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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

Military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of Victory in World War II, May 9, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 1, 2015

A Nuclear Conflict with Russia is Likelier Than You Think

By Max Fisher, Vox

There is a growing chorus of political analysts, arms control experts, and government officials who are sounding the alarm, trying to call the world’s attention to its drift toward disaster. The prospect of a major war, even a nuclear war, in Europe has become thinkable, they warn, even plausible.

NATO Nuclear Nonproliferation

UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2015

Putin Isn’t Winging It

By Walter Zaryckyj

After US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Sochi on May 12, a barrage of articles urged Western leaders to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with an off-ramp for his various Ukrainian adventures. Even more disheartening than the volume was the growing diversity of reasons for giving Putin a pass. At least three arguments […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Jul 1, 2015

Wake Up Europe. Peace Doesn’t Preserve Itself

By Stephen Blank

Amid multiple signs of an impending battle in Ukraine, NATO and Ukraine have stepped up their response. But so has Russia. Ukrainian officials claim to have 60,000 troops in the field against an estimated 54,000 Russian forces in the Donbas. A large-scale conventional theater in the Donbas is a real danger this summer. But Moscow […]

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Jul 1, 2015

Cohen on Ukrainian Gas Shortfall

By Ariel Cohen

International Business Times quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Ariel Cohen on how a Russian gas deal failure leaves Ukraine facing a huge shortfall going into the winter months:

Russia Ukraine
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, May 10, 2015

NATOSource

Jun 30, 2015

The West Has to Act Now to Defend Ukraine

By Ivo Daalder and Malcolm Rifkind, Politico Europe

Unless Europe and the United States act swiftly, the situation in Ukraine is about to get worse — possibly a lot worse.

Russia Ukraine

Event Recap

Jun 30, 2015

Conference: Exposing Russian Disinformation in the Twenty-First Century. Berlin, Germany

By Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center

On June 25, the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted an all-day conference titled, “Exposing Russian Disinformation in the Twenty-First Century,” in Berlin in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The conference featured panel discussions on the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign in Europe and at home with prominent German and Russian […]

European Union Germany
Russian Su-27 firing flares, Aug. 11, 2007

NATOSource

Jun 30, 2015

Swedish Commander Says Russian Military Jets Fired Flares at Swedish Planes

By AP

Sweden’s top military commander says Russian fighter pilots are behaving in an increasingly aggressive manner in northern Europe, flying dangerously close to Swedish Air Force jets and in some cases even releasing flares at them.

Northern Europe Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 18, 2015

NATOSource

Jun 29, 2015

Putin Not Done in Eastern Ukraine, NATO’s Top General Says

By Phil Stewart and Adrian Croft, Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not done in eastern Ukraine, NATO’s top commander said on Thursday, cautioning that Russia has been building up supplies on its border with Ukraine and keeping its military options open.

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Jun 29, 2015

Exposing Russian Disinformation

By John B. Emerson

Editor’s note: Ambassador John B. Emerson gave the opening remarks at “Exposing Russian Disinformation in the 21st Century,” a conference sponsored by the Atlantic Council, the European Council on Foreign Relations, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation on June 25, 2015 in Berlin. Emerson’s remarks have been shortened below. The full version is available here. Guten […]

Germany Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 29, 2015

Ukraine, China, ISIS Top Long List of Challenges for EU, NATO

By Ariel Cohen

The unity and strategic viability of the transatlantic alliance and the US major non-NATO democratic allies, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Israel, the Philippines, and others, will be severely tested in the years to come. As always, freedom is not free, and its price is constant vigilance. The United States and its allies face significant […]

China NATO

Experts