Month: January 2016
NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine to reclaim Donbas this year – Poroshenko” – Interfax-Ukraine
Interfax-Ukraine reports on comments attributed to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko regarding conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has said … ‘At my press conference on January 14 I clearly proclaimed: my objective – and I firmly believe in this – is to restore Ukrainian sovereignty in Donbas already in 2016. And yesterday speakers in Davos also reaffirmed this position: […]
» Read moreUS Appears to Have Accepted ‘Donbas Model’ Not Only for Ukraine but for Other Conflicts, Russian Analyst Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, January 20, 2016) Petr Iskenderov, a researcher at the Moscow Institute of Slavic Studies and a commentator for Russia Today, says that it now appears the US has accepted what he calls “the Donbas Model” for the resolution not only of the conflict in Ukraine but for similar conflicts elsewhere. That model, […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-16 :: Saturday, 23 January 2016
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#16 Saturday 23 January 2016 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 moreNEWSLINK David Marples: “Decentralization: Pros, Cons, and Prospects”
NEWSLINK: “Moscow desperate to get Western sanctions lifted” – Kyiv Post/Timothy Ash
NEWSLINK Reuters: “Breaking the Bribe Culture Is Still a Challenge for Ukraine”
NEWSLINK: “Ukraine acts to purge court system of bribery, corruption” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “What the Falling Oil Price Means for Russia and Ukraine” – Atlantic Council/Anders Aslund
NEWSLINK The Ukrainian Weekly (New Jersey): “2015: U.S.-Ukraine relations: support at a time of war.”
NEWSLINK The Guardian/Shaun Walker: “Caught between Russia and the US? The curious case of Ukraine’s Dmytro Firtash. Critics say the oligarch now living in exile pushed Putin’s agenda during Maidan revolution while a US arrest warrant appeared politically motivated.”
NEWSLINK: “Obstructionist-in-chief” – Kyiv Post
NEWSLINK: “Swine flu exposes Ukraine’s health flaws” – BBC
NEWSLINK Kyiv Post: “Kyiv Post journalist attacked at protest against SBU building construction”
NEWSLINK: “Russia’s Ruling Regime Must Modernize or Face Collapse” – Moscow Times/Nikolai Petrov
NEWSLINK The Independent (UK): “Alexander Litvinenko accused Vladimir Putin of being a paedophile four months before he was poisoned”
NEWSLINK: “Is Kadyrov turning into a bigger liability than a manageable asset?” – Journalistico/Danielle Ryan
NEWSLINK: “Russia’s economy. Phase two. Russia’s economic problems move from the acute to the chronic.” – The Economist
VIDEO: What the Litvinenko assassination accusation means for the Kremlin
PBS interviews former Ambassador Mike McFaul and Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times about a British investigative report into the assassination of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, including implications for the Russian government and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Video below; click here for original post and transcript. MICHAEL MCFAUL…: … it’s very important, even if nothing more comes […]
» Read moreFacing Oil Price Plunge, Russia Considers Fire Sale of State Companies
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – January 22, 2016) Russian officials are touting a new wave of privatization to fill the hole in the government’s finances caused by the slumping oil price. With the cost of crude falling toward $30 per barrel early in the year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced that 1 trillion rubles ($12.5 billion) could […]
» Read moreNemtsov’s daughter, associate believe his murder not solved yet
(Interfax – January 21, 2016) The daughter of the murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, Zhanna Nemtsova, said she did not agree with Chairman of the Russian Investigations Committee Aleksandr Bastrykin that her father’s murder had been solved, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 21 January. “I do not think that the murder has been completely solved, unlike Bastrykin,” […]
» Read moreKhodorkovsky to Support Russian Opposition Candidates
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 22, 2016) Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia foundation will support opposition candidates at Russia’s upcoming parliamentary elections, Kommersant newspaper reported Friday. Open Russia will aid candidates via its new Open Elections project, introduced last summer, according to Khodorkovsky’s website. “We will provide the resources. There aren’t any people who know to attract […]
» Read moreKudrin: Sanctions against Russia could start to ease late 2016-early 2017
(Interfax – January 22, 2016) Relations between Russia and the West are normalizing and sanctions will be lifted, Alexei Kudrin, a former Russian finance minister, said. “I’m sure the sanctions will start to soften at the end of this year or start of next year. Nobody in Russia wants to keep up confrontation. I think the Minsk accords will be […]
» Read moreU.S. Beats Russia in ‘Most Powerful’ Ranking
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 22, 2016) Russia is second only to its former Cold War foe the United States in terms of its power to influence the global agenda but lags behind many other countries in most categories, a new ranking presented at the Davos World Economic Forum said. Moscow scored a 9.4 in the “Power” category, which […]
» Read moreInterfax: Revocation of accreditation from Russia’s honorary consuls in U.S. continues Washington’s line towards scaling down of relations with Russia – Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) – Moscow is outraged by the revocation of accreditation from five of Russia’s honorary consuls in the United States, and sees it as a continuation of Washington’s line towards the scaling down of relations with Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. “We are outraged by Washington’s decision to recall accreditation from five of the […]
» Read moreInterfax: Putin entitled to personal opinion about Lenin – spokesman
(Interfax – January 21, 2016) The Russian president’s press secretary Dmitriy Peskov has said Putin is entitled to have a personal opinion about Russian Revolution leader Vladimir Lenin, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 21 January. Peskov was commenting on a statement made by President Putin, who compared Lenin to a nuclear bomb which had destroyed historical Russia. “The […]
» Read moreWhat do today’s Russians think about Lenin?
The leader of the revolution has turned into an ordinary historical figure for younger Russians. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – MARINA OBRAZKOVA, RBTH – January 21, 2016) Today’s generation of Russians have rather mixed feelings when it comes to the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. The issue of burying Lenin’s body, which is still kept in a mausoleum […]
» Read moreRussian Justice Ministry suggests determining NGOs’ political activity by participation in public actions and influence over state authorities’ work
MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) – The Russian Justice Ministry has drafted amendments to the country’s law on non-governmental organizations (NGO) that explain the notion of NGOs’ political activity. “The bill proposes determining that political activity can be conducted only through organizing and holding public actions in the form of assemblies, rallies, demonstrations, processions and pickets, or different combinations of these […]
» Read moreKadyrov Set to Play Hardball With Russian Opposition
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – January 22, 2016) Konstantin Senchenko, a Krasnoyarsk lawmaker, found himself in the spotlight this month when he was the first to oppose Ramzan Kadyrov in his anti-opposition campaign. Kadyrov called opposition activists “enemies of the people” – a term used during Stalin’s era as a criminal charge – and in his speech […]
» Read moreGrounds For (A Little) Optimism? Russian public opinion on human rights
Despite Putin’s clampdown on Russian civil society, public opinion trends point to growing support for civil liberties. A contribution to the openGlobalRights debate on public opinion and human rights. (opendemocracy.net – Theodore P. Gerber – January 18, 2016) Theodore P. Gerber is the Director of the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia and Professor of Sociology at the […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Mr. Putin and the Poisonous London Tea Party” – New York Times
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-15 :: Friday, 22 January 2016
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#15 Friday 22 January 2016 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 moreNEWSLINK: “The Kremlin’s London Hit Squad. Recommended reading for Donald Trump on Vladimir Putin.” – Wall Street Journal
NEWSLINK: “Putin’s most aggressive attack dog is unleashed” – Washington Post
NEWSLINK The National Interest/Vladimir Lukin: “How Russia Sees the World. There’s a middle course between nationalist isolation and globalist impulses”
NEWSLINK “White House slams Russia over killing of former spy” – The Hill
NEWSLINK RBTH/Gazeta.ru: “Russia ranks among the top 25 best countries in the world”
NEWSLINK: “So Putin Killed Litvinenko. Carry On. Britain has been cozying up to Russian money for years, and a dead spy isn’t going to change that.” – Foreign Policy magazine/Peter Pomersantsev
NEWSLINK BNE/Intellinews: “Kremlin nerves tested by oil and ruble’s troubled waters”
Russia Pushing for An Endgame in Ukraine
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – January 21, 2016) The appearance of one of President Vladimir Putin’s most enigmatic associates, Vladislav Surkov, at a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last Friday has sparked speculation that Moscow and Washington are approaching an endgame in Ukraine after two years of conflict. “That is was Surkov, and […]
» Read moreRussia without whom?
As the Soviet Union collapsed, a generation had just been born. The online journal Russia without us catalogues their struggle to find a place in today’s Russia. Interview. (opendemocracy.net – Andrey Urodov, Maxim Edwards – January 21, 2016) Andrey Urodov is a freelance journalist covering сultural and social issues in Russia. He runs the non-profit Russia without us magazine. Maxim […]
» Read moreRussian Investigative Committee: Nemtsov Murder Solved
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 21, 2016) Head of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin has announced that last year’s murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has been solved, the Interfax news agency reported. The investigation Into Nemtsov’s death was one of the murder cases solved in 2015 Bastrykin said in an interview with state-run newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta: Weekly to […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Presidential Council for Science and Education.
(Kremlin.ru – January 21, 2016) Meeting of the Council for Science and Education. The agenda covered the drafting and implementation of a long-term research and development strategy. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues, At the previous Council meeting, we resolved to develop a long-term strategy for Russia’s research and development. It has to be ready by autumn. I […]
» Read morePutin on Lenin: Planted atomic bomb under building called Russia
(Interfax – January 21, 2016) Vladimir Putin has criticized the ideas and actions of the leader of the Russian revolution, Vladimir Lenin, which he thinks led to the ruin of historical Russia. He was responding to the head of the Kurchatov Institute, Mikhail Kovalchuk, who at a meeting of the presidential council for science and education quoted Boris Pasternak’s poem […]
» Read more10 common Russian superstitions
Russians are a very superstitious people. According to a recent Russian Public Opinion Research Center’s (VTsIOM) survey in October 2015, 50 percent of Russians conform their behavior to their beliefs in superstitions. Here are the most popular ones that could help you while travelling in Russia. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – LEXANDER KOROLEV, SPECIAL TO RBTH – January […]
» Read moreBritish Inquiry Implicates Russia, Putin In Death Of Ex-Agent Litvinenko
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – January 21, 2016) A British inquiry has concluded that the Russian government was behind the 2006 poisoning death of former Russian security agent Aleksandr Litvinenko and that President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the killing. The findings, issued on January 21, said that there is a “strong probability” that it was carried out by Russian citizens Dmitry […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Russia Today: “UK report points to ‘probable involvement’ of Putin, Russian officials in Litvinenko death”
NEWSWATCH: “The Case Against Saakashvili. It’s temping to see Georgia’s crusading former president as the solution to all of Ukraine’s problems. Here’s why caution is in order.” – ForeignPolicy.com/Adrian Karatnycky
Writing in Foreign Policy magazine, Adrian Karatnycky considers Georgian-turned-Ukrainian politician Mikheil Saakashvili. Mikheil Saakashvili is back. Having left his native Georgia after voters repudiated his party and his term as president expired, Saakashvili has revived his political fortunes on a much larger playing field — Ukraine. The former Georgian president has taken Ukrainian citizenship and rapidly emerged as one of the […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Row over Ukrainian city’s new name” – BBC
The BBC covers debates in Ukraine over the jettisoning of names recalling Soviet rule, including the effort to rename Kirovohrad as Inhulsk. Since pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in 2014, Ukraine has been removing all public vestiges of Soviet rule, from statues of Lenin to street names honouring other Communist luminaries. A parliamentary committee recently decided that Kirovohrad, which […]
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