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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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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
Norwegian armor participating in NATO Noble Jump Exercise, June 16, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 3, 2015

How to Reduce the Chances of War in Europe

By Christopher S. Chivvis, Foreign Affairs

NATO currently has few forces in the Baltics, and Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have very limited militaries of their own.

NATO Northern Europe
NATO BALTOPS Exercise, June 17, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 2, 2015

Commanders: NATO Navies Should Beef Up Against Russia

By AFP and NATO Maritime Command

From AFP:  NATO should beef up its maritime arm in response to the rising threat from an increasingly “bold” and “aggressive” Russia, commanders said Wednesday.

NATO Russia
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Gen. Martin Dempsey, July 1, 2015

NATOSource

Jul 2, 2015

The New US National Military Strategy and NATO

By Department of Defense

Today’s global security environment is the most unpredictable I have seen in 40 years of service.

China NATO

UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2015

Here’s How the Kremlin Manufactured a Civil War in Ukraine

By Alina Polyakova

The war in eastern Ukraine is a Kremlin-manufactured conflict. The arrival of “little green men” in Crimea in February 2014 transformed the conflict from a domestic altercation between citizens and their government to an international crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged in a government-sponsored documentary that he carefully planned and orchestrated the military takeover of […]

Russia Ukraine
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

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