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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

UkraineAlert

Jun 3, 2015

Mutual Deterrence? Think Again. Russia Seeks to Intimidate the West

By Stephen Blank

Moscow recently announced that it will procure fifty new nuclear-capable bombers, the Tupolev TU-160 or Blackjacks, which are the world’s largest combat aircraft. This seemingly anodyne announcement points to a critically important element of Russian strategy that we overlook at our and our allies’ peril. The procurement is the latest in a continuing series of […]

Russia Ukraine
"Little green men" after seizing military base in Crimea, March 9, 2014

NATOSource

Jun 2, 2015

Post Crimea Europe: NATO In the Age of Limited Wars

By Jakub Grygiel, Wess Mitchell, and Octavian Manea, Small Wars Journal

Octavian Manea: In a Europe where the use of limited war becomes more and more a tool of choice, are the decisions taken in Wales – like the creation of super-rapid reaction force – appropriate to reassure the Eastern Flank?

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Jun 2, 2015

The Dangerous Game of Truth Telling in Ukraine

By Danielle Johnson

As commentary on Ukraine increasingly focuses on the next Russian offensive and ways to end the war, now is the time to consider how to rebuild a unified country. Any attempt to move past the violence and establish a stable basis for reform must involve a frank discussion of the past. A truth commission is […]

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Jun 2, 2015

Mefford on Odessa’s New Governor

By Brian Mefford

BBC quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Brian Mefford on former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s appointment as Odessa’s new governor: 

Russia Ukraine

Defense Industrialist

Jun 2, 2015

Weapons of the Weak

By Blake Franko

Why Russia Focuses on Electronic and Drone Warfare Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought into question the very notion of NATO’s Article 5, as concerns grow that Estonia might lie next in the Kremlin’s attention. Russia’s posturing in Ukraine, however, should be seen as that of a weaker power trying to avoid confrontation with a […]

Russia Ukraine
Swedish corvette HMS Helsingborg, June 30, 2008

NATOSource

Jun 1, 2015

Foreign Incursions into Swedish Territorial Waters Expose Stockholm’s Military Shortcomings

By Elisabeth Braw, Politico Europe

At the end of the Cold War, Swedish submarine hunters commanded an arsenal featuring depth charges, torpedoes, and anti-submarine-warfare grenades, and surface submarine hunters were aided by a large number of helicopters, which easily spot movements in the water.

NATO Northern Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin, May 10, 2015

NATOSource

Jun 1, 2015

NATO: Countering Strategic Maskirovka

By Julian Lindley-French, Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute

What must NATO do to counter President Putin?

NATO Russia

In the News

May 31, 2015

Cohen on Russia’s Role in Iran

By Ariel Cohen

The Jerusalem Post quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Ariel Cohen on why Russia is unlikely to drop its support for the Assad regime:

Russia Syria

New Atlanticist

May 29, 2015

Fighting Putin’s Lies with the Truth

By Damon Wilson

“I can tell you outright and unequivocally that there are no Russian troops in Ukraine,” Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on a live television show April 16. That claim was patently false. To put it bluntly: Mr. Putin was lying through his teeth. The conflict in Ukraine’s east is a Kremlin-manufactured war, begun by Russian […]

Russia Ukraine
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, May 27, 2015

NATOSource

May 29, 2015

NATO Leader Sees Dangerous Trend in Russia’s Nuclear Activities

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

Russia’s recent use of nuclear rhetoric, exercises and operations are deeply troubling.

NATO Nuclear Nonproliferation

Experts