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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.

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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

Nov 22, 2016

In Time of Trump, Advice to Friends of Ukraine (And Democracy)

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Friends of Ukraine, brace yourself. There’s no way to sugar-coat this for the democracy crowd either. Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine is not our business (it “affects Europe a lot more than it affects us”). Our president-elect admires Russia’s authoritarian leader (he’s “brilliant,” a “strong leader”), and wants Vladimir Putin as an ally (“Russia […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Nov 22, 2016

Article 5 Must Be ‘Red Line’ of US-Russia Reset, says Former NATO Secretary General

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Newsmaker Interview: George Robertson served as secretary general of NATO from 1999 to 2003 Russia would be “ill-advised” to take great comfort from Donald Trump’s election, said George Robertson, a former secretary general of NATO, adding that NATO’s commitment to the defense of its member states must be at the core of any future reset […]

NATO Russia
President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Oct. 16, 2014

NATOSource

Nov 21, 2016

Serbia Deports Russians Suspected of Plotting to Assassinate Prime Minister of Montenegro

By Julian Borger, Andrew MacDowall, and Shaun Walker, Guardian

Serbia has deported a group of Russians suspected of involvement in a coup plot in neighbouring Montenegro, the Guardian has learned, in the latest twist in a murky sequence of events that apparently threatened the lives of two European prime ministers.

Intelligence NATO

SyriaSource

Nov 21, 2016

Moscow, Washington, and the Wreckage of Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

At a recent international conference, Russian scholars triumphantly upheld their country’s role in Syria and called on the West to organize a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild Syria under Bashar al-Assad. In Peru, meanwhile, President Obama—he who has put American boots on the ground in Syria to help fight ISIS—lamented (without apparent irony) that he could […]

Iran Russia
Montenegrin police arrest suspect in failed coup attempt

NATOSource

Nov 21, 2016

Montenegro: ‘Nationalists from Russia’ Organized Assassination Attempt Against Prime Minister Djukanovic

By AP and RFE/RL

From Predrag Milic, AP: Two Russian citizens are among those suspected of involvement in an alleged election day plot in Montenegro to assassinate the country’s prime minister and take power because of the government’s NATO membership bid, prosecutors said Monday.

Intelligence NATO

UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2016

Kremlin Power Struggle Intensified: Liberals Under Attack

By Anders Åslund

The Kremlin power struggle intensifies. On November 15, Russia’s Investigative Committee arrested Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev, the first time since 1991 that a sitting minister has been arrested. Ulyukaev is accused of corruption, but nothing seems to be as originally stated. Rather, this is a high-level political struggle between President Vladimir Putin’s confidant, […]

Russia

UkraineAlert

Nov 21, 2016

The Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Then and Now

By Amanda Abrams

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk still believes deeply in the power of international norms to maintain peace. “Today’s world is based on great principles: sovereignty, territorial integrity, and untouchable borders. And as far as I understand the situation, the United States is the guardian of these principles,” said Kravchuk at an event on November 18, […]

Belarus Russia

Event Recap

Nov 21, 2016

The Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Then and Now

By Amanda Abrams

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk still believes deeply in the power of international norms to maintain peace. “Today’s world is based on great principles: sovereignty, territorial integrity, and untouchable borders. And as far as I understand the situation, the United States is the guardian of these principles,” said Kravchuk at an event on November 18, […]

Belarus Russia

In the News

Nov 21, 2016

Herbst Quoted by Polygraph on Moscow Propaganda Capabilities

By John Herbst

Read the full article here.

Russia

In the News

Nov 20, 2016

Polyakova Quoted by Washington Post on Likelihood of New Administraion Getting Burned by Russia

By Alina Polyakova

Read the full article here.

Russia

Experts