top-down operation(The view underlines Russian authorities' continuing discomfort with political pluralism and preference for top-down operation. TG Alexander Demidov)
power vertical(Others suggest that the sell-offs are just a ruse to wrest control of the outlets from regional leaders and put them under the power vertical. TMT Alexander Demidov)
vertical of power(Putin has created what he calls a "vertical of power," something unlike any we see in other great nations. The entire structure of Russian political power rests on one man. // CNN bookworm)