Month: June 2016

Russian Election Commission Head Says ‘No One Is Untouchable’ on Violations

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 6, 2016) The head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said that an interdepartmental working group is being set up to quickly react to election violations, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily reported Monday. The working group will include representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee, Pamfilova said […]

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The Museum of Russian Impressionism Opens in Moscow

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ruth Moore – June 3, 2016) [Photos here themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/the-museum-of-russian-impressionism-opens-in-moscow/571161.html] Moscow just got a new museum. The Museum of Russian Impressionism is the first major private art museum to open in the capital, and its founder and curators hope to do nothing less than revolutionize the world’s knowledge of art history. The new museum, which features […]

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Boycott Russia Today: “BRT reading list of critical online articles about RT, 2010-2016”

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
Satellite Dishes

The facebook page “Boycott Russia Today” has compiled an updated BRT reading list of critical online articles about RT, 2010-2016 at https://www.facebook.com/notes/boycott-russia-today/brt-reading-list-of-critical-online-articles-about-rt-2010-2016-updated-4-june-2/815909395145453 [featured image is file photo]

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Why does Russia want to ban officials from using WhatsApp and Skype?

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

Russian legislators are even worried about encrypted communication systems, since IT security experts believe they may contain backdoors to which secret services may have access. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – YEKATERINA SINELSCHIKOVA, RBTH – June 6, 2016) Russian deputies, ministers and members of the armed forces may soon find they are unable to use popular instant messaging services […]

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One Book Putin Could Have Written and Three That He Did

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 5, 2016) One Russian publishing house has just released a translation of a Norwegian book that Vladimir Putin could have written himself, and another Moscow publisher has put out a three volume collection of his public statements that he actually did and that bring him into line with his Soviet predecessors. […]

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Clinton Says Kremlin ‘Will Celebrate’ If Trump Becomes U.S. Leader

China, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 3, 2016) U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has claimed that Russia and China will celebrate if her opponent Donald Trump wins the upcoming U.S. elections. Speaking on national security in San Diego on Thursday, Clinton said that Trump’s isolationist views would weaken the country while playing into the hands of the Kremlin, Time Magazine […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Chechnya: Russia’s Islamic State? Troubled republic in secular Russia has been thoroughly ‘Islamized’ by staunch Putin ally” – Wall Street Journal/YAROSLAV TROFIMOV

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Religion
Caucasus Map of Chechnya and Caucasus Environs

In theory, Chechnya – though overwhelmingly Muslim – is an integral part of the secular Russian Federation, governed by the same laws as Moscow. In practice, however, this North Caucasus republic of 1.4 million people, ravaged by two wars of secession, lives under very different rules. Under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel who has become a fervent ally of […]

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NEWSWATCH: “United Russia Primaries Open Pandora’s Box” – Carnegie Moscow Center/Andrey Pertsev

JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

The primaries have once again highlighted the Kremlin’s domestic policy tactics. First, the administration announces a large project, makes promises, and even begins to deliver on them. Then, fears of failure and loss of control set in, and all work grinds to a halt. * * * The primaries join a raft of domestic policy gimmicks the Kremlin has used […]

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Why is Russia’s biggest gas pipeline being built on an uncompetitive basis?

China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Gas Flame file photo

Contracts for laying the Power of Siberia pipeline from Russia to China are being dished out mainly without tenders and are often handed to close friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Russian analysts deny that anything is amiss and insist this is related to Gazprom being afraid of not finishing them on time for its Chinese partner. (Russia Beyond […]

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NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “Stalin Resurgent, Again; Russia has long been deeply divided over Stalin’s role in history, with pro-Stalin sentiments surging in times of domestic hardships or perceptions of foreign threats.” – The Nation/Stephen F. Cohen

JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Joseph Stalin file photo

[radio audio embedded below] … Cohen, who has studied and written about the Stalin era and its legacy for many decades (most recently in his book The Victims Return), points out that Russia has been deeply divided over Stalin’s historical role ever since his death 63 years ago. Looking back, Russians see two towering mountains, both informed by contested history: […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Lavrov seldom smokes but believes anti-smoking campaign in Russia is excessive” – TASS ….. #RUSSIA #SMOKING #LAVROV #TOBACCO

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, JRL NewsBlog
No Smoking Symbol

… Lavrov believes that Russia’s current measures against smoking are excessive somewhat. … he remarked that although he himself might light up a cigarette or two once in a while, he preferred … sports. Asked … if he smoked inside the Foreign Ministry’s building, Lavrov said: ‘I cannot violate Russia’s laws. But I believe that the laws have gone too […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-101 :: Thursday, 2 June 2016

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#101 Thursday, 2 June 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 […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Obesity problem is as acute in Russia as in United States – Russian Health Ministry” – TASS

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Feet of Woman on Scale, With Red Toenails and Help on Scale Digital Display Screen

Russia has caught up with the United States in the number of obese people, Sergey Boitsov, a part-time expert on preventive medicine at the Russian Health Ministry, told journalists. … “The number of obese men in Russia has more than doubled over the past 20 years and has reached the number of obese women” …. Click here for TASS: Obesity […]

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Demographics expert: Russian men live 11 years less than women

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Population Disaster, Demographics
File Photo of Elders Walking in Russia

(Interfax – June 2, 2016) Life expectancy in Russia has been growing, but there is a considerable gap between male and female lifespan in the country, experts said. “Male life expectancy exceeded 65 years two years ago, for the first time in Russia’s history. However, the gap between male and female lifespan exceeds 11 years,” laboratory head at the Russian […]

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RBTH: How to be a Russian? A user’s manual; For the foreigners out there wondering what it takes to be a Russian, check out our simple guide on how to imitate typical Russian behavior and avoid standing out.

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ANNA NOVIKOVA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – June 2, 2016) Recently I received an amusing gift. It was a book with the intriguing name, “How to be a Brit” and it was written by a man named George Mikes. Having rather limited experience of being one, I dove into the book, looking for answers […]

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Russia Remains a Byzantine State and that May Doom It, ‘Gazeta’ Editors Say

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and River

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 1, 2016) The photographs of Vladimir Putin sitting on what many falsely supposed was the throne of Byzantine emperors have prompted many to laugh but others to note that “Russia even today in many ways remains an heir of the Byzantine empire,” according to the editors of Moscow’s “Gazeta.” Russians “borrowed […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-100 :: Wednesday, 1 June 2016

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#100 Wednesday, 1 June 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 […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Declares War on Journalism” – New York Times/IAN BATESON

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

…. We were collectively labeled “terrorist collaborators” for gaining accreditation from the separatists. The list’s publishers claimed not to know what the consequences would be of releasing this information, but it seemed clear that the intent was to encourage people to take action against the journalists on their own. * * * trying to encourage ‘patriotic’ journalism, in which the […]

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RBTH: Political division over Ukraine sets scene for thaw in Russia-EU relations

Europe, EU
EU Map

The release of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko by Moscow and hints in Germany of a relaxation on sanctions, as well as positive overtures toward Russia by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, have raised real hopes that Russia and the EU may be ready to start rebuilding their relationship. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Bryan MacDonald – May 31, […]

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‘Putin’s people’: The mysterious agency that guards the president’s life

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

The head of Russia’s Federal Protection Service (FSO), responsible for protecting the life of the president, has been replaced. RBTH looks into what this change means and what this most mysterious of all Russian special services does today. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – YEKATERINA SINELSCHIKOVA, RBTH – June 1, 2016) The Federal Protection Service (FSO) is a powerful, […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Russia expects economic growth in a year; Ministers warned early this year a return to $50 per barrel oil could create headwinds – UPI

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy
Alexei Ulyukayev file photo

It may be another year before the Russian economy recovers from deep recession and returns to growth, the country’s economic development minister said. With a 3.7 percent decline in gross domestic product last year … Ulyukayev said the country was in a deep recession. The Russian Central Bank, however, said earlier this week that inflation was stabilizing and the economy […]

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