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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

President Vladimir Putin with Russia's National Amateur Ice Hockey Team, May 10, 2014

NATOSource

May 14, 2014

Why Aren’t Sanctions Stopping Putin?

By Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Daily Beast

The West is threatening another round of sanctions against Russia in an effort to deter meddling in the May 25 presidential elections in Ukraine.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance
Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, May 14, 2014

NATOSource

May 14, 2014

US Chief of Defense: NATO Needs to Revisit the Meaning of Deterrence

By Martin Dempsey, Defense One

Dempsey: My personal view is that this is a moment for NATO to decide what it intends to be in the future.

NATO Russia

In the News

May 14, 2014

Herbst: United States Has Strong Cards to Play Against Putin

By John Herbst

Eurasia Center Director John Herbst joins Bloomberg’s Taking Stock to discuss President Putin’s calculations regarding Ukraine and what the United States and its allies can do. Watch the full interview here.

Russia Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin

NATOSource

May 13, 2014

Europeans Dither on Defense While Putin Laughs

By John Vinocur, Wall Street Journal

On one hand, there are European countries reasonably bemoaning years of declining American leadership and resolve.

Europe & Eurasia NATO
REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

New Atlanticist

May 12, 2014

How Eastern Ukraine’s Chaotic ‘Referendum’ Might Reduce the Immediate Risk of War

By James Rupert

To Undercut Separatists, Kyiv Should Now Propose a Pro-Democratic Decentralization of Power Eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russian militants say yesterday’s chaotic simulation of a referendum gives them a popular mandate to secede from Ukraine. That claim, of course, won’t be taken seriously beyond the camp of the separatists and their Russian backers. But that exercise, along with […]

Russia Ukraine
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, April 10, 2014

NATOSource

May 12, 2014

Czech Republic Wary of Permanently Hosting NATO Troops

By Robert Muller, Reuters

The Czech Republic does not favor hosting foreign NATO troops as part of the alliance’s plans to boost its eastern wing over the Ukraine crisis, its Defense minister said, in sharp contrast to some of its regional peers.

Central Europe NATO
Russian Presiden Vladimir Putin in Crimea, May 9, 2014

NATOSource

May 12, 2014

The Battle in Ukraine Means Everything

By Timothy Snyder, New Republic

The territory of today’s Ukraine can very easily be placed within every major epoch of the European past.

Europe & Eurasia European Union

In the News

May 12, 2014

Herbst: Future Sanctions Against Russia Could Impact European Economies

By John Herbst

US News and World Report quotes Eurasia Center Director John Herbst on the independence referendum held in eastern Ukraine:

Russia Ukraine

In the News

May 12, 2014

Koranyi: South Stream Pipeline Depends on EU-Russia Energy Relationship

By David Koranyi

Natural Gas Europe quotes Eurasia Center Deputy Director David Koranyi on challenges facing the South Stream pipeline:

Russia Ukraine

In the News

May 11, 2014

Herbst on Eastern Ukraine Independence Referendum

By John Herbst

Eurasia Center Director John Herbst joins CNBC to discuss the independence referendum held in Eastern Ukraine and why the results do not reflect general opinion in the region:

Russia Ukraine

Experts

Events