Putin’s Backing Allows Kadyrov Free Reign for Open Threats, Analysts Say

Ramzan Kadyrov file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – January 13, 2015) Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has embarked in recent days on a marathon of threat-laden spats with prominent public figures, making statements so brazen they would be unimaginable coming from any other regional leader. Analysts interviewed by The Moscow Times attributed Kadyrov’s recent bout of brashness to the unyielding trust […]

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Russian court explains decision not to jail Kremlin critic Navalnyy

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Interfax – January 12, 2015) A Russian court has explained its decision to give a suspended sentence to anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic Aleksey Navalnyy while jailing his brother, Oleg, Interfax news agency reported on 12 January. Interfax quoted Moscow’s Zamoskvoretskiy court saying that “in handing down punishment, the court took into account the actual facts in the case, information […]

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Russia Civil Society will Grow like ‘Blade of Grass through Concrete,’ Gontmakher Says

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 13, 2015) Yevgeny Gontmakher, a prominent Moscow economist and commentator, has invoked one of the most powerful images available about the ways in which the human spirit can overcome ever the harshest and most repressive regimes: “like a blade of grass breaking through concrete.” As anyone who has been on a […]

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RIA Novosti: Euronews TV channel says Kiev wants “blunt propaganda”, not “balanced approach”

Ukraine Map and Flag

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, January 12, 2015) The Ukrainian authorities for a long time have been doing everything possible to restrict access to any information that runs counter to their position but Kiev can’t close down the Ukrainian language version of the international television channel Euronews because decision lies with the television channel itself, Petr Fedorov, vice-chairman of the Euronews Supervisory […]

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Securing peace instead of rewarding expansion: An appeal, by over 100 German-speaking experts on Eastern Europe, for a reality-based and not illusions-guided Russia policy

Map of Germany

(opendemocracy.net – Andreas Umland – January 9, 2015) Andreas Umland is a DAAD Associate Professor of European Studies at the Political Science Department of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy [“Some of the most influential German correspondents on Russia and Ukraine sympathise with the appeal, but, for specifically professional reasons, did not add their signatures.”] On December 5, 2014, 60 prominent German personalities […]

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Russia Unlikely to Abandon ISS for National Space Station – Roscosmos Deputy

International Space Station file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 13, 2015) Despite talk that tensions over Ukraine might lead to a Russian withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) in favor of a new national station, a senior space official downplayed the possibility in an interview published Tuesday. “Theoretically it is possible to create a new Russian space station, but neither the current […]

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Russia 2014 Gas Exports Seen Lowest in Decade as Nations Cut Use

Gas Flame file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva – January 13, 2015) Russia, the world’s biggest natural-gas exporter, probably cut 2014 fuel exports to the lowest in a decade as consumption in Europe and Ukraine declined. OAO Gazprom (GAZP), the state-run gas-pipeline export monopoly, supplied no more than 195 billion cubic meters of fuel from Russia to the European Union, Turkey and […]

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Russians Still Prefer Print Editions Over Online Publications

Collage of Russian Newspapers

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 13, 2015) More than a third of Russians are most likely to read their favorite articles online and 17 percent are willing to give up print media altogether, according to a study published Monday by state-run pollster VTsIOM. The poll was conducted last month among 1,600 people across Russia with a margin of error […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#8 table of contents with links :: Tuesday 13 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

… 27. Bloomberg: Ukraine’s Effort to Cut Russian-Gas Reliance Sees Explorers Exit.
28. The Economist: The Economist explains. Why Europe no longer fears the Russian gasman.
29. Reuters: U.S. to back $2 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine. …

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#7 table of contents with links :: Monday 12 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2015-#7 :: Monday 12 January 2015 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php  Russia 1. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russian 7th graders struggle to […]

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Gorbachev’s Call for ‘Perestroika’ of International Relations His Latest ‘Cynical Scam,’ Ikhlov Says

File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

(Window On Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 11, 2105) Mikhail Gorbachev’s current call for the “perestroika” of the international system is just as much a “cynical political scam” as was his original one, something that led many to conclude he wanted something more than just a more effective form of “authoritarian modernization,” according to Yevgeny Ikhlov. With the […]

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Working in the Gulag: Russia’s Prison Service, the FSIN, wants to put inmates’ employment on a more businesslike footing, but their working conditions are still more like slave labour

Russian Jail File Photo Showing Outer Wall, Windows, Barbed Wire

(opendemocracy.net – VYACHESLAV KOZLOV – January 9, 2015) Vyacheslav Kozlov is a journalist for daily newspaper Kommersant. He writes on international relations, nationalism, extremism, narco-politics, the Russian opposition and the problems facing Russia’s NGOs. He has at various times worked for Vremya Novostei, Moskovskiye Novosti and the online publication Gazeta.ru. His work has also appeared in Novaya Gazeta and Lenta.ru. […]

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Theater and the Heart of a City: Moscow’s Teatr.doc’s Confrontation with Authority

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Blair A. Ruble – January 2015) Blair A. Ruble is vice president for programs; director, urban sustainability laboratory; and senior advisor, Kennan Institute, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. On the evening of December 30, 2014 — just as two dozen or so patrons were settling into their seats at a purposefully ramshackle basement […]

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Interfax: Ukrainian military are bombing Zasyadko mine – Zakharchenko

Ukraine Map and Flag

MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) – Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, believes the Ukrainian military are deliberately targeting the Zasyadko mine. “The Ukrainian military generally opens random fire on the residential sector. But they are specifically targeting the Zasyadko mine,” Zakharchenko was quoted by the Donetsk News Agency as saying. Zakharchenko recalled that shelling had caused […]

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Opposition Posterboy Navalny Defies House Arrest … Again

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – January 12, 2015) Opposition firebrand Alexei Navalny has continued to defy what he has described as his “illegal” house arrest by going to work on Saturday, as the European Court of Human Rights prepares to consider his complaint over a recent conviction. Navalny has vehemently railed against the guilty verdict handed down […]

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Soros’s Terrible Plan to Throw Money at Ukraine

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – January 8, 2015) The case President Petro Poroshenko’s government has made for international financial support got a boost from the financier and philanthropist George Soros, who urged Europe to put together a $50 billion rescue package for Ukraine. Both Soros’s detailed plan and the government’s fundraising efforts face an uphill struggle: The government […]

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Rating Downgrade Set to Scare More Capital Out of Russia

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson, Alexander Panin – January 12, 2015) Rating agency Fitch on Friday downgraded Russia’s credit rating to one notch above junk status, warning that oil price falls and Western sanctions could contract the country’s economy by 4 percent this year and force the government to pour cash into Russia’s buckling banking system. Coming on […]

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In Russia, Tears and Jeers After Charlie Hebdo Massacre

Paris, France, View from Eiffel Tower

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – January 12, 2015) A mixture of genuine grief, petty political pandering and condemnation of a vaguely defined notion of blasphemy have dominated a broad array of Russian reactions to the massacre at French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead. As much of the world commiserates with France in the aftermath […]

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Russian 7th graders struggle to count and solve math problems, says study

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Fedorov – January 9, 2015) RBTH spoke to experts about the results of the National Study of Education Quality (NIKO), recently carried out in Russia. They illustrated the roots of the problems the country is experiencing with mathematics at school and explained why it is not worth relying on the international PISA assessments. Russia’s first […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#6 table of contents with links :: Friday 9 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2015-#6 :: Friday 9 January 2015 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php  Russia 1. CNBC.com: Falling ruble? Say ‘da!’ to good deals on […]

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Educating Russians abroad

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(opendemocracy.net – Polina Nikolskaya – January 7, 2015) Polina Nikolskaya is a correspondent at Kommersant Vlast. She has previously worked at Gazeta.ru and Lenta.ru. In 2014, the Russian government launched the ‘Global Education’ programme of postgraduate education abroad. But the reaction in Russia has been obstructive and hostile. In October 2014, Russia withdrew from the American Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) […]

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RIA Novosti: Rostislav Ishchenko, 2015: Year of a Fundamental Turnabout

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(RIA Novosti – January 6, 2015) The world is entering 2015. People hope for better, but are preparing for the worst. It is hard to be optimists when the year is beginning to the salvoes of the incessant civil war in Ukraine, to Kiev’s threats to settle the problem of the Donbass and Crimea militarily before the end of 2015, […]

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New Russian Regulation Says Transgender People Unfit to Drive

Moscow Traffic file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – January 9, 2015) Transgender people may no longer be allowed to drive cars in Russia under new road safety regulations signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. A decree published on the government website earlier this month lists an array of health conditions that can disqualify someone from getting behind the wheel, among […]

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EU to provide €1.8 billion extra funds for foundering Ukraine

EU Map

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – IntelliNews – January 9, 2015) The EU will provide €1.8bn in macroeconomic assistance to default-threatened Ukraine, the European Commission announced on February 8. But the move might not be enough to save Ukraine from a sovereign default. The loan comes one day after a call by veteran financier George Soros for the EU to find €50bn for […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#5 table of contents with links :: Thursday 8 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2015-#5 :: Thursday 8 January 2015 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php  Ukraine 1. Business New Europe: Soros calls for EU to give Ukraine […]

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Meet the EEU family (Eurasian Economic Union)

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – January 5, 2015) Members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia Prospective member: Armenia Potential members: Kyrgyzstan (likely), Tajikistan (unlikely) Population: 173mn (Russia, including Crimea, 146mn; Kazakhstan, 17mn; Belarus, 10mn) Total GDP: $2.7tn Share of world gas reserves: 20% Share of world oil reserves: 15% On January 1, the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty governing what […]

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Interfax: Russia’s grain harvest tops 105 million tons in 2014

Field of Grain file photo

(Interfax – January 8, 2014) Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov has reported a record grain harvest of 105.3 million tonnes collected in Russia in 2014. “According to updated reports, Russian agrarians produced 105.3 million tonnes [of grain] in what people call granary weight,” he said at a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The premier said the previous year “was rather […]

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Lifting the lid on Russia’s bad habits

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Maria Fyodorishina, special to RBTH – January 8, 2015) Psychologists and sociologists have identified several bad habits typical of Russians: smoking, swearing, drinking a lot of tea, and even the habit of passing the blame. What do the statistics say and what are the explanations behind these common indulgences? The most widespread bad […]

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Soros calls for EU to give Ukraine $50 billion bailout

EU Map

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – January 8, 2015) George Soros, the 84-year old financier and philanthropist, has called for the EU to pump $50bn into Ukraine, while predicting a Russian default. “Europe needs to wake up and recognise that it is under attack from Russia. Assisting Ukraine should also be considered as a defense expenditure by the EU […]

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Interfax: Russian humanitarian convoy crosses into Ukraine

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

MOSCOW. Jan 8 (Interfax) – The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry’s humanitarian convoy has crossed into Ukraine and headed for Donetsk and Luhansk, deputy head of the ministry’s National Crisis Management Center Oleg Voronov said. “Customs of the Matveyev Kurgan and Donetsk checkpoints in the Rostov region have cleared the humanitarian cargo. More than 60 trucks are moving towards Donetsk and […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#4 table of contents with links :: Wednesday 7 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

… 2. Interfax: The Federal Migration Service may consider amnesty for illegal migrants.
3. Vox.com: How Putin could lose power. (interview with Mark Galeotti)
4. CBC.ca: Don Murray, In Ukraine’s Donetsk, the ‘death clutch’ of a forgotten war. Both Russian and Ukrainian economies in tatters, half a million people displaced. …

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NEWSWATCH: In Ukraine’s Donetsk, the ‘death clutch’ of a forgotten war: Both Russian and Ukrainian economies in tatters, half a million people displaced

Ukraine Map and Flag

[“In Ukraine’s Donetsk, the ‘death clutch’ of a forgotten war: Both Russian and Ukrainian economies in tatters, half a million people displaced” – CBC.ca – Don Murray – January 5, 2015] The CBC and free-lance reporter Don Murray examine the conflict in Ukraine, some of its underlying issues and its human costs: * * * Tens of thousands more Ukrainians are still trapped in […]

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NEWSWATCH: How Putin could lose power

Vladimir Putin

[“How Putin could lose power” – Vox.com – Amanda Taub – January 5, 2015] Vox.com and Amanda Taub talk with NYU Professor Mark Galeotti about possibilities for a Putin transition, especially if the apparatus supporting Putin has a change of attitude: After more than a decade in power, Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing what may be his most turbulent and difficult year […]

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Putin Signs New Military Doctrine: Core Elements Unchanged

File Photo of Russian Tanks in Military Parade

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 12, Issue 2 – Roger McDermott – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – January 6, 2015) President Vladimir Putin has introduced a new Military Doctrine in the context of the Ukraine crisis, deteriorating relations with the United States, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as shifts within the international security environment. […]

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Ukraine Reinforces Front Lines as Peace Talks Creep Forward

Maidan Square file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Aliaksandr Kudrytski – January 6, 2015) Ukraine deployed new military aircraft, heavy weapons and vehicles to bolster troops fighting separatists in the country’s east as it continues peace talks with rebels and Russia’s government. The reinforcements, which included fighter jets, armored personnel carriers and artillery, follow a September truce in which the government paused an assault […]

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The Kremlin Shifts Tactics in Ukraine

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald N. Jensen – January 6, 2015) Donald N. Jensen is a resident fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations in the Nitze School of International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Over the past three months, the Kremlin has appeared to shift its strategy from further military advances to negotiations. The reasons for […]

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The Federal Migration Service may consider amnesty for illegal migrants

File Photo of Migrant Workers Sleeping Quarters

(Interfax – January 6, 2015) The Federal Migration Service (FMS) does not rule out an amnesty for illegal migrants in 2015. “This issue may actually be considered. A lot will depend on outcomes of the launch of a system of patents for migrants employed by legal entities,” a FMS source told Interfax. FMS head Konstantin Romodanovsky said earlier that migrants […]

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Putin, Patriarch Kirill Kick Off Orthodox Christmas Celebrations

Patriarch Kirill file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 7, 2015) The Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Kirill prayed for peace in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin attended mass at a village church in southern Russia, as Russia’s Orthodox believers celebrated Christmas on Wednesday. Russian Orthodox Church holidays are marked according to the old Julian calendar, with Christmas falling on Jan. 7, when it […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#3 table of contents with links :: Tuesday 6 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

… 8. Kyiv Post: Talks on Ukraine in Normandy format to continue on Jan. 9.
9. Reuters: War-torn Ukraine sees highest inflation in 14 years.
10. www.opendemocracy.net: Andrii Ianitskyi, The high price of democracy in Ukraine. Ukraine is almost bankrupt. The budget for 2015 is unrealistic. Root and branch reform has stalled. There is a war still going in the east of the country. Where now? …

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Russia’s Oscar Hopeful Is Dark, Critical — And Patriotic

Map of Russia

(RFE/RL – Robert Coalson – January 5, 2015) In the film Leviathan, a drunken mechanic in a far northern Russian town clashes with a greedy, drunken mayor who is determined to expropriate the man’s land for his own mansion. The mayor contemptuously refers to his subjects as “insects” and, in a fit of vodka-fuelled honesty, pulls back the curtain on […]

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FINLAND AND ITS LESSONS FOR UKRAINE

Ukraine Map and Flag

(by Kirk Bennett) Kirk Bennett is a former Foreign Service Officer who served in both Moscow and Kyiv. The opinions and characterizations in this piece are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent official positions of the United States Government. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, and with increasing vehemence as the crisis has deepened, thoughtful people […]

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The high price of democracy in Ukraine

Maidan Square file photo

(opendemocracy.net – Andrii Ianitskyi – January 5, 2015) Andrii Ianitskyi was born in Sevastopol in 1983 and since 2007 has been living in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. He graduated from the Sevastopol branch of Moscow State University in 2007 and became a qualified journalist before working as a journalist and editor in the business media, for companies including Ukrainian News, […]

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In it together: How communal apartments shaped the outlook of generations

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – by Georgy Manaev- January 5, 2015) Communal apartments, where strangers lived as one big family, shaped many generations of Soviet and Russian citizens, and continue to exist even today. The lack of a private life, a striving to dole out rights and responsibilities equally, snitching, and a willingness to help one’s neighbors were […]

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NEWSWATCH: Russia ‘may face chaos’ if extra sanctions imposed: Germany

Map of Germany

[“Russia ‘may face chaos’ if extra sanctions imposed: Germany” – AFP – January 4, 2015] AFP covers a German official’s assessment of the potential impact of additional sanctions on Russia: Tougher sanctions may destabilise the situation further in Russia and plunge the country into chaos, German deputy chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned … ‘Whoever wants that will provoke a much more dangerous situation […]

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NEWSWATCH: Decoding Vladimir Putin’s Plan: Many say Russia’s leader is trying to strengthen his country’s position in the world

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

[“Decoding Vladimir Putin’s Plan: Many say Russia’s leader is trying to strengthen his country’s position in the world” – US News and World Report – Joshua Kucera – January 5, 2015] US News and World Report considers what one could infer about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s true intentions and policies, in the light of Russia’s posture towards Ukraine and the West. […]

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Any Russian Protests Ahead Likely to Be About Economic Issues Rather than Political Ones, Experts Say

Moscow Protest file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 5, 2014) Three Russian experts with whom Russkaya planeta spoke say that while declines in the standard of living of many Russians in the coming year as a result of the economic crisis may lead to some protests about economic issues, any such demonstrations are unlikely to focus on high politics.the […]

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Diplomatic and military efforts should help bring peace back to eastern Ukraine – President Poroshenko

Ukraine Map and Flag

KYIV. Jan 5 (Interfax) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko believes that peace will be restored to the country’s eastern regions when the Ukrainian border is reliably secured and the Kyiv authorities manage to regain control over these territories. “This goal can be achieved by diplomatic efforts… This is the central topic of today’s talks of the group in charge of […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#2 table of contents with links :: Monday 5 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

… 9. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Any Russian Protests Ahead Likely to Be About Economic Issues Rather than Political Ones, Experts Say.
10. US News and World Report: Joseph Kucera, Decoding Vladimir Putin’s Plan Many say Russia’s leader is trying to strengthen his country’s position in the world. …

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#1 table of contents with links :: Friday 2 January 2015

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2015-#1 :: Friday 2 January 2015 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php  Russia 1. AP: Russians Optimistic for 2015 Despite It All. 2. […]

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Letters From Donbas, Part 2: ‘Do You Understand What Is Going On Here?’

Ukraine Map and Flag

(RFE/RL – January 2, 2015) Thousands have fled eastern Ukraine since the conflict erupted in April. Some have since returned. Other people chose to stay and tough it out. From teachers to pensioners to families with children, residents of rebel-held towns are struggling to get on with their lives amid the chaos and uncertainty. RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service continues to publish […]

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