russia Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps”

By Daniel Fried

Read the full testimony here.

Russia

Event Recap

Sep 5, 2018

Roundtable Discussion with Ambassador Daniel Fried on Russia Sanctions:

By Global Business & Economics Program

On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, the Atlantic Council’s Economic Sanctions Initiative hosted a private roundtable discussion on US Sanctions towards Russia with the Ambassador Daniel Fried.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Sep 5, 2018

Straight Talk: Odesa Businessman Says Foreign Investors Aren’t Worried About What You Think

By Oksana Bedratenko

Andrey Stavnitser is a second generation businessman with a clean reputation in Ukraine. He’s also young and ambitious. The bushy-bearded thirty-six-year old turned his father’s TiS company into the largest private port in Ukraine and the largest of all Ukraine’s ports by dry cargo turnover. By investing aggressively in infrastructure, Stavnitser is proving that the […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Sep 5, 2018

Russian Sovereign debt in the crosshairs

By Brian O'Toole and Josh Rudolph

McCain was right. As noted before, inconsistent words and actions have precluded the Trump administration from establishing a sufficient deterrence to Russian aggression.

Economic Sanctions Russia

New Atlanticist

Aug 31, 2018

The war in Syria: Idlib in the crosshairs

By Ashish Kumar Sen

An assault on Idlib would trigger an even greater humanitarian catastrophe as there are few safe spaces inside Syria to which civilians can be evacuated.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 27, 2018

Why John McCain Scared Putin

By Stephen B. Nix

Many accolades will be written about Senator John McCain this week and deservedly so. He was a consistent champion for democracy and human rights throughout the world, and a man who always stood by his principles. In his role as chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI), McCain was considered a champion, particularly in the […]

Russia Ukraine

Experts