Brian Whitmore is the author of RFE/RL's popular Power Vertical blog, written especially for Russia wonks and obsessive Kremlin watchers, and the host of the weekly Power Vertical Podcast.
The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday.
After more than two years of focusing almost exclusively on foreign conflicts, the Kremlin leader appears to be turning his attention to domestic affairs.
Two lies the Kremlin has been spouting about the Ukraine conflict have just been exposed.
It's tempting to look at the bombastic Russian lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky as nothing more than a clown and a buffoon. But he's not.
As the European Union and Turkey were negotiating an agreement last week to ease the worst refugee crisis since World War II, Moscow chimed in with a snarky message.
So, what do you do if you're a Ukrainian citizen kidnapped on Ukrainian soil and forced to endure a ridiculous show trial in Russia?
We soon may be able to add yet another name to the list of Vladimir Putin's liberal enablers.
Russia's escalation of hostilities in Ukraine this week, just as a cease-fire in Syria was kicking in, was as cynical as it was predictable.
When the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France meet in Paris today to discuss the Minsk ceasefire, they may as well be attending a funeral.
What does it say about a regime when it is prepared to turn helpless civilians into weapons in its war for geopolitical influence?
Load more
