Johnson's Russia List

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Concorde Capital – July 28, 2014) If Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko launches a loyal political party to compete in the early parliamentary elections expected in October, it would finish in fifth place, according to a poll conducted of 2,040 respondents between July 16 and 23 by the Kyiv International

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Gorlivka, Ukraine – July 28, 2014) In the evening of July 27, Gorlivka, an industrial town of around 250,000 about an hour’s drive from the city of Donetsk, was shuddering as Ukrainian government forces launched an attempt to recapture it from Russian-backed separatist rebels, who had

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – July 28, 2014) If President Vladimir Putin is facing the biggest international backlash of his 14-year reign, it is because he has – in the eyes of the West – violated the one great taboo of the post-9/11 world: supporting terrorism. The problem is, viewed from a

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stepan Kravchenko – July 27, 2014) In eastern Ukraine, one text message can turn you into an enemy. In my case, it was sent to my father. “Talked to Borodai at night,” it said about an interview I had with a rebel leader. “So, you are Borodai’s little friend,” concluded the

KIEV, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Oleksandr Turchynov, dissolved the country’s Communist Party during Thursday’s session. “As of July 1, 2014, this parliamentary party was down to 23 members [from the previous number of 33], which is significantly less than the minimum requirement for parliamentary parties. In this regard and

KIEV, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s Svoboda and UDAR parties announced Thursdaytheir factions in the Ukrainian parliament were quitting the majority coalition, paving the way for the dissolution of parliament. The majority coalition in the Ukrainian parliament, created after the February coup, had 256 members, the vast majority of them representing the erstwhile opposition

DONETSK. July 24 (Interfax) – Explosions and volley fire are audible in Donetsk and smoke can be seen above north-western suburbs of the city, the Interfax correspondent reported on Thursday. According to the information of the press office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) information ministry, a fight between militia and the Ukrainian army

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Luhansk – July 23, 2014) Luhansk falls quiet as its citizens flee the city. The train station is the town’s last populated place as residents queue for any ride out of town – and not by coincidence it is also one of the rebels’ favourite artillery