Year: 2017
NEWSLINK: “Toxic cash: the risks of Russia’s ‘sovereign civil society’ programme; By banning NGOs from receiving foreign funding, the Russian government has forced them to seek financial support at home. But state grants undermine civil society’s independence” – OpenDemocracy/ Andrey Kalikh
NEWSLINK: “In FBI Agent’s Account, ‘Insurance Policy’ Text Referred to Russia Probe; Agent’s text was meant to convey the FBI needed to aggressively investigate allegations of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia” -Wall Street Journal/ Del Quentin Wilber
NEWSLINK: “Did Russia Meddle in Brexit? A Social Media Study Casts Doubt” – New York Times/ David D. Kirkpatrick
NEWSLINK: “What We Know About the Trump Campaign’s Collusion With Russia; Look at the public record. Reality diverges sharply from the president’s vehement denials” – Wall Street Journal/ Adam B. Schiff
NEWSLINK: “Senate intel committee investigating Jill Stein campaign for possible collusion with the Russians” – Washington Post/ Karoun Demirjian
RUSSIALINK: “Vladimir Putin addressed Russian Popular Front Action Forum” – KremlinRru
(Kremlin.ru – December 19, 2017) The President took part in a plenary session of the Russian Popular Front (ONF) Action Forum. The President was also updated on several ONF projects, listened to a report on the operations of the forum’s themed platforms and talked with presentation participants. Vladimir Putin was updated on the ONF Cleaning Project launched to get rid […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “[Putin] Presenting national awards for outstanding achievements in human rights and charity work [including Lyudmila Alekseyeva]” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – December 18, 2017) Vladimir Putin presented the 2017 National Award for Outstanding Achievements in Human Rights Activity to Lyudmila Alekseyeva, chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Group. The National Award for Outstanding Achievements in Charity Work was presented to Vladimir Vavilov, chairman of the Board of the Anzhela Vavilova Regional Public Charity Foundation for Children with Leukaemia, Republic of […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-236 :: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#236 Tuesday, 19 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
» Read moreThe Anti-Putin Electorate – A Sociological Portrait
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 15, 2017) The Romir polling agency at the request of the Petersburg Politics Foundation has conducted an in-depth poll of those Russians, approximately 25 percent of the total, who say that they will not vote for Vladimir Putin and who alternative candidates are competing among for support. On the Polit.ru portal […]
» Read morePresidential nominees can file to register from Dec. 27 to Jan. 31 – CEC secretary
MOSCOW. Dec 18 (Interfax) – The Central Elections Commission will know the precise number of would-be presidential candidates by January 31, 2018, Commission Secretary Maya Grishina said. “The self-nomination process will begin today and end on January 7, 2018. Political parties can also start nominating their candidates today; the law gives them a little more time to do so,” Grishina […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “[Putin] Telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump” – KremlinRu
Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump. Vladimir Putin thanked Donald Trump for the information passed on by the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that helped detain the terrorists who plotted to set off explosions at Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and other public places in the city. The information received from […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin] Meeting with Constitutional Court Judges” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – December 12, 2017) Vladimir Putin held a traditional meeting with judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation timed for Constitution Day. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Zorkin, colleagues, good afternoon. I would like to greet you, the judges of the Constitutional Court, your entire staff, and, of course, all Russian citizens on Constitution Day and […]
» Read moreRe: Freedom of speech in rusology
Subject: Freedom of speech in rusology Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2017 From: GORDON HAHN <gordon-hahn@sbcglobal.net> The following seems to be a rather ominous development for freedom of speech in academia and journalism an attempt to discredit all dissenters from the Washington consensus on Russia. If there are people in academia willing to sign on to such a ‘brief,’ we can […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-235 :: Monday, 18 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#235 Monday, 18 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT: “Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – December 14, 2017) [transcript appears below video; video with English translation and transcript originally appeared at en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/56378] The President’s news conference was broadcast live by Rossiya 1, Rossiya 24 and Channel One, as well as Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon. I have brought some notes with me, mostly the […]
» Read moreHalf of Russians Now Blame Putin for Russia’s Problems — But Most Support Him Anyway
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 11, 2017) Forty-nine percent of Russians say that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the problems Russia faces, up by nine percent over the last year, a Levada Center poll finds (politsovet.ru/57449-polovina-rossiyan-schitaet-putina-prichinoy-problem-v-strane.html https://www.levada.ru/2017/12/11/17232/). Slightly fewer – 45 percent – blame the government, and fewer still blame Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, an indication […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “U.S. Military and NATO May Now Target Russia With Cyber Weapons, Marking Huge Policy Change” – Newsweek/ Tom O’Connor
“… NATO’s recent decision to integrate cyber warfare into its command … represents a stark 21st-century warning to foes, especially Russia …. Capitalizing on the multinational coalition’s recognition of cyberspace as a theater of operations at last year’s Warsaw Summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced … the creation of Cyber Operations Center as part of an overall effort to update and […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH VIDEO: “How Putin’s emotional reactions drive Russian strategy” – PBS Newshour
(PBS Newshour – December 13, 2017) “What motivates President Vladimir Putin, the man accused of ordering Russian interference in the 2016 American election? Special correspondent Nick Schifrin talks with Julia Ioffe, who has written a new cover story for The Atlantic about what he really wants. …” [Click here for transcript and original posting of video: pbs.org/newshour/show/how-putins-emotional-reactions-drive-russian-strategy]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Russian President Putin’s End-Of-Year News Conference” – Reuters
“…. highlights from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual end-of-year news conference on Thursday. ON THE ISSUES RUSSIA FACES ….”
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Putinomics Loses Its Power in Russia” – Bloomberg/ Anna Andrianova, Evgenia Pismennaya
“Russia’s traditionally boom-and-bust economy risks something it hasn’t yet endured during President Vladimir Putin’s rule — stagnation. The economy of the world’s biggest energy exporter is stalling without enough investment after draining Putin’s old growth model, based on channeling income from sales of oil and gas into domestic demand and riding a consumption boom that followed. After almost two decades […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin’s Plan for Syria; How Russia Wants to End the War” – Foreign Affairs/ Dmitri Trenin
“… Moscow … means to secure its own core interests in Syria, whatever the balance of political power in the country. Among these is a permanent air and naval presence in the country. Under the lease agreements signed in 2015 and 2016 with Damascus, both the Khmeimim air force base and the Tartus naval facility, which is being upgraded to a […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-233 :: Thursday, 14 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#233 Thursday, 14 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School […]
» Read moreA Question Of War: Ukrainian Journalist Gears Up (Again) For Putin’s Big Presser
(Article ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, December 13, 2017 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/putin-annual-press-conference-ukrainian-journalist-war-questions/28914154.html) In a sea of more than a thousand journalists jostling for attention, Roman Tsymbalyuk will be holding a black-and-white “Ukraine” placard. His aim is to catch Vladimir Putin’s eye during the Russian president’s marathon annual press conference on […]
» Read more‘Russian Lessons for Reagan’ Launch at Gorbachev Foundation Reunites Old Friends; Author Suzanne Massie meets with old friends and fellow optimists
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Justin Lifflander – December 13, 2017) Tuesday’s event at the Gorbachev Foundation was supposed to be a typically mundane book launch. But the presentation of the Russian language version of Suzanne Massie’s “Trust But Verify: Russian Lessons for Reagan” turned out to be an unofficial meeting of the multi-generational club of peace-makers and optimists. Ronald […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “A hybrid hunt for criminal journalists; Meduza reviews how federal censors monitor and punish Russia’s mass media” – Meduza
“A lot is illegal when you’re a mass media outlet in Russia. … To enforce all these prohibitions, Moscow has a special state enterprise that reports to Roskomnadzor: the Main Radio Frequency Center ‘GRChTs’ federal state unitary enterprise. The outfit employs hundreds of people to scan the Internet every day, analyzing hundreds of websites with pornography, obscenities, and other illegal […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Backed by Putin, Russian Military Pushes Into Foreign Policy” – Reuters
“From Damascus to Doha … Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has been showing up in unexpected places, a sign of the military’s growing influence under … Putin. … at times wearing his desert military uniform, Shoigu has held talks with Syria’s president in Damascus, met Israel’s prime minister in Jerusalem and been received by the Emir of Qatar in Doha. The defense ministry’s […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “U.S. Criticizes Germany’s Support of New Russian Natural Gas Line; Top state department official praises Denmark for passing law that could hamper pipeline project” – Wall Street Journal/ Paul Sonne
“[Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs A. Wess Mitchell] offered harsh words … for Germany over the country’s continued support for a new Russian gas pipeline to Europe … known as Nord Stream 2 … a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian state energy giant Gazprom [that] would double Russia’s export capacity … adding a second link between Russia and Germany. * […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “ORDER FROM CHAOS; U.S.-Russia arms control was possible once – is it possible still?” – Brookings/ Strobe Talbott
“Thirty years ago last week, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, resulting in the elimination of some 2,700 U.S. and Soviet ground-launched intermediate-range missiles. …”
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Silk Road fever grips the Russian Far East and boosts economy; China’s Belt and Road Initiative heralds a new era with mega infrastructure projects dotting the landscape” – Asia Times
“… [a] new state-of-the-art $1.5 billion Bystrinsky plant … [l]ocated about 400 kilometers from the Chinese border by rail and tucked inside the Trans-Baikal region of Siberian … is now finally open for business. This mining and processing complex … contains up to 343 million tonnes of ore reserves … a joint venture between Russian and Chinese companies. …”
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “The West must prepare for a wounded Putin to become even more aggressive” – Washington Post editorial
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-232 :: Wednesday, 13 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#232 Wednesday, 13 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School […]
» Read moreRussia’s Media Monitor Moves To Block Websites Of ‘Undesirable’ Organizations
(Article ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – December 12, 2017 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-blocks-access-website-khodorkovsky-open-russia-prodemocracy-group/28910984.html) Russia’s Roskomnadzor media regulatory agency has begun blocking access to websites of organizations deemed “undesirable” by the Justice Ministry under a 2015 law aimed at restricting the activity of organizations the Kremlin accuses of fomenting political dissent. The regulator’s website on December […]
» Read moreRussia’s Channel One Will Broadcast Olympics, Despite Team’s Ban
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 12, 2017) Russia’s state-run Channel One television channel has announced that it will broadcast the 2018 Winter Game’s despite the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision last week to bar Russia’s team from competing. The IOC decision said that individual Russian athletes could participate in the Olympics in February if they proved to a panel […]
» Read moreDebt and poverty: the thriving business of high-risk moneylenders in Russia; In Russia, loansharks and payday lenders masquerade as “microfinance” organisations to attract clients. But for many people, short-term loans are a way of life.
(opendemocracy.net – Ewa Dabrowska – December 12, 2017) Ewa Dąbrowska is PhD researcher at the University of Amsterdam. She focuses on the Russian financial system and microfinance in the post-Soviet space. “Avoid multiple loans. With several loans you are at greater risk of over-indebtedness,” warns the Warsaw-based Microfinance Center in a recent education campaign directed at users of microcredits in […]
» Read moreRecession Recoveries In Russia, Brazil Help Lift World Growth To Six-Year High
(Article ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – December 12, 2017 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/recession-recoveries-russia-brazil-help-lift-world-growth-six-year-high-3-percent-2011/28911154.html) World economic growth rose this year to 3 percent, the strongest rate since 2011, aided by recoveries from recession in Russia, Brazil, Argentina, and NIgeria, the United Nations has estimated. In its annual report on global growth on December 11, the UN […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Vladimir Putin visited Khmeimim Air Base in Syria” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – December 11, 2017) At the air base, Vladimir Putin was met by President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad, Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu and Commander of the Russian military group Sergei Surovikin. The Commander-in-Chief ordered the withdrawal of the Russian military group from Syria back to their permanent bases. Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian service […]
» Read moreJack Matlock: Current tension in U.S.-Russia relations is result of political mistakes on both sides
(Interfax – November 7, 2017) Famous diplomat and political analyst, last U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Jack Matlock has given an interview to Interfax in which he speaks about the first year of U.S. President Donald Trump in power and relations between Russia and the United States. Question: Mr. Ambassador, you have been following Russia-U.S. relations for almost 60 […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Re-election Is Assured. Let the Succession Fight Begin” – New York Times/Neil MacFarquhar, Ivan Nechepurenko, Oleg Matsnev
“Ask Russian analysts to describe the coming presidential election campaign, and their answers contain a uniform theme: a circus, a carnival, a sideshow. What they do not call it is a real election. With the victory of President Vladimir V. Putin assured, the real contest, analysts said, is the bare-knuckled, no-holds-barred fight to determine who or what comes after him […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-231 :: Tuesday, 12 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#231 Tuesday, 12 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “In Putin’s Heartland, Apathy and Disappointment Rule” – AP
“Three months ahead of Russia’s presidential election, apathy and disappointment pervade … A new person is unlikely …. If Putin’s 18 years in power have induced apathy and a sense of helplessness … that’s the big issue in Navalny’s view. Putin has made voters in industrial cities … his base, touting stability …. A … Levada Center [survey] suggests that enthusiasm for Putin is in […]
» Read moreU.S. Consulates Resume Visa Services in Russia
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 11, 2017) U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok have resumed processing applications for travel visas, after suspending their work this summer as relations between Washington and Moscow soured. The U.S. Embassy has warned consulate services might still be affected by low staff numbers. The consulates temporarily suspended processing non-immigrant visas in August […]
» Read moreWhat do Regular Russians Think of the IOC’s Olympic Doping Ban?
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 6, 2017) “This is undoubtedly a political decision,” says Igor, 40. In Moscow, news that Russia’s entire Olympic team had been barred from next year’s Winter Games was still sinking in on Wednesday afternoon. In the latest chapter of the Russian doping scandal, the International Olympic Committee’s President Thomas Bach on Tuesday evening announced […]
» Read morePutin Grants Alekseyeva State Award For Human Rights
(Article ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – December 11, 2017 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-putin-alekseyeva-state-award-human-rights/28909427.html) Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed a state award on Lyudmila Alekseyeva, a veteran human rights activist and vocal critic of his actions over 18 years in power. Putin’s decree, published on December 11, granted Alekseyeva a “state award for outstanding achievements […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Reactions To Putin’s Announcement That He Is Running For A Fourth Term” – Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
“On December 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his 2018 presidential bid …. The Russian news agency Tass explained that Putin did not yet disclose whether he would run as the United Russia party nominee or as an independent self-nominated candidate. …”
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “What Putin Really Wants; Russia’s strongman president has many Americans convinced of his manipulative genius. He’s really just a gambler who won big.” – The Atlantic/ Julia Ioffe
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-230 :: Monday, 11 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#230 Monday, 11 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “After the INF Treaty: An Objective Look at US and Russian Compliance, Plus a New Arms Control Regime” – Russia Matters/Kevin Ryan
“… The 1987 INF Treaty attempted to eliminate a threat by prohibiting the sides from developing and deploying certain kinds of offensive missile systems, much like the ABM Treaty attempted to prevent development and deployment of missile-defense systems. These agreements proved brittle under the pressure of new technologies and threats. Many in the U.S. and Russia have come to believe […]
» Read moreTrump was ‘Russia’s Friend’ in Russian Media for Only a Very Brief Period, New Study Says
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 7, 2017) Many assume that Donald Trump was portrayed in the Russian media as Russia’s friend until last summer when it became clear that he would not be willing or at least able to deliver any improvement in Russian-American relations; but that view is incorrect, according to two scholars at Moscow’s […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-229 :: Saturday, 9 December 2017
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#229 Saturday, 9 December 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School […]
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