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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.

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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

In the News

Aug 10, 2015

Herbst on Russia Using Energy as a Geopolitical Weapon

By John Herbst

Anadolu Agency quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst on how Putin’s use of Russia’s energy resources as a geopolitical weapon is severely damaging the Russian economy:

Russia

In the News

Aug 8, 2015

Åslund: The Western World Had Better Expect the Worst

By Anders Aslund

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Åslund writes for Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet on the ways in which the widespread corruption in Russia stifles its economy:

Economy & Business Russia

In the News

Aug 6, 2015

Benitez: The Bully to the East

By Jorge Benitez

NATOSource Director and Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow Jorge Benitez writes for US News and World Report on Russia’s efforts to keep Sweden and Finland out of NATO:

NATO Russia
Polish President Andrzej Duda and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, June 18, 2015

NATOSource

Aug 6, 2015

New Polish President Makes NATO Bases in Central Europe a Priority for Warsaw Summit

By Guardian, AP, and Irish Times

From Guardian:  The Conservative politician Andrzej Duda has been sworn in as Poland’s new president, immediately calling for a stronger Nato presence in his country to counter a perceived military threat from Russia.

Germany NATO

In the News

Aug 6, 2015

Kyiv Post Cites Aslund for Ukraine Expertise

By Anders Aslund

The Kyiv Post cites Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund for his expertise on Ukraine and Russia:

Russia Ukraine

Report

Aug 5, 2015

Human rights abuses in Russia-occupied Crimea

By Andrii Klymenko

The “green men” who fanned out across Crimea in early 2014, establishing control over key infrastructure and clearing the way for once-marginal political actors to seize the reins of power, were the vanguard of a forced political change that has led to grave human rights abuses across the Crimean peninsula. Firmly in control of the executive and law enforcement bodies, […]

Conflict English

UkraineAlert

Aug 5, 2015

Moscow’s Veto of MH17 Tribunal: A Blunder of Potentially Huge Proportions

By Ariel Cohen

On July 29, Russia vetoed a draft UN resolution seeking to set up a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines jumbo jet more than a year ago. By exercising its Security Council veto against the resolution, Moscow has lost control of the process, committing a possible error that may ultimately […]

Russia Ukraine
Russia arms "crime syndicates with sophisticated hacking tools and malware"

NATOSource

Aug 4, 2015

New Twists in Russia’s Cyber Campaign Against NATO and Its Members

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

“I would say it’s pretty brazen really. We are being hit by the Russians more or less every day,” says one Nato military cyber defence specialist.

Cybersecurity NATO

UkraineAlert

Aug 4, 2015

Debunking Russia’s Narrative of Rampant Anti-Semitism in Ukraine Again

By Halya Coynash

The Congress of National Communities of Ukraine’s latest reports on xenophobia in Ukraine have struck another blow to Moscow’s persistent attempts to present the country as a hotbed of anti-Semitism. The reports make no mention of the “pogroms” alleged by the Russian Foreign Ministry, nor do they back Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion of a […]

Russia Ukraine
RAF Typhoons Intercept Russian Jets, July 24, 2015

NATOSource

Aug 3, 2015

NATO Reports Surge in Jet Interceptions as Russia Tensions Increase

By Alberto Nardelli and George Arnett, Guardian

World powers are reporting surges in airspace violations and instances where aircraft are scrambled to intercept foreign jets, amid a sharp rise in geopolitical tensions in Europe and Asia.

NATO Russia

Experts