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.
From Kyiv to Tbilisi and from Warsaw to Prague, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has been insisting that Washington stands by its friends in the former communist bloc -- even as it seeks better relations with Moscow. So how's he doing?
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has just wrapped up a three-day visit to Eastern Europe. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Biden said he believes he has successfully allayed fears that U.S. efforts to improve relations with Russia could come at the expense of Washington's Eastern European allies.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is in Warsaw to reassure Poland about Washington's revamped plans for a missile-defense system in Central Europe. Some countries in the region are concerned their security interests will be sacrificed as President Barack Obama seeks to improve relations with Russia.
Will the Nabucco pipeline become a casualty of the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement? Azerbaijan's president says that Turkey pays too little for its gas and that Baku would seek alternative routes. If he's not just bluffing, analysts say it could be the death knell for the Western-backed project and provide a big boost to Russia's South Stream.
After upbeat meetings with officials in Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Kazan, capital of the Muslim-majority region of Tatarstan. Tatarstan has long sought to preserve its autonomy from Moscow. Is there more to Clinton's visit than meets the eye?
As Armenia and Turkey reestablish diplomatic relations, there is renewed momentum for a settlement in the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. That prospect has led to both hope and anxiety about what will happen if the delicate status quo that has existed for the past 15 years is changed.
Many among Armenia's 5.7 million-strong diaspora see rapprochement with Turkey as a betrayal. As President Serzh Sarkisian nears the end of a four-country tour to drum up diaspora support for the thaw with Ankara, he must navigate a mosaic of deep mistrust, historical grievances, and bitter tensions.
With Eastern Europe jittery about a resurgent Russia, U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to overhaul plans for a missile-defense system in Europe. What do Obama's changes mean for the region?
The Kremlin has made him a weapon in its soft-power arsenal. The State Duma has granted him the authority to review and amend legislation. He's a major player in political debates about education, state ideology, and the interpretation of history. Just half a year after his enthronement, Patriarch Kirill has become a major force in Russian politics.
One year ago, Russia recognized Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Almost no other country followed suit. Today, the two territories remain mired in legal limbo, with uncertain futures.
Russian officials have dismissed apparent claims by the militant group Riyad-us Salihiin that it was behind this week's deadly explosion at a hydroelectric station in Siberia. But analysts say the group is developing the ability to strike deep inside Russia.
With Europe preparing to mark the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact's signing, Russia's influence in the region is once again on the rise. In Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the territory of modern-day Moldova, anxiety still lingers over small nations' fates being decided by great powers.
Stories of trapped survivors knocking to alert rescue workers that they are alive. A detached government ill-equipped to deal with sudden disaster. A race-against-the-clock rescue effort as hope fades. In many ways, this week's disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is reminiscent of the August 2000 sinking of the submarine "Kursk."
As Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill completed his controversial visit to Ukraine this week, two historical documents have been unearthed that illustrate the role the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church played in destroying the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the 1940s.
One year after Russia and Georgia fought a bitter five-day war, the two breakaway territories at the heart of the conflict, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, appear to be moving in opposite directions – one away from the Russian sphere of influence, and one deeper into it.
When Russia and Georgia went to war a year ago, it seemed to some that the hope and promise of the Rose Revolution had died. Georgians have since expressed cautious optimism, but few appear to trust President Mikheil Saakashvili and his entourage to deliver it.
Wrapping up his visit, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has delivered an "address to the Ukrainian people" that was supportive but critical. He praised Ukrainian democracy, but also urged its political elite to end feuding and concentrate on reforming the country's devastated economy and decaying energy sector.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden departs Ukraine for Georgia today. In Kyiv, Biden said Washington's efforts to repair strained ties with Russia will not hurt U.S. support for Ukraine's push to integrate with the West. Russia, meanwhile, dismissed Biden's trip as "psychotherapy."
Former Georgian UN envoy Irakli Alasania has launched a new political party that aims to attract voters weary of the country's longstanding political deadlock. Can the former diplomat become a political peacemaker?
Mikheil Saakashvili has often raised the specter of a second Russian invasion. But in a sudden about-face, the Georgian leader now says he has no worries about a new war. The change of tone comes just a week after U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Moscow. Did the U.S. offer Georgia a guarantee of support in case of a fresh invasion?
Load more
