(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON – July 14, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/big-weapons-big-meeting-could-trump-putin-agree-on-new-arms-control-deal-/29365115.html) Just […]
Headlines
RUSSIALINK: “Russia supports U.S. efforts on settlement on Korean Peninsula in contacts with N. Korea – Lavrov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 14 (Interfax) – Russia supports the efforts made by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on settling the […]
NEWSLINK: “Mueller’s New Indictment – Do the Feds Take Us for Idiots” – Medium/Mark McCarty
“… The timing of the indictment is of course quite strategic — released right before Trump’s summit with Putin, there will be no time for critiques of […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Pussy Riot claims on-field protest at World Cup final” – AP
“… Pussy Riot has claimed responsibility for four people who ran onto the field and disrupted the World Cup final. … [tweeting] that the disruption […]
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-129 :: Sunday, 15 July 2018
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; […]
Survey: What Can We Expect From the Trump-Putin Summit?
(Russia Matters – RM Experts – russiamatters.org – July 12, 2018 – russiamatters.org/analysis/survey-what-can-we-expect-trump-putin-summit – featured image is a file photo from another occasion) On July […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Iran Role in Syria Key Item at Trump-Putin Summit” – AP
“As fighting wanes after seven years of war, the U.S. has made curtailing Iran’s influence in post-war Syria a strategic objective – one strongly backed […]
RUSSIALINK: “Pardon request sent by Sentsov’s mother to Putin to be processed as soon as it is received – Peskov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) – The request for pardoning Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, which has been sent by Sentsov’s mother to Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-128 :: Friday, 13 July 2018
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; […]
Stephen J. Cimbala: “Arms Control and the Trump-Putin Summit”
Subject: Arms Control and the Trump-Putin Summit Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2018 From: STEPHEN CIMBALA <sjc2@psu.edu> Arms Control and the Trump-Putin Summit By Stephen J. […]
Pension Fight Highlights Russia’s Fundamental Problem – Its Government, Gontmakher Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 10, 2018) The fight over Moscow’s proposal to raise the pension age highlights the fact that […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump, Putin May Agree to Resume Stalled Arms Control Talks” – Reuters
“… When [Trump and Putin] meet in Helsinki … they are likely to touch on whether to extend the “New START” agreement to 2026 and […]
JRL NEWSWATCH/ RUSSIAWATCH: “How to Reduce Nuclear Risks in Helsinki” – Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov, Sam Nunn, Desmond Browne/Russian International Affairs Council
“… First, begin discussions on how to increase decision time for leaders to reduce the risk of a false warning of a nuclear attack or […]
NEWSLINK: “Summitgate and the Campaign vs. ‘Peace’; Not surprisingly, Trump’s meetings with NATO and Putin are being portrayed as ominous events by Russiagaters” – The Nation/Stephen F. Cohen
“As Cohen pointed out in previous discussions, U.S.-Russian (Soviet and post-Soviet) summits are a long tradition going back to FDR’s wartime meeting with Stalin in […]
RUSSIALINK: “NASA may ask Russia for additional Soyuz seats due to delayed U.S. ships’ certification – source” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) – The United States may fail to certify its manned spaceships before August 2020, in which case NASA will need additional […]
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-127 :: Thursday, 12 July 2018
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “These Are the High Stakes of the NATO and Trump-Putin Summits; Trump and America’s allies must stand firm while also not sleep-walking into war” – The National Interest/Peter Zwack
“… The Russian meeting is preceded by Trump’s fraught attendance at the … NATO[] summit and a next-day visit to an uneasy United Kingdom. … […]
RUSSIALINK: “Pension age should be increased in smooth, differentiated fashion – Moskalkova” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax) – The pension age in Russia should not be increased for everyone simultaneously, but for every category of pensioners separately, Russian […]
RUSSIALINK: “Provision on criminal liability for complying with Western sanctions on Russian territory may be removed from bill – Volodin” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) – Russian MPs may remove the provision criminalizing compliance with Western anti-Russian sanctions in the country from a draft bill that […]
RUSSIALINK: “Almost half of Ukrainians against land, pension reforms, privatization of state-owned firms – poll” – Interfax
KYIV. July 10 (Interfax) – Almost every second (49%) Ukrainian respondent is opposed to the land reform, or rather the cancellation of the existing moratorium […]
U.S.-Russian Relations, U.S.-Ukrainian Relations
Big Weapons, Big Meeting: Could Trump, Putin Agree On New Arms Control Deal?
(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON – July 14, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/big-weapons-big-meeting-could-trump-putin-agree-on-new-arms-control-deal-/29365115.html) Just […]
Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Pussy Riot claims on-field protest at World Cup final” – AP
“… Pussy Riot has claimed responsibility for four people who ran onto the field and disrupted the World Cup final. … [tweeting] that the disruption […]
Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Pension Fight Highlights Russia’s Fundamental Problem – Its Government, Gontmakher Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 10, 2018) The fight over Moscow’s proposal to raise the pension age highlights the fact that […]
Russia & Ukraine
RUSSIALINK: “Pardon request sent by Sentsov’s mother to Putin to be processed as soon as it is received – Peskov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) – The request for pardoning Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, which has been sent by Sentsov’s mother to Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
NEWSLINK: “Semi-state Security Actors and Russian Aggression” – Lawfareblog/Kimberly Marten
“… missing from much of the discussion is the fact that a variety of semi-state security groups, with a hazy relationship to Moscow’s central authorities, […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s army advances slowly at Russian front” – Kyiv Post/Illia Ponomarenko, Volodymyr Petrov
“For the Ukrainian military, this heavy strike by Russian-led forces, who hold ground just three kilometers to the south, came as no surprise. Despite dozens […]
Ukraine’s ‘Creeping Advances’: A Win-Win Tactic? For more than two years Ukraine has been quietly “de-occupying” a grey zone between its troops and Russian-backed separatists. No matter how Russia and the West respond, Ukraine’s leadership stands to benefit.
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Huseyn Aliyev – July 5, 2018 – https://www.russiamatters.org/blog/ukraines-creeping-advances-win-win-tactic) Soon after the start of Russia’s official military involvement in Syria, another […]
Human Rights
RUSSIALINK: “Pardon request sent by Sentsov’s mother to Putin to be processed as soon as it is received – Peskov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) – The request for pardoning Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, which has been sent by Sentsov’s mother to Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Amid growing tensions with Russia, a push for meaningful dialogue” – Christian Science Monitor/Linda Feldmann
“… U.S.-Russian relations have only sunk into deeper distress … more sanctions, more diplomatic expulsions, more military clashes in Syria, and a growing sense that […]
Oil, Gas, Energy
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Is Building $320 Million Icebreakers to Carve New Arctic Routes; The 1,000-foot-long vessels for hauling liquefied natural gas can cut through ice up to 7 feet thick” – Bloomberg/Eric Roston
“… there’s no less hospitable an industrial workplace than Yamal LNG, a $27 billion liquid natural gas plant … in Russian territory 375 miles north […]
Nuclear, Missile Defense
Big Weapons, Big Meeting: Could Trump, Putin Agree On New Arms Control Deal?
(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON – July 14, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/big-weapons-big-meeting-could-trump-putin-agree-on-new-arms-control-deal-/29365115.html) Just […]
Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus
Armenia’s “permanent revolution”: why do the protests continue in Yerevan? With the resignation of Armenia’s prime minister, it looks as if Armenia is line for radical change. But the Armenia’s entrenched network of power is not giving up so easily.
(opendemocracy.net – Mikayel Zolyan – April 25, 2018) Mikayel Zolyan is a historian and political analyst from Yerevan, Armenia. He writes here in a personal […]
Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
RUSSIALINK: “Pardon request sent by Sentsov’s mother to Putin to be processed as soon as it is received – Peskov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) – The request for pardoning Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, which has been sent by Sentsov’s mother to Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
Media, Social Media, Internet
NEWSLINK: “Implausible Deniability: Novichok Victim Dies: Did the Kremlin Really Lose Control of its Deadliest Poisons? The real question is where does the Russian criminal state end and the criminal underworld begin, and how do they work together in what amounts to a new murder incorporated?” – Daily Beast/Amy Knight
“… Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley visited … Salisbury and somehow ingested the exotic nerve agent used in the poisoning of Russian defector Sergei Skripal […]
RUSSIALINK: “Sobchak on Sobchak: A New Film about Russia in the 1990s; Vera Krichevskaya and Ksenia Sobchak teamed up to make a film about Anatoly Sobchak” – Moscow Times/Andrei Muchnik
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrei Muchnik – June 29, 2018) Ksenia Sobchak, recent presidential candidate, TV host and socialite, and director Vera Krichevskaya, known […]
NEWSLINK: “Tech didn’t spot Russian interference during the last election. Now it’s asking law enforcement for help.” – Washington Post
“Silicon Valley companies and law enforcement are starting to talk about how to ward off meddling by malicious actors including Russia on social media in […]
NEWSLINK: “Mueller asks to secure evidence in ‘Putin chef’ case, citing Russian intelligence and ongoing interference operations” – Washington Post/Spencer S. Hsu
“Federal prosecutors say they believe operations to interfere in U.S. elections are ongoing and want a court to tightly control how evidence gathered by special […]
NEWSLINK: “David Dimbleby on a Russia in crisis and the holes in President Putin’s defence” – The Times (UK)
“With coercion and cunning propaganda, the president has kept Russians in line. But on a pre-World Cup visit David Dimbleby finds money is running out […]
RUSSIALIST: “Journalist Who Faked Own Death in Kiev Demands $50,000 for Interview” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 5, 2018) Arkady Babchenko, the exiled Russian journalist who faked his own death in Ukraine to evade what he […]
Reporter’s Notebook: After A ‘Death’ And ‘Resurrection’ In Kyiv, Confusion And A Desire For Answers
(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Christopher Miller – KYIV, June 1, 2018 – article also appeared at rferl.org/a/reporters-notebook-after-death-and-resurrection-in-kyiv-confusion-and-desire-for-answers/29266391.html) The […]
NEWSLINK: “Translating “The Americans,” and Seeing a Mirror of My Own American Experience” – The New Yorker/Masha Gessen
“… I immigrated to the United States with my parents in 1981, the year the show begins. … * * * In its quest for […]
RUSSIALINK: “Ukrainian president reacts to criticism of Babchenko’s staged murder, praises security operation” – Interfax
KYIV. May 31 (Interfax) – Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has responded to critics of the Ukrainian security services’ special operation that involved staging a murder […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Assassins were trying kill Babchenko. He has every right to do anything to survive. (As someone who also has had death threats lodged against me, I find lectures about how hunted people are supposed to act to be insensitive.)'” – Michael McFaul/Twitter
(Michael McFaul – @McFaul – Twitter – May 31, 2018) “‘Assassins were trying kill Babchenko. He has every right to do anything to survive. (As […]
Europe, EU
RUSSIALINK: “Provision on criminal liability for complying with Western sanctions on Russian territory may be removed from bill – Volodin” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) – Russian MPs may remove the provision criminalizing compliance with Western anti-Russian sanctions in the country from a draft bill that […]
Health, Alcohol, Smoking, AIDS, Epidemics
RUSSIALINK: Interfax: “Duma speaker warns of Russia’s dangerous dependency on U.S. pharmaceutical imports”
MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) – Russia must take efficient measures to swiftly make available in its market domestically produced medicinal drugs to secure itself from […]
Assassinations
NEWSLINK: “Implausible Deniability: Novichok Victim Dies: Did the Kremlin Really Lose Control of its Deadliest Poisons? The real question is where does the Russian criminal state end and the criminal underworld begin, and how do they work together in what amounts to a new murder incorporated?” – Daily Beast/Amy Knight
“… Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley visited … Salisbury and somehow ingested the exotic nerve agent used in the poisoning of Russian defector Sergei Skripal […]
NEWSLINK: “At Site of U.K. Poisoning, Doubts About Case Creep In” – New York Times/Ellen Barry
“… along Salisbury’s shopping streets, residents and businesspeople compare notes on the questions that remain unanswered. …”
NEWSLINK: “World Cup dream is ‘sportswashing’ Russia’s appalling record” – Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
“In 2010 when this tournament was awarded, no one thought Russia would suddenly become a bastion of human and civil rights, though it’s worth reflecting […]
RUSSIALIST: “Journalist Who Faked Own Death in Kiev Demands $50,000 for Interview” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 5, 2018) Arkady Babchenko, the exiled Russian journalist who faked his own death in Ukraine to evade what he […]
Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Theater, Music
NEWSLINK: “Saint Petersburg, Russia, Wins The World Cup Of Condensed Guides To European Culture” – Forbes/Gil Press
:… Shamlikashvili … [is] the owner of Indigo Hotel which opened in 2014 as the first of InterContinental Hotels Group’s Indigo brand of boutique hotels […]
Religion
Putin Advisers Question Legality Of Prosecution Of Jehovah’s Witnesses
(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – June 21, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/putin-calls-us-senator-mccain-old-world-but-admires-his-patriotism/28537171.html) Advisers to Russian President Vladimir Putin have […]
