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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.

Content

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

Kremlin Lays Hands on Faith in Crimea

By Geraldine Fagan

In Russia this April, a Baptist pastor was jailed for professing his faith. Pavel Pilipchuk’s five-day detention was brief, but excessive. It followed his refusal to pay a heavy fine for organizing street evangelism in the city of Oryol, around 200 miles south of Moscow. By not informing city officials of his plans, a local […]

Russia Ukraine
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, March 5, 2015

NATOSource

May 25, 2015

New Finnish Government Raises NATO Stakes

By Gerard O'Dwyer, Defense News

In a move that is certain to further irritate Moscow, Finland’s new center-right coalition has included the option of applying for NATO membership “at any time” in its government formation Joint Policy Position statement.

NATO Northern Europe

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2015

War in Ukraine of Global Significance, Says Archbishop

By Melinda Haring

“To those from outside, [the fighting in Ukraine] may seem like a regional conflict, but that’s really not the case,” said Archbishop Zoria Yevstratiy of Chernihiv of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Kyiv Patriarchate.  In an interview at the Atlantic Council on May 19, Yevstratiy described the situation in Ukraine as unique and of global significance.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2015

Why Mariupol Will Not be the Next Frontline

By Ruben Gzirian

Analysts and journalists have begun to ask where the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine will go next now that the second ceasefire agreement has failed. Skirmishes on the frontline in Shyrokyne, less than ten miles from Mariupol’s city limits, have raised concerns that Mariupol will be the next target. Geographically and commercially speaking, Mariupol makes […]

Russia Ukraine
French Mistral warship, Nov. 25, 2006

NATOSource

May 19, 2015

France’s Orphaned Mistrals Can Solve a Sea of Troubles

By Blake Franko and Nicholas Varangis

As the European Union struggles to remain a unified and influential force for the 21st century, geopolitical developments have only made this goal more elusive.

European Union France

UkraineAlert

May 19, 2015

The West’s Failure of Nerve

By Stephen Blank

Poland and the Baltic states intend to ask NATO to station a battalion or even larger units on their territory. The Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—want a brigade so that each country can host a battalion or permanent rotational forces. Poland’s Foreign Minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, indicated that his government would request the permanent stationing of […]

Russia Ukraine
Estonian Defence League mortar platoon, Oct. 30, 2013

NATOSource

May 18, 2015

Paramilitary Groups Surge in Popularity in Eastern Europe

By Felicity Capon, Newsweek

Thousands of ordinary civilians, including doctors, carpenters and teachers, are flocking to join volunteer paramilitary groups in several European countries, with some doubling in size since the start of the Ukraine crisis, Newsweek has discovered.

NATO Northern Europe

In the News

May 15, 2015

Varangis on Russia’s Plan to Develop a New Aircraft Carrier

By Nicholas Varangis

Business Insider quotes the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s Nicholas Varangis on Russia’s investment in a new aircraft carrier:

Russia

In the News

May 15, 2015

Pavel and Nordenman: Restoring Order: Deterrence in Europe in the 21st Century

By Pavel and Nordenman

VP and Brent Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel and Brent Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Magnus Nordenman write for the German Marshall Fund on why NATO needs to develop a renewed deterrence strategy as a result of Russia’s aggressive policies:

NATO Russia

In the News

May 14, 2015

Nordenman: Why the Chinese Navy is in the Mediterranean

By Magnus Nordenman

Brent Scowcroft Center Deputy Director Magnus Nordenman writes for USNI News on the Chinese-Russian naval exercises in the Mediterranean:

China Russia

Experts