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Brian Whitmore

@powervertical.bsky.social

A blog and podcast about Russian and post-Soviet politics.

3,577 Followers  |  133 Following  |  804 Posts  |  Joined: 17.05.2023  |  1.8056

Latest posts by powervertical.bsky.social on Bluesky

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My message remains the same a year later.

We don’t have kings in America, and I won’t bend the knee to one.

16.02.2026 00:58 β€” πŸ‘ 5870    πŸ” 1161    πŸ’¬ 106    πŸ“Œ 48
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William Hancock (@williamhancock714058) Now Bannon is saying that the election of the Pope was rigged.

Oy vey
substack.com/@williamhanc...

15.02.2026 23:51 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Case for a Pan-European Nuclear Doctrine Enhancing Europe’s security and ensuring strategic independence

Anton @shekhovtsov.substack.com was way ahead of the curve on this. Merz’s Munich speech makes that clear
open.substack.com/pub/shekhovt...

15.02.2026 05:32 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Shaun Pinner (@pinnerpatter) At Munich, Volodymyr Zelensky tore away the illusions and said out loud what everyone dealing in reality already knows: this isn’t a normal ruler, and this isn’t a normal war. β€˜Putin doesn’t live lik...

Zelensky in Munich
substack.com/@pinnerpatte...

15.02.2026 03:52 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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RUSSIA AND THE EMERGING WORLD ORDER The Power Vertical Podcast

open.substack.com/pub/brianwhi...

14.02.2026 03:43 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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RUSSIA AND THE EMERGING WORLD ORDER powervertical Β· RUSSIA AND THE EMERGING WORLD ORDER One would think that Vladimir Putin is smiling when he looks at the rapidly changing US role in the world. One would assume that the Kremlin is d…

How does the changing U.S. posture in the world look from the Kremlin? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, I spoke with the always insightful Mikhail Zygar (@zygaro.bsky.social) to break it all down.

www.powervertical.org/2026/02/13/r...

14.02.2026 00:07 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Message to the IOC

12.02.2026 21:40 β€” πŸ‘ 46    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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β€˜New heights’: Russia is aligning with China’s goals, top intelligence report The analysis by Estonia's highly-regarded foreign intelligence service dashes hopes of the US executing a 'reverse-Kissinger'

Worth reading open.substack.com/pub/latikamb...

12.02.2026 03:32 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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THE DARK ART OF GEOPOLITICAL EXTORTION The Power Vertical Podcast

open.substack.com/pub/brianwhi...

10.02.2026 02:46 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Andy Borowitz (@borowitzreport) I approve this bunny

substack.com/@borowitzrep...

10.02.2026 02:43 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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THE DARK ART OF GEOPOLITICAL EXTORTION The Power Vertical Podcast

open.substack.com/pub/brianwhi...

09.02.2026 17:32 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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This woman is in charge of the US Agency for Global Media, which is supposed to serve and represent the best American values

09.02.2026 03:10 β€” πŸ‘ 9607    πŸ” 2440    πŸ’¬ 932    πŸ“Œ 268
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β€œThe only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

09.02.2026 04:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1522    πŸ” 223    πŸ’¬ 20    πŸ“Œ 4
Health Officials Investigating Measles Exposures to DC Residents (Washington, DC) - DC Health was notified of multiple confirmed cases of measles whose carriers visited multiple locations in the District while contagious. DC Health is informing people who were at t...

People of DC, more than two weeks into being totally iced in, now get news of measles spreadβ€”brought in by Right to Life marchers.

Looking for people exposed on the Metro, at DCA, at Children's Hospital, on Amtrak.

Gee, thanks, RFKJr et al.

dchealth.dc.gov/release/heal...

09.02.2026 03:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1242    πŸ” 480    πŸ’¬ 39    πŸ“Œ 30
Terrified Conservatives Lose Ability To Speak English After Exposure To Bad Bunny Performance

Terrified Conservatives Lose Ability To Speak English After Exposure To Bad Bunny Performance

Terrified Conservatives Lose Ability To Speak English After Exposure To Bad Bunny Performance https://theonion.com/terrified-conservatives-lose-ability-to-speak-english-after-exposure-to-bad-bunny-performance-dios-mio-cry-millions-of-panicking-republicans/

09.02.2026 01:35 β€” πŸ‘ 16950    πŸ” 3762    πŸ’¬ 135    πŸ“Œ 162
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THE DARK ART OF GEOPOLITICAL EXTORTION The Power Vertical Podcast

open.substack.com/pub/brianwhi...

08.02.2026 21:08 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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THE DARK ART OF GEOPOLITICAL EXTORTION The Power Vertical Podcast

The Power Vertical Podcast now available directly on Substack
open.substack.com/pub/brianwhi...

08.02.2026 00:23 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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THE DARK ART OF GEOPOLITICAL EXTORTION powervertical Β· THE DARK ART OF GEOPOLITICAL EXTORTION It’s a playbook we’ve seen the Kremlin deploy again and again. And like Charlie Brown getting tricked by Lucy with the football, w…

On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, I spoke with Craig Kennedy about his new report on what was really behind Russia's reflagging of the Bella-1 oil tanker. www.powervertical.org/2026/02/06/t...

07.02.2026 18:43 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Good question

06.02.2026 16:26 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why Does A Narcissist Accept Humiliation? Epstein Might Be The Answer. Does the Risk of Greater Humiliation Loom...

open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

06.02.2026 05:05 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Andy Borowitz (@borowitzreport) SEATTLEβ€”A heated battle has erupted between two of the world’s richest men as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk compete to see who can shed more customers, industry observers reported on Thursday. Davis Logsd...

lol
substack.com/@borowitzrep...

06.02.2026 03:36 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Mighty Middle Powers: Could America’s Disgruntled Allies Become a Rival Superpower? For a while now I’ve been arguing that Trump’s worldview pulls the planet toward a blunt β€œgreat powers” paradigm: three big playersβ€”the United States, China, Russiaβ€”then everyone else gets pressured t...

A very smart take. Well worth reading open.substack.com/pub/michaeld...

03.02.2026 05:12 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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We Are Confused, Maladapted Apes Who Need Enlightenment With Homo sapiens, Darwinian evolution produced a new kind of animal: a species that builds worlds it struggles to understand.

A long read that is well worth your time. Highly recommended open.substack.com/pub/conspicu...

03.02.2026 04:56 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks Face coverings may work less to protect federal agents from danger than to make it easier for them to do unconstitutional things.

Truth and wisdom from Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social A must-read piece
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

03.02.2026 03:21 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why Trump's Militarism Won't Split MAGA Local Area Political Scientist Points At Sign Again

open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...

03.02.2026 03:08 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Peter Blinky (@peterblinky) Dutch Tribute sending solidarity to Minneapolis The tribute is filmed at Arendsduin, a quiet North Sea beach entrance in ’s‑Gravenzande, South Holland, Netherlands. De Strandharker. a Dutch beach ar...

substack.com/@peterblinky...

02.02.2026 06:25 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Andy Borowitz (@borowitzreport) If They Call Me a Domestic Terrorist A poem by Michael F. Dubois

This
substack.com/@borowitzrep...

02.02.2026 05:26 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Three Economies, $252 Billion, One Clear Message to Washington A Quarter-Trillion Dollars Just Voted Against the United States

Worth a read
open.substack.com/pub/shankarn...

02.02.2026 04:30 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Thucydides' Warning For America Trump is the antithesis of Reagan -- and he could destroy American power

This is worth reading
open.substack.com/pub/dgardner...

01.02.2026 04:07 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

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