issue spotlight

Stay updated

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

recent events

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

Oct 15, 2015

New Movie Reveals Russia’s Attempts to Destroy Ukraine

By Diane Francis

Ukraine is a nation interrupted, its identity and promise stolen by invaders and predators for centuries. Ukraine’s principle oppressor has been, and remains, Russia where leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin propagate the fiction that Ukraine is “little Russia.” But the two are distinctive and the Ukrainian language is as different from Russian as is […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2015

Why Crimea’s Blockade is Necessary

By Maksym Bugriy

Since September 20, Crimean Tatar activists and other protesters—mostly from Right Sector—have been blockading the flow of goods from mainland Ukraine to Crimea. The Kyiv government has neither formally supported nor criticized the move. The reaction among analysts, observers, and bloggers has been mixed—from enthusiasm to caution and even downright criticism.

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Itani on Putin’s Intervention in Syria

By Faysal Itani

Annahar quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to preserve the Syrian regime by neutralizing insurgent threats to the regime’s core territory: Read the full article here.

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Hof on Russia’s Strategy in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

NPR quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on Russia’s strategy in Syria and what it means for US objectives:

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2015

Made in Moscow: Religious Freedom Abuses Continue in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine

By Mary Ann Glendon and Katrina Lantos Swett

“We cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated,” US President Barack Obama said on September 28 at the UN General Assembly. He was condemning Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its aggressive moves in eastern Ukraine. Much of the world has decried these acts and their most visible […]

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Benitez on Russian Air Strikes

By Jorge Benitez

Foreign Policy quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow and NATOSource Director Jorge Benitez on Russian air strikes in Syria:

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Herbst on Constitutional Reform in Ukraine

By John Herbst

Foreign Policy quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst on how Russia’s intervention in Ukraine is affecting the constitutional reform process:

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 14, 2015

Hey Europe, Stop Putting Russia First

By Michal Kořan

The West’s deteriorating relationship with Russia has opened a window of opportunity to offer Eastern European countries a genuine future within the European Union, unrestrained by Moscow. To seize this opportunity, the West should refrain from past policies that, in the end, always put Russia first.

Russia Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin, August 20, 2015

NATOSource

Oct 13, 2015

US Concerned About the Kremlin’s Ties to Russian Cyber Gangs

By Cory Bennett, The Hill

In Russia, “there are private actors, there are government actors, and there are some that have almost a contractual relationship with the government,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

China Cybersecurity

In the News

Oct 13, 2015

Aslund: Germany’s Exports to Russia Have Not Suffered from Western Sanctions

By Anders Aslund

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund writes for German business weekly Capital on why Germany’s share of Russia’s imports has actually increased, despite sanctions: Read the full article here.

Germany Russia

Experts