The Battle for Belarus: Russified Regime Faces Westernizing Society
The “Russification” of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarian regime in Belarus continues apace. Continue reading
Tag Archives: politics
The Navalny Paradox and Other Tales
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny announced this week that he was going on a hunger strike. The move came amid reports that Navalny’s health is deteriorating and his supporters are claiming that the Kremlin is slowly killing him in prison. Continue reading
Soft Annexation: Inside the Russian Takeover of Belarus
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week that there are no discussions underway about unifying Russia and Belarus. Continue reading
The Eastern Front
Don’t look now, but Russia is modernizing its military infrastructure and expanding its force structure in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad – which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. Continue reading
Moscow’s Man in Minsk
The Kremlin has been busy laying the groundwork to tighten its grip on Russia’s far smaller but strategically important western neighbor. Continue reading
The Georgian Front
We’ve got Georgia on our minds, but not for good reasons. We’ll unpack the crisis and what it means. Continue reading
The Power Horizontal
With Navalny now facing years in prison, the question remains: can his network survive without its leader? Continue reading
The Navalny Phenomenon – Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Watch Power Vertical Podcast host Brian Whitmore discuss the Navalny Phenomenon with Maria Snegovaya and David Satter in an event sponsored by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Continue reading
Putin’s Stealth Takeover of Belarus Gains Momentum
Putin’s strategy for leveraging the unrest in Belarus in order to assure Moscow’s long-term dominance over the country. Continue reading
Putin’s Death Squads
Vladimir Kara-Murza survived two poisoning attempts that were — according to the preponderance of evidence — carried out on the Kremlin’s orders. Continue reading