Month: August 2015
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#167 :: Tuesday 24 August 2015
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#167 Tuesday – 25 August 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
» Read moreTurning Opinions of Disability Upside Down
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jordan Reed – August 25, 2015) This weekend the charitable organization Downside Up, which helps children with Down syndrome and their families, raised money and awareness for the cause with a cycling event through Moscow and Kaluga region. The 20th event of its kind saw 100 participants cycle 100km in Kaluga region on Saturday and […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Moscow Times/Vladimir Ryzhkov: Putin Has Russians’ Loyalty, But for How Long?
Ukrainians Mark Independence Day United by Patriotism and Hope, Sociologist Says
(Paul Goble – Windows on Eurasia – Staunton, August 24, 2015) Today is Ukraine’s Independence Day, and compared to the years before Vladimir Putin’s Anschluss of Crimea and the Russian invasion of the Donbas, Ukrainians are now far more united by patriotism and by their hopes for the future, according to Irina Bekeshkina, a sociologist at the Kyiv Institute of […]
» Read moreUkraine’s largest lender PrivatBank investigated for diverting $1.8bn of IMF funds
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – August 24, 2015) PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest lender partly owned by controversial oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, is under criminal investigation by the authorities for fraudulently diverting around what was then about $1.8bn, the bank has confirmed. “We are aware of the existence of criminal proceedings. PrivatBank fully cooperates with the investigators […]
» Read moreEconomic Crisis Empties Moscow Central Streets
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anastasia Bazenkova – August 25, 2015) Even though Moscow retail property owners are increasingly willing to offer favorable lease terms to clients, Moscow’s central streets continue to lose their tenants who are forced to close their outlets due to the economic crisis. In the first half of the year, the vacancy rate in prime locations […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Refugees International: Ukraine’s Invisible Displacement Crisis
NEWSLINK Kiev Post: For second year, Ukrainians celebrate Independence Day amid Russia’s war
NEWSLINK Asia Times/Sergei Blagov: “Russia takes hard-line stance on territorial dispute with Japan.”
NEWSLINK The National Interest/Mathew Burrows, Robert A. Manning: “America’s Worst Nightmare: Russia and China Are Getting Closer. Will an inverted U.S.-China-Russia triangle reshape the world order?”
NEWSLINK Reuters: Russia’s Lavrov says U.S. signals it wants to mend ties
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#166 :: Monday 24 August 2015
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#166 Monday – 24 August 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part […]
» Read more‘Mass Murder:’ Russian Patients Brace For Ban On Medical Imports
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Claire Bigg – August 23, 2015) When Yulia Koptseva heard about a Russian government plan to ban a range of foreign-made medical goods, she had a single, urgent thought: “I want my daughter to live.” That was also the poignant comment she left on an online petition that has gathered almost 10,000 signatures against the proposal, […]
» Read moreHow Next Round of Russia’s Disintegration May Begin
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 24, 2015) In his poem, “The Fall of Rome,” W.H. Auden wrote that it could be signaled not by some dramatic event but rather by “a bored official” scribbling a note and leaving his office to go home, a reminder that enormous tectonic shifts often begin with small things that most […]
» Read moreBrussels Break-In Shines Light on Putin’s European Mischief
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer, Jeremy Hodges – August 23, 2015) It was an unusual delivery at the European Parliament by a pair of native Russians. They broke into the third-floor mailroom and deposited for the 751 legislators English-language copies of “Red Dalia,” a scathing biography of Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, according to a parliamentary probe. The book, published […]
» Read moreCeleste A. Wallander: “U.S. Policy on Russia”
The White House June 26, 2015 Remarks by Celeste Wallander, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia on U.S. Policy on Russia U.S. Policy on Russia CNAS Annual Conference June 26 2015 Celeste A. Wallander Special Assistant to the President And Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia National Security Council I am especially […]
» Read moreShopping Spray: Loutish Russian’s Beer-Biting Patriotism
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Anna Shamanska – August 22, 2015) Stas Baretsky is foaming at the mouth about banned Western goods in Russia. As the food-destruction craze over banned Western goods continues in Russia, the St. Petersburg Orthodox Union of Cossacks and a very large former band member have joined in. The group went to a local store of the […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH The Daily Caller: “McCain On Putin: ‘He Wants To Restore The Russian Empire'”
The Daily Caller covers recent remarks by U.S. Senator John McCain suggesting imperialistic ambitions are evidenced by Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. … McCain said Wednesday during his trip to Sweden that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to “restore the Russian Empire.” The purpose of the trip, made along with Sens. John Barrasso and Sheldon Whitehouse, is to […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH Washington Times: “East Ukraine could be annexed soon”
The Washington Times reports on the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and prospects for Russian annexation of eastern Ukraine. … increased violence in East Ukraine between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia rebels of the Donetsk People’s Republic … comes with reports of an increased Russian military presence on the border … * * * … Xinhau, the Chinese state news agency, reported that […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH Ottawa Citizen: “The coming war with Russia”
The Ottawa Citizen reports on concerns over the prospects for open military conflict between NATO and Russia. A couple of months before he retired in July, the head of Canada’s air force provided a blunt assessment of what might emerge from the current military mission to Ukraine. “We pray that our ongoing NATO mission isn’t accompanied by the escalation of […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Moscow Times/Judy Dempsey: NATO Is Unprepared for Conflict With Russia.
NEWSLINK New York Times: “A Russian Soldier Story”
NEWSLINK The Atlantic Council: “We want Ukraine to be a European country, not a Putin country,” Says Ukrainian MP.
NEWSLINK The Conversation: Bad news for Putin as support for war flags beyond Russia’s ‘troll farms’
NEWSLINK NBC News: Russia’s Sanctions War Against the West Explained.
NEWSLINK Human Rights in Ukraine: “We are faced with a threat to the very existence of the Crimean Tatar People”
NEWSLINK Los Angeles Times: “White supremacist gathering underscores Russia’s nationalist trend”
NEWSLINK The National Interest: Russia’s Blast from the Past: Beware the Tu-95 Bear Strategic Bomber.
NEWSLINK Reuters: “A $620,000 watch tells what time it is in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”
NEWSLINK Kyiv Post: Ukraine approaches Independence Day on Aug. 24 with warnings of new Russian-led attacks.
NEWSLINK The New Yorker/Masha Gessen: The Dearly Departed Return to Russia.
NEWSLINK NBC News: Russia’s Space Program in Crisis After Decades of Brain Drain, Neglect.
NEWSLINK Euromaidan Press: Russia’s policy: ignore citizens and intimidate neighbors.
NEWSLINK Reuters: ‘Putin the Polite,’ chilling hero of Russian souvenirs.
NEWSLINK Daily Telegraph (UK): Russian summer madness.
In a letter from Moscow, Roland Oliphant writes of disappearing pavements, vanishing food and holidaying citizens.
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#165 :: Friday 21 August 2015
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#165 Friday – 21 August 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part […]
» Read moreUnlike Stalin’s Show-Trial Victims, Russia’s Political Defendants Don’t Back Down
(RFE/RL – Robert Coalson – August 20, 2015) There are, of course, many differences between the infamous show trials of Josef Stalin’s Great Terror and the politically convenient prosecutions of the political adversaries of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Stalin liked to try his victims in huge mass productions on blatantly political charges and then march them off for summary execution […]
» Read moreRussia’s ‘Foreign Agents’ Risk Losing Right to Run Media
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – August 21, 2015) As the crackdown on Russian NGOs continues, the Communications Ministry has suggested forbidding those labeled as “foreign agents” from launching and registering media outlets. The proposal, part of a bill that the ministry published on a government website for draft laws, stipulates that non-governmental organizations registered as “foreign agents” […]
» Read moreU.S. Told Ukraine to Stand Down as Putin Invaded
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Josh Rogin, Eli Lake – August 21, 2015) As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces took over Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in early 2014, the interim Ukrainian government was debating whether or not to fight back against the “little green men” Russia had deployed. But the message from the Barack Obama administration was clear: avoid military confrontation with […]
» Read moreWashington ups the ante with sanctions on Gazprom
RBTH presents its weekly analytical program TROIKA REPORT, featuring a look at three of the most high-profile recent developments in international affairs. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – TROIKA REPORT: Sergey Strokan, Vladimir Mikheev – August 20, 2015) 1. Engaging the West U.S. sanctions on Gazprom: Washington ups the ante The recent move by the U.S. administration to restrict […]
» Read moreRussian ruble tumbles as oil prices tank
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – August 20, 2015) Russia’s ruble tumbled to a six-month low of RUB67 to the dollar and RUB75 to the euro on Thursday, as oil prices dropped yet again to $47 a barrel. The fall in the ruble adds to the turmoil in emerging markets over the past […]
» Read moreRunning for Office in Siberia
Subject: Running for Office in Siberia Part III Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> Running for Office in Siberia A series on the District #35 Election for Novosibirsk City Council: Part III: Becoming an Official Independent Candidate By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Founder, Siberian Civic Initiatives Support Center 1995 – 2014. Helped to establish this as the hub for […]
» Read moreInterfax: Embargoed food destruction backed by 42% of Russians, 38% against
MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax) – Most Russians (83%) are aware of the destruction of embargoed food smuggled into Russia from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway, the Public Opinion Foundation has said. Russians have mixed feelings about the decision made by the authorities: 42% say the embargoed food needs to be destroyed, and 38% claim the […]
» Read moreNudists in Despair as Moscow Authorities Move to Close Naturist Beach
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – August 21, 2015) Moscow nudists may soon lose their best-known and most popular beach in the Serebryany Bor natural park, as city authorities plan to expel the naturists from their traditional hangout in western Moscow and turn it into a regular beach. “These people [nudists] are depraved. We can’t encourage vice. They’re […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Interfax-Ukraine: UN: 6,800 killed, 17,100 wounded since beginning of conflict in Donbas
NEWSLINK The Hill: “Pentagon chief: Russia is a ‘very significant threat'”
NEWSLINK New York Times: “Putin vs. Parmesan”
NEWSLINK AP: Alaska village seeks to reunite with Russian relatives
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#164 :: Thursday 20 August 2015
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#164 Thursday – 20 August 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part […]
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