Month: February 2016
NEWSLINK: “Saving Yatsenyuk” – Kyiv Post
NEWSWATCH: “Pentagon: Russia agreed not to strike US forces in Syria” – The Hill
The Pentagon revealed … that Russia granted a U.S. request not to target American special operations forces deployed to northern Syria …. The Pentagon made the request to the Russians after a U.S. decision to send the special operations forces into Syria last year. * * * … Russia also outlined some areas, such as airfields, that it did not […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky: I have no obligations to Putin. Outlining plans to back Russian opposition groups, Khodorkovsky – pardoned in 2013 – says he never agreed to stay out of politics” – The Guardian
NEWSLINK: “Russia warns Assad on vow to retake all of Syria” – AFP
NEWSLINK: “Economic data suggests Russian slump past worst” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “Saving Yatsenyuk” – Kyiv Post
NEWSLINK: “Stephen Kotkin: Scholar of Soviet history, encouraging mentor” – The Daily Princetonian
Chaos in Ukraine Is Making Putin Stronger
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Volodymyr Verbyany – February 17, 2016) Two years after Ukrainians shed blood on the streets of Kiev to crush a Kremlin-backed kleptocracy, the country of more than 40 million people is back on the brink of failed-state status. The government’s long descent into chaos reached a new nadir this week, when amid reform delays […]
» Read moreThe One Shock Russia Dodged Is Set to Catch Up With Putin
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas – February 18, 2016) [Charts here bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-17/the-one-shock-sidestepped-by-russia-is-catching-up-with-putin] Russia’s longest recession in two decades is proving a test too far for the labor market. After deflecting pressure in 2015 with salary reductions, part-time work and unpaid vacations, companies are increasingly opting to cut jobs as the economy enters its second year of contraction. As Russia’s […]
» Read moreCensors would starve in modern Russia
Maya Kucherskaya, a writer, linguist, literary critic and director of the newly opened Creative Writing School, the first such center for budding authors in Russia, talked to RBTH about professional writing, censorship and Russia’s book market. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – YULIA VINOGRADOVA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – February 17, 2016) RBTH: How is the Creative Writing School different […]
» Read moreRussian Politicians Ask Khodorkovsky for Endorsement As Elections Near
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 18, 2016) Former oil tycoon turned opposition politician Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s pro-democracy foundation has received dozens of requests from members of Russia’s main political parties to endorse them during an upcoming parliamentary election this fall, the coordinator of Khodorkovsky’s Open Elections project said in comments published Wednesday. The requests that came in […]
» Read moreRussia and OPEC trio agree to freeze oil production, but no cuts
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela have announced their readiness to freeze oil production volumes at January levels but fell short of agreeing to cut production by 5 percent as was earlier anticipated. Market analysts believe this agreement is a loss for Russian diplomacy – as a result of the deal, oil prices and the related value of the ruble […]
» Read moreMoscow Authorities Approve March in Honor of Slain Kremlin Critic Nemtsov
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2016) Moscow City Hall has approved a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, opposition party member Konstantin Merzlikin told The Moscow Times on Wednesday. The authorities have given permission for 50,000 people to attend the memorial event, which is due to take place on Feb. […]
» Read moreDefender of Putin, Detained in Russia: American Activist Deemed U.S. ‘Agent’
(RFE/RL – rferl.org –Carl Schreck – February 17, 2016) For a person who has dedicated her life to improving ties between Moscow and the West — and who has passionately denounced what she calls the “demonization” of President Vladimir Putin by Western media and officials — Sharon Tennison has gotten a strange reception in Russia. Tennison, an American activist whose […]
» Read moreWeak Ruble Draws Foreign Tourists to Russia for Summer Vacations
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2016) The number of foreign tourists booking summer vacations in Russia has risen by 30 percent amid the weakening of the ruble, the Kommersant newspaper reported Wednesday, citing a study by the Momondo online reservation system. Demand for trips to Russia during the summer months among German travelers – who made the most […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “A Pyrrhic Victory for President Poroshenko” – Atlantic Council/Anders Aslund
… February 16, the Ukrainian parliament deemed the performance of its government unsatisfactory with 247 votes, but only 194 parliamentarians voted for a no-confidence measure. The government did not fall … this strange vote may appear a victory for … Poroshenko, but it seems a Pyrrhic victory that may have broken the ruling coalition in parliament and brought Ukraine closer […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Countering Putin begins with knowing what his regime is saying” [Bring back FBIS] – The Hill/Stephen Blank, Glen Howard, Enders S. Wimbush, Paul Goble
Recent media accounts have argued that the U.S. government suffers from an absence of high-quality expertise on Russia. * * * One such solution that does not require legislation is directing the intelligence community to resume the daily electronic Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) now supervised by the Open Source Center. … a daily electronic feed of worldwide media, press, […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-34 :: Thursday, 18 February 2016
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#34 Thursday, 18 February 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 on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi Support for JRL is provided in part […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Putin Hasn’t Given Up His Designs on Ukraine. NATO is wise to bolster its eastern flank, but Kiev needs more defensive armaments right now” – Wall Street Journal/DAVID PETRAEUS, JOHN HERBST
NEWSLINK: “A blackout in Ukraine is a reminder of the dangers of cyberattacks” – Washington Post
NEWSLINK: “Ukraine PM hunts for new allies after coalition cracks” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “Ukraine PM hunts for new allies after coalition cracks” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “Small businesses cower after Moscow’s night of bulldozers” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “Bolshoi Theater to screen best performances on video in U.S.” – RBTH/TASS
NEWSLINK: “Suicide rates fall in Russia” – RBTH/RBC Daily
NEWSLINK: “The Russian Connection Between Syria and Ukraine. Moscow may try to link cooperation in the Syrian crisis to relief from sanctions.” – The National Interest/Joseph Nye
NEWSLINK: “How likely is a Turkish invasion of Syria? As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops move closer to taking the strategic northern city of Aleppo, Russian observers believe that a Turkish invasion of Syria is becoming ever more likely given Ankara’s opposition to Assad’s regime and the Syrian Kurds.” – RBTH/Gazeta.ru
NEWSLINK: “Ukraine’s government almost fell yesterday. It’s still in crisis. Here’s what happened and why it matters. [interview with Oxana Shevel]” – Washington Post/Joshua Tucker
NEWSLINK: “Cutting a Deal with Russia” – Forbes/Laurence Kotlikoff
NEWSLINK: “Yes, the U.S. and Russia can cooperate to end the Syrian civil war. Here’s why.” – Washington Post: Yoshiko Herrera, Andrew Kydd, Fyodor Lukyanov
NEWSLINK: “Living and loving on Ukraine’s front line. It’s a year since an agreement was signed in Minsk that was supposed to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But the fighting continues – and civilians continue to suffer. The BBC’s Fergal Keane went back to the village of Pisky to talk to a couple determined to stay in their home, come what may.” – BBC
NEWSLINK: “Lessons From Munich: We Need Cooperation, Not Confrontation” – Moscow Times/Igor Ivanov
NEWSLINK: “Emboldened Assad defies Moscow’s diplomatic efforts over truce. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put a peaceful settlement in Syria in doubt by insisting that government forces will continue to fight on. Damascus’ new signals contradict the agreements on a ceasefire reached by world powers with Moscow’s participation in Geneva and Munich.” – RBTH/Kommersant
Russian Nationalists Oppose Moscow’s Plan to Resettle Ukrainian Refugees in Far East
(Paul Goble – Staunton, February 16, 2016) Duma deputies are proposing and the Russian Ministry for Far Eastern Development has come out in support of a plan to resettle as many as 50,000 Ukrainian refugees who had fled their country because of the fighting but have not yet found permanent residences in the Russian Federation. This plan reflects the convergence […]
» Read moreThe rise of Azov; War in the east, political and economic crisis in Kyiv – these are ideal conditions for Ukraine’s far right to capitalise on their frontline successes.
(opendemocracy.net – Denys Gorbach, Oles Petik – February 15, 2016) Denys Gorbach is a leftist activist and researcher working on the Ukrainian labour movement. Oles Petik is an anarchist volunteering as an editor and translator at a Kyiv-based grassroots publishing cooperative. Strange it may seem, but Ukraine’s far right and Russia’s propaganda machine share a common fantasy: a radical right-wing […]
» Read moreUkraine’s constitution: reform or crisis?
Constitutional reform was supposed to put post-Maidan Ukraine on a firmly democratic footing. This process, however, has gone seriously off track. (opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Minakov, Maryna Stavniichuk – February 16, 2016) Mikhail Minakov is Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and President of the Foundation for Good Politics, Kyiv. He is also director of the Krytyka Institute, and editor-in-chief of the […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Ukraine’s Poroshenko asks embattled PM to resign” – AFP
RBTH: NATO vs. Russia: Why all the recent talk of World War III?
British military exercises that may have been carried out with potential deployment in eastern Ukraine in mind, recent comments by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and a BBC film depicting a Russia-NATO nuclear conflict following a pro-Russian uprising in Latvia are all doing their part to further stoke tensions between Moscow and the Atlantic Alliance, when a more measured approach is […]
» Read moreMoscow Times/Levada Center: Majority of Russians Back Continuation of Syria Campaign
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 16, 2016) Russians want their country’s military campaign in Syria to continue, according to a recent poll by the independent Levada Center pollster, the RBC news website reported Monday. The majority of Russians are convinced the war in Syria needs to continue, with 18 percent categorically backing Russia’s involvement in the conflict and 41 […]
» Read moreThe rules of the new ‘Cold War’: Empty words and no retreat
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s recent speech in Munich openly spoke of relations between Russia and the West in terms of a new “Cold War.” Dialogue between the two sides is now looking increasingly like a rhetorical war of attrition, with neither side on the offensive but neither willing to retreat either. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Georgy […]
» Read moreRBTH: Even if Russia and OPEC tango, oil prices won’t budge an inch
As Russian officials consider trying to forge an agreement with OPEC in order to help push up oil prices, they are missing an unfortunate truth – factors such as the discord within the oil producers’ body, the positions of Saudi Arabia and Iran and the strength of the dollar all mean that the price of oil is unlikely to bounce […]
» Read moreAgreement between Russia, three OPEC countries concerns average oil output for year – Energy Ministry
MOSCOW. Feb 16 (Interfax) – The agreement that Russia and OPEC nations Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela reached at meeting in Doha on Tuesday not to exceed January’s level of output applies to average figures for the year, not daily output, the Russian Energy Ministry said in a revised statement following the meeting. The meeting was between Russian Energy Minister […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “The Pope and the Patriarch: Russia’s Search for the Right West.” – Carnegie Moscow/Alexander Baunov
TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin
(Kremlin.ru – February 15, 2016) The agenda included dialogue between business and the authorities and issues the business community is discussing currently and will examine further at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) annual congress. President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin: Mr President, let me start by thanking you for our regular meetings. […]
» Read moreJury trials may be brought to district court’s level – Putin
MOSCOW. Feb 16 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin has declared an imperfection of the jury mechanism in Russia and has proposed to bring jury trials to the level of district courts. “Obviously, the existent jury forming system is far from being perfect. Actually, why do we have to have twelve jurors, not 20 or 25 or ten or seven? There […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Conference of court chairmen
(Kremlin.ru – February 16, 2016) The President took part in the national conference of court chairmen of various levels, as well as heads of military and commercial courts. The conference is dedicated to ways of enhancing law and order, improving the business climate, protecting the rights of citizens and analysing the judiciary reform. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, […]
» Read moreThe Extortionist In The Kremlin
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – The Daily Vertical – Brian Whitmore – February 15, 2016) If there was ever any doubt that Russia is engaging in little more than a game of geopolitical extortion in Syria, there shouldn’t be any more. By targeting opponents of Bashar al-Assad, Moscow has effectively assured that Syria’s civil war will continue indefinitely. By indiscriminately bombing […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-33 :: Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#33 Tuesday, 16 February 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 on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi Support for JRL is provided in part […]
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