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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.

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In the News

Jul 9, 2015

Åslund: Russia’s War on Ukraine’s Economy

By Anders Åslund

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Åslund writes for Project Syndicate on how Ukraine’s primary economic challenges are not homegrown, but are rather the result of Russian aggression:

Russia Ukraine
Missile defense test by the USS Fitzgerald, Oct. 24, 2012

NATOSource

Jul 8, 2015

Can Missile Defense Counter Russia’s Nuclear Saber Rattling?

By Robbie Gramer

Attempting to defend Europe against a Russian ballistic missile attack would be “extremely challenging and costly,” according to the State Department’s top missile defense official.

Missile Defense NATO

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Repression of Crimean Tatars Intensifies Under Russia, Says New Turkish Report

By Melinda Haring

Russian authorities have forced Crimean Tatars to become Russian citizens and curtailed their freedoms of speech, language, education, and residence—as well as their right to a fair trial. That’s according to an independent group of Turkish scholars sent to Crimea to investigate human rights violations after Russia annexed the peninsula on March 18, 2014.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2015

Here’s Why Armenia Is Not Ukraine

By Sabine Freizer

The Electric Yerevan protest officially ended July 7, two weeks after it began as a reaction to the Armenian government’s 16.7 percent increase in electricity prices. But the social movement behind it will likely continue influencing Armenia until the country makes serious political reforms. Thousands marched on Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue—a main artery fronting the presidential […]

Russia
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, July 6, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 7, 2015

Secretary of Defense Carter: US-French Security Partnership Stronger than Ever

By Ash Carter and Jean-Yves Le Drian, Department of Defense

Carter:  France is America’s oldest ally. And today, our security partnership is the strongest it’s ever been.

France NATO
NATO's current Strategic Concept was accepted Nov. 19, 2010

NATOSource

Jul 6, 2015

NATO May Revise Relationship with Russia Through New Strategy Document

By Adrian Croft, Reuters

NATO is preparing for a long standoff with Russia, reluctantly accepting that the Ukraine conflict has fundamentally transformed Europe’s security landscape and that it may have to abandon hope of a constructive relationship with Moscow.

NATO Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin, May 10, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 6, 2015

Slovak Intelligence: Russian Spies Increase Activities in EU, NATO

By AP

Slovakia’s spy agency [SIS] says Russian agents have significantly increased their activities in Slovakia and all other NATO and European Union countries in connection with the crisis in Ukraine.

Central Europe European Union
Norwegian special forces participating in NATO Flaming Sword Exercise, May 28, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 6, 2015

NATO Special Forces Helping Members Address Threat from Hybrid Warfare

By Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Washington Post

The Pentagon is increasingly concerned about how to combat “hybrid warfare,” the combination of stealth invasion, local proxy forces and international propaganda that Russia used to annex Crimea and destabilize eastern Ukraine, U.S. officials said.

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2015

Ukraine Is More Important Than Greece

By Anders Åslund

For one year, Russia has pursued a long, costly war of aggression against Ukraine. Its objective is obvious: to destabilize Ukraine so that the new democratic regime fails. Therefore, the West should adjust its goals accordingly to offer Ukraine financial support. The Kremlin has presented one false objective after the other for this aggression. On […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 6, 2015

History as a Weapon of Mass Deception

By Ruben Gzirian

Leading up to the seventieth anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, seemingly every Russian media outlet buzzed about the unveiling of the country’s new premier tank, the Armata T-14. Outfitted with an advanced remote-controlled armed turret, a new 125-mm 2A82-1M smoothbore cannon, the new tank was rumored to come with a […]

Russia Ukraine

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