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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.

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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

Issue Brief

May 24, 2017

The Kremlin’s gas games in Europe: Implications for policy makers

By Ilya Zaslavskiy

“In addition to concerns over corrupt business practices, Gazprom’s operations are particularly disconcerting as the Kremlin uses the company to exert control over the post-Soviet space while deepening European dependence on Russian gas,” Zaslavskiy argues in the issue brief.

Central Europe Eastern Europe

Issue Brief

May 24, 2017

The Kremlin’s gas games in Europe: Implications for policy makers

By Ilya Zaslavskiy

“Gazprom is one of the Kremlin’s main cash generators and international political tools. The company subsidizes Russia’s wars in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the Kremlin’s well-funded effort to undermine European unity through propaganda and support for anti-European parties,” writes Ilya Zaslavskiy in “The Kremlin’s Gas Games in Europe: Implications for Policy Makers,” a […]

Central Europe Eastern Europe

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2017

The Obvious Mistake We Make in Fighting Russian Disinformation

By Geysha Gonzalez

“The person who tells their story best, wins,” said Jed Willard of the FDR Center for Global Engagement at Harvard University in Prague on May 17, succinctly explaining the challenges of fighting disinformation. Willard and 330 other experts from twenty-nine countries gathered in Prague for a strategic communications summit (STRATCOM) hosted by European Values, a […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2017

Will Facebook Finally Fight Disinformation or Just Make Things Worse?

By Nina Jankowicz

For years, Facebook has quietly and very intentionally inserted itself into the daily lives of its users. It has succeeded wildly, becoming arguably the world’s most ubiquitous communication platform, with an average of 1.28 billion daily users. But now that it has become one of the world’s most popular sources of news, Facebook is failing […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

May 22, 2017

Why Are Russian Opposition Leaders Democrats at Home and Imperialists Abroad?

By Taras Kuzio

The US Congress has approved $100 million to counter “Russian influence and aggression” and support civil society organizations in Europe and Eurasia. According to the legislation, the funding will be used to “support democracy programs in the Russian Federation, including to promote internet freedom, and shall also be made available to support the democracy and […]

Russia Ukraine

In the News

May 18, 2017

Cohen Joins Marshall Center to Discuss German-US Partnership and Engagement with Russia

By Ariel Cohen

Watch the full interview here.

Russia

In the News

May 18, 2017

Aslund Quoted in CNBC on Trump-Putin Relationship

By Anders Aslund

Read the full article here.

Russia

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2017

From Russia with Hate: The Kremlin’s Support for Violent Extremism in Central Europe

By Péter Krekó and Lóránt Győri

In 2016, the mayor of Ásotthalom, a small Hungarian town close to the country’s southern border, celebrated the opening of Gagarin Street with an obelisk to Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin and a speech about Russia’s greatness. The mayor was László Toroczkai, an extremist politician who serves as the vice president of the far-right Jobbik party; […]

Central Europe Hungary

UkraineAlert

May 17, 2017

Crimea’s Virtual Blackout Means Anything Goes

By Yuriy Lukanov

On Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the Russian authorities are suppressing freedom of speech so that no one will really know what has happened there. Journalists in particular are under threat. The case of Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semena is one example of the situation in Crimea, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. His opinions were published […]

Russia Ukraine

In the News

May 17, 2017

Aslund Quoted in Newsweek on Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak Possibly Relinquishing Role

By Anders Åslund

Read the full article here.

Russia

Experts

Events