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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

In the News

Oct 21, 2016

Nordenman Quoted by the New York Times on Russia’s Aircraft Carrier Heading to Syria

By Magnus Nordenman

Read the full article here.

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Oct 21, 2016

There They Go Again: International Media Enables Russian Aggression in Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

When does a Russian warlord become a “pro-Russian separatist?” Newsrooms around the world may want to ask themselves this question following Russian militant leader Arsen Pavlov’s assassination in Donetsk in mid-October. In the wake of the killing, one news report after another ran with headlines referring to Pavlov as a pro-Russian separatist leader, creating the impression […]

Russia Ukraine
Wallonia holding strong

EUSource

Oct 21, 2016

EU Source: EU-Canada trade talks in crisis

By Future Europe Initiative

THIS WEEK’S KEY TAKE-AWAYS Belgian region of Wallonia holding tight in CETA dispute “Normandy Four” meeting sets path for Minsk implementation EU Council Summit discusses Russia and migration

European Union International Organizations

In the News

Oct 21, 2016

Herbst Quoted by RFE/RL on the West’s Response to Russian Actions in Ukraine

By John Herbst

Read the full article here.

NATO Russia
Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec

NATOSource

Oct 21, 2016

Czech Republic Claims Propaganda War by Russia and Sets Up Counter-Effort

By Guardian

The Czech government has accused Russia of conducting a propaganda war on its soil and is setting up a unit to counter what it says are networks of pro-Moscow puppet groups.

Central Europe NATO

In the News

Oct 21, 2016

Cohen Joins VOA Russia to Discuss Italy Blocking Additional Sanctions Against Russia with Regards to Syria

By Ariel Cohen

Watch the full interview here.

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 20, 2016

Ullman in Daily Times: Putin’s Not-So-Secret Secret Plan

By Harlan Ullman

Read the full article here.

Russia

UkraineAlert

Oct 20, 2016

No Peace without the People: A Case for Grassroots Reconciliation in Ukraine

By Lauren Van Metre

This week’s meeting in Paris of the Normandy Four is a critical one. If there is no measurable progress there to advance a framework for peace in Ukraine, public sentiment that Minsk is exhausted as a peace process will only grow. (Editor’s note: On October 19, 2016, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine agreed to a […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Oct 19, 2016

Only KGB Generals Stand between Putin and Absolute Power

By Anders Åslund

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin rules supreme. On September 18, his United Russia party won its largest-ever majority—enough to change the constitution—in the parliamentary elections. He seems to be running circles around the West in both Ukraine and Syria. Yet, Russia’s stability must not be overestimated. Last year, retail sales fell by 10 percent and this […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 19, 2016

Why Ukraine’s New Ultranationalist Party Will Not Last

By Alina Polyakova

On October 14, the Azov Battalion—Ukraine’s controversial ultranationalist paramilitary group that has been fighting in the Donbas as part of the National Guard—entered the political fray. Registered as a political party under the name National Corps, the new party proposes an ambitious military and nationalist agenda, including a re-nationalization of Ukraine’s private sector and nuclear […]

Russia Ukraine

Experts