Year: 2017

NEWSWATCH: “Trump’s new Russia expert wrote a psychological profile of Vladimir Putin – and it should scare Trump. Review of ‘Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin’ by Fiona Hill and Clifford G. Gaddy” – Washington Post/Carlos Lozada

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

“… It’s hard to know who really runs U.S. foreign policy these days, but to the extent that Hill can influence the Trump administration’s views on Russia, this book suggests a more clear-eyed, realpolitik perspective on Putin’s intentions and capabilities, with low expectations for the rapprochement Trump imagined during the 2016 campaign. In this telling, Putin sees the United States […]

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NEWSWATCH: “A near-no show on Red Square highlights problems of Russia’s protest movement” – Washington Post/David Filipov

JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“… Last weekend’s rallies clearly caught authorities by surprise. State television ignored them, and no one spoke about them until Monday, when Putin’s spokesman called them ‘a provocation.’ That word gets used a lot in Russian officialdom in the sense of ‘someone was trying to start something, but we aren’t going to say what or who or why,’ when, in fact, […]

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Deciphering a Revolution; ‘1917: Code of a Revolution’ is the first exhibition marking this year’s centenary

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Revolutionaries Marching in Moscow in 1917, adapted from image at state.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrei Muchnik – March 31, 2017) In 2017, Russia marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most crucial episodes in its history – the October Revolution. And what better place to hold the first in a series of exhibitions devoted to the centennial than the Museum of Contemporary Russian History – known until 1998 […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-64 :: Monday, 3 April 2017

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's Domes

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-#64 Monday, 3 April 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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NEWSLINK: “Russia’s March manufacturing PMI continues its strongest expansion since 2011” – bne Intellinews

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Newslinks
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“Russian manufacturing continues its strongest expansion since 2011 in March with the Markit PMI score of 52.4, almost the same as the previous month’s 52.5, while positive sentiment amongst Russian manufacturers reached a 22-month high. …”

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NEWSLINK: “Yevgeny Yevtushenko obituary. Rebellious Russian poet and author of Babi Yar, who became a celebrity in the west” – The Guardian (UK)/Robin Milner-Gulland

History, Soviet Union, In Memoriam, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Yevgeny Yevtushenko file photo, adapted from image at archives.gov

“… Yevtushenko was from early on obsessed with travel, first within the USSR and then, as invitations came in from abroad, anywhere in the world he could manage to get to. By 1962 he had become a celebrity outside Russia, and featured on the cover of Time magazine. His many public readings in the west were packed, and a slim volume […]

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NEWSLINK: “Propaganda or alternative worldview? RT, Russia’s voice to the world. The international television news channel RT was an attempt to promote Russian influence in the world. How far has it succeeded?” – Le Monde Diplomatique/ Maxime Audinet

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“Russia’s state-owned international news channel, RT (formerly Russia Today), celebrated its tenth birthday in December 2015 with a promotional video that showed Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief, in Soviet uniform, inspecting her staff at their Moscow HQ. …”

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NEWSLINK: “The Best Moments in U.S.-Russian Relations” – Origins/Pietro A. Shakarian

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags with Number 200, 1807-2007

“… Although the bad episodes are clearly what most Americans remember about the relationship, there were many friendly moments as well. These constructive episodes complicate a history that is often painted as invariably antagonistic. Keeping this complexity in mind, here are ten of the better moments in U.S.-Russian relations. …”

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TRANSCRIPT: Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to families of those killed and injured in explosion in St Petersburg metro

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Terrorism
Kremlin and River

(Kremlin.ru – April 3, 2017) The President was briefed on the blast in the St Petersburg metro by the security service heads, in particular, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov. Mr Putin instructed the city authorities to take all necessary measures to help the families of those killed and injured. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: As you know, […]

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NEWSLINK: “Where the Russians Are. A color-coded map of the U.S., showing which states have the highest percentage of Russian immigrants [2005/2000]” – Russian Life

Population Disaster, Demographics, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
United States Map

“North Dakota is not normally the place one thinks of as having a large Russian emigre population. Yet, according to 2000 US Census Data recently released, fully 3.5% of that state’s population, or 22,514 individuals, are of Russian extraction — the highest percentage in the nation. …”

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NEWSLINK: “The St. Petersburg Bombing: Why It Won’t Bring America and Russia Together. While Washington and Moscow face a common enemy, they will continue to fight separately.” – The National Interest/Nikolas Gvosdev

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“… this attack — as much as it seems to validate Trump’s assertion that Russia, the United States and the nations of Europe face a shared threat from groups like the Islamic State, their offshoots and their imitators — is not going to lead to any policy shifts, nor does it portend any sort of improvement in U.S.-Russia relations. There […]

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RUSSIALINK TASS: “Funeral ceremony for famed poet Yevtushenko anticipated on April 4”

In Memoriam, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Newslinks
Yevgeny Yevtushenko file photo, adapted from image at archives.gov

“The funeral ceremony for poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko will take place next Tuesday at the earliest, his close friend Mikhail Morgulis told TASS on Sunday. Celebrated Soviet and Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko died in the United States aged 84 on Saturday. …”

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NEWSWATCH: “What Devin Nunes Knows. Team Obama was spying broadly on the incoming administration” – Wall Street Journal/Kimberley Strassel

JRL NewsBlog, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

“We’ve known since early February that a call by former national security adviser Mike Flynn to the Russian ambassador was monitored by U.S. intelligence. … Flynn’s name was revealed and leaked to the press, along with the substance of his conversation. … Nunes’s own intelligence sources informed him that documents showed further collection of information about, and unmasking of, Trump transition officials. … […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Truth and Justice Forum of Local and Regional Media

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russia Map

(Kremlin.ru – April 3, 2017) Vladimir Putin is taking part in the fourth Truth and Justice Forum of Local and Regional Media. Excerpts from transcript of Truth and Justice Forum of Local and Regional Media President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends and colleagues. This, I believe, is our fourth meeting. It has become a tradition, and I think […]

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The Story of Vedomosti – A Russian Newspaper’s Struggle for Independence; Does the departure of the paper’s veteran editor pose yet another threat to Russia’s already embattled independent media scene?

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eva Hartog – March 31, 2017) In the newsroom of #Russia’s most respected business newspaper, editors and reporters are in a tense face-off with the paper’s owner Demyan #Kudryavtsev (who also publishes The Moscow Times). He has just announced the name of their new editor-in-chief – an appointment that should reflect the paper’s editorial standards. […]

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Alexei Navalny Wants Putin’s Job. Here’s What He’d Do With It; The Russian presidential hopeful who led Sunday’s coast-to-coast protests talks about corruption, the Kremlin, Ukraine, and Trump.

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Navalny file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Ragozin – March 30, 2017) Alexei Navalny is in jail. When he gets out, the man determined to unseat Russian President Vladimir Putin next March probably won’t be permitted to run. Banned from Russian TV, he has to barnstorm the vast nation to drum up support for his long-shot bid. Yet he is Putin’s most […]

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Russia’s prison service is keeping its abuses under lock and key; Despite signs of early change, the cover-up of torture inside Russia’s prison service demands reform.

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(opendemocracy.net – Bulat Mukhamedzhanov – March 31, 2017) Bulat Mukhamedzhanov is coordinator for Zona prava, which provides legal and informational support to prisoners and criminal defendants in #Russia. Right now, 17 prison officers are on trial in the southern Russian regions of Krasnodar and Kalmykia – they’re accused of meting out severe beatings to their charges, two of whom died […]

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Study: Russia’s Most Active Protesters Are Its Least Active Voters

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russia Regions Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 31, 2017) Russia’s most active protesters may be its least active voters, according to a new study. Of the 10 Russian regions where the highest percentage of the overall population took part in the March 26 anti-corruption protests, nine had a voter turnout below the national average during the Sept. 2016 parliamentary election. In […]

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Russian Economy Crawled to Growth With Recession in Rearview

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas – March 31, 2017) Russia’s economy returned to growth at the end of 2016, turning the page on seven consecutive quarters of contraction that laid waste to the middle class after oil prices crashed. Gross domestic product gained 0.3 percent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter after a decline of 0.4 percent […]

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The latest proof that Russia hacked the U.S. election in 2016 …

Cybersecurity, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

The latest proof that #Russia hacked the US election in 2016: Eugene B. Rumer Senior Fellow and Director Russia and Eurasia Program Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council Testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence March 30, 2017 “I am convinced that Russian intelligence services, […]

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TRANSCRIPT: The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue international forum. [excerpts re Putin]

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Kremlin.ru – March 30, 2017) Vladimir Putin is taking part in the filurth international forum The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue. The forum’s theme this year is People and the Arctic. The participants are discussing ways to improve the quality of life in the Arctic, maintain its unique environmental potential, boost sustainable socioeconomic development of the Arctic regions and strengthen international […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-63 :: Friday, 31 March 2017

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's Domes

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-#63 Friday, 31 March 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, #Russian and #Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Russia experts paint sinister picture of meddling in U.S. election” – AP

Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“Russian experts painted a sinister picture of Russian meddling in the 2016 election Thursday, telling the Senate intelligence committee about fake news, cyber trolls, smear campaigns and even slayings they say could have ties to the Kremlin. The hearing focused on tactics Moscow is thought to employ in spreading disinformation to influence the opinions of Americans and U.S. policy. There […]

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NEWSLINK: “The UN’s Nuclear Weapon Talks May Be The Most Important Thing Nobody’s Paying Attention To. On Monday, a quixotic and necessary conference kicked off at the United Nations” – Huffington Post/Alexander Zaitchik

Newslinks, Nuclear, Missile Defense
Russian Mobile ICBM Parade File Photo

“Over protests from the U.S. and other nuclear powers, more than 120 countries began work on a treaty at the United Nations this week with the aim of banishing nuclear weapons from the face and the oceans of the earth. In a sign of mounting nuclear anxiety around the globe, the conference timeline is extremely condensed by U.N. standards. As […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov answers questions from readers of the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty” – Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Newslinks
Sergei Lavrov file photo

“Question: What happened to Vitaly Churkin? Are there any grounds for thinking that his death was not accidental? Who will be the new Russian representative to the UN? Is Russia again facing the pro-American company at the Security Council alone?”

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Russia Can Wait for $70 Oil Before Re-Entering Arctic Waters

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Arctic Map

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva, Dina Khrennikova – March 29, 2017) Russia can wait for a sustained recovery in oil prices before drilling again in Arctic waters, relying for now on less costly regions even as rival producer Norway accelerates development of its northerly fields. “We estimate production costs for the Russian Arctic offshore in the range of $70 […]

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Are Russian Teens Really About to Storm the Kremlin? Recent anti-corruption rallies will go down as Russia’s most youthful protests

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – March 30, 2017) When 12-year-old Gleb took to the stage at an anti-corruption protest in the Siberian city of Tomsk last week, few in the audience would have expected the moment to go viral. “It doesn’t matter who’s in power – Putin or Navalny,” Gleb said to rounds of applause. “The most […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Trump’s Rapid Rapprochement Plans With Russia Fade; Investigations into Russia’s alleged interference in U.S. presidential election complicates relationship” – Wall Street Journal/CAROL E. LEE/PAUL SONNE/THOMAS GROVE

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

“Expectations that … #Trump’s election would lead to a rapid U.S. rapprochement with #Russia are fading, as the White House pushes off the #Kremlin’s proposals for a meeting with … #Putin and takes an increasingly skeptical view of reaching a grand bargain with #Moscow. … high-level national-security officials discussed possible approaches to Russia, looking to nail down elements of administration policy […]

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Our Man in Washington

Europe, EU, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Andrei Babitsky – March 29, 2017) Andrey Babitsky, an independent journalist, columnist at Vedomosti Daily and contributor to the opinion platform InLiberty, has been covering Russian economy, politics and the country’s tech industry for the past 10 years. He has served as deputy editor-in-chief at Esquire magazine and headed opinion pages at Forbes Russia. There […]

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Interfax: SBU cannot yet confirm ex-Duma deputy Voronenkov’s killer was FSB agent

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
FSB Building file photo

KYIV. March 30 (Interfax) – The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is continuing to investigate whether Pavlo Parshov, who killed former Russian State Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov, was an agent of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). “This has not yet been proven in the case of Parshov. We are now working [to establish] whether he really was an FSB […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting on Arctic region’s comprehensive development

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Kremlin.ru – March 29, 2017) In the course of his trip to Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Archipelago Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the comprehensive development of the Arctic region. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Sergei Donskoy, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Special Presidential Representative for Nature Protection, the Environment, and Transport […]

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NEWSLINK: “Alliance with Syria tightens Russia’s ties with Iran; Continuing cooperation on Syria was high on the agenda of a meeting between Putin and Rouhani, but other agreements were made as well” – Asia Times/SERGEI BLAGOV

Iran, Newslinks, Syria
Middle East Map

“As Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Moscow this week, the two sides pledged to develop cooperation on Syria, as well as bilateral economic ties. …”

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NEWSLINK: “Are Russia’s oil wells truly in danger of drying up?” – Russia Beyond the Headlines/Vzglyad/OLGA SAMOFALOVA

Newslinks, Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Well file photo

“Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on the energy sector. Oil and gas alone are estimated to account for 16 percent of GDP, 52 percent of the federal government’s revenue, and 70 percent of the country’s exports. Russia’s future without oil is inconceivable, and would debilitate the country tremendously. Therefore, investments in the exploration of new oil reserves are imperative, but […]

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NEWSLINK: “Where Will Russia’s Protests Lead? The anticorruption wave could give way to greater instability” – The National Interest/Alexander Lukin

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“March 26 saw widespread protests against corruption in Moscow and several other big Russian cities. The formal cause was the absence of reaction by the authorities to the film He Is Not Dimon to You, produced and distributed online by the Foundation Against Corruption, headed by opposition activist Alexei Navalny. The film accused Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of corruption, showing […]

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NEWSLINK: “The arts thrive in Putin’s Russia – though they play a complex game of censorship; Russia’s art scene prospers in a bizarre critical climate fostered by the Kremlin. We may not know the rules, but we know our place” – The Guardian (UK)/Natalia Antonova

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“… The Russian state’s paradoxical nature becomes especially apparent when considering the country’s thriving arts scene. It is these contradictions of governance, and their peculiar influence on the Russian art world, that aid and abet Putin’s rule, and ultimately, help generate support for the Russian president. So is there censorship? Yes, some people would argue – but it’s not clearly […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-62 :: Thursday, 30 March 2017

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's Domes

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-#62 Thursday, 30 March 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, #Russian and #Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott […]

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Election of Russian Academy of Sciences president set tentatively for Sept 27 – acting RAS President Kozlov

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Kremlin and River

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) – The election of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) president will most likely be held on September 27, 2017, acting RAS President Valery Kozlov said on Tuesday. “We are preparing and we will be preparing a general assembly, it will most apparently be held at the end of September of this year. Moreover, the [RAS] […]

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Survey: Two-Thirds Of Russians Hold Putin Responsible For Corruption

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Hand Pulling Cash from Envelope

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – March 28, 2017) More than two-thirds of #Russians believe that President Vladimir Putin is “entirely” or “significantly” responsible for massive corruption among state officials, according to a new survey by the Levada Center. [http://www.levada.ru/2017/03/28/institutsionalnaya-korruptsiya-i-lichnyj-opyt/] The March 28 survey found that 79 percent of Russians believe corruption has “completely infected” or “significantly infected” Russia’s organs of state […]

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Russian society must denounce Stalin once and for all – Federation of Jewish Communities

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) – The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR) has called Stalin a Herod who was exterminating his own people. “Stalin must remain to generations a Herod who built the GULAG, BAM [Baikal-Amur Mainline], who expanded the railway and won the Second World War, the man responsible for mass deaths of his own people. Murderer!” Boruch […]

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Patriarch Kirill blames 1917 revolution on intelligentsia

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Revolutionaries Marching in Moscow in 1917, adapted from image at state.gov

MOSCOW. March 29 (Interfax) – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has put the main blame for the 1917 revolution on the intelligentsia. “What happened in the 20th century, that meat-grinder, which ground the entire intelligentsia, is it not an organic consequences of the horrible crimes that the intelligentsia committed against faith, against God, against their people, against their […]

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Is #Navalny a ‘Young and Sober’ #Yeltsin or ‘the #Putin of Tomorrow’?

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Alexei Navalny Being Grabbed by Police at Protest

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, March 28, 2017) Aleksey #Navalny’s new prominence and his success in attracting young people – which some see reflected in the fact that he now has more “likes” than Moscow TV (politsovet.ru/54872-navalnyy-obognal-po-chislu-podpischikov-pervyy-kanal-rt-i-rossiyu-24.html) – #Putin loyalists are attacking him and others asking what kind of a leader he may be. Putin’s press spokesman […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with Valentina Tereshkova

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Space
File Photo of Valentina Tereshkova in Space Suit with Helmet Open, adapted from image at starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov

(Kremlin.ru – March 6, 2017) Vladimir Putin extended his birthday greetings to Valentina Tereshkova, pilot cosmonaut, the first woman in space, Hero of the Soviet Union, and State Duma deputy. The President issued an executive order awarding the Order For Services to the Fatherland I Degree to Ms Tereshkova, deputy chairperson of the State Duma Committee for Federal Organisation and […]

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NEWSWATCH: “New Fears in Ukraine’s Coal Country; A factory and its workers face economic hardship from conflict and blockades” – U.S. News/Katherine Jacobsen

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Two years later a blockade in eastern Ukraine now threatens the future of the Avdiivka plant and the health of Ukraine’s already shaky economy. Activists, with the support of some politicians, initiated the blockade in January with the intention of halting trade between businesses in Ukrainian and separatist-held territories. In mid-March the government in Kiev joined in, reversing itself […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-61 :: Wednesday, 29 March 2017

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's Domes

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-#61 Wednesday, 29 March 2017 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, #Russian and #Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott […]

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NEWSLINK: “Fear and Loathing; Three new books embody our tendency to misinterpret Russia” – Book Forum/Sean Guillory

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

“THE LONG-STANDING ANIMOSITY and suspicion between Russia and the United States have reached such a frenzied pitch of late that the very idea of good relations has begun to feel impossible, almost ahistorical. …”

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More On Russia’s Protests

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore, The Morning Vertical – March 28, 2017) … There is no shortage of commentary on nationwide protests in Russia on March 26. Here’s a sampling: In The Atlantic, Julia Ioffe explains the significance of this past weekend’s protest. Leonid Ragozin has a piece in Bloomberg looking at Navalny’s campaign operation in Siberia and what […]

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NEWSWATCH: “The Russian regime’s critics are falling dead, but their discontent can’t be killed” – Washington Post

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

“… #Voronenkov … #Gorokhov … only the latest in the string of violence and death that has trailed those who criticize … #Putin and his regime. Boris #Nemtsov … was assassinated while walking home across a bridge within sight of the #Kremlin walls. Alexander #Litvinenko, a former KGB officer who had become a fierce critic of … Putin … killed in London with radioactive polonium placed […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Why Russian protests are making the Kremlin rethink 2018 presidential elections. The implicit choice in next year’s elections was looking like ‘Putin or nothing.’ But the breadth of protests Sunday organized by anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny is changing that equation.” – Christian Science Monitor/Fred Weir

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russia Regions Map

“… staging significant protest actions in almost 100 #Russian cities Sunday, Alexei Navalny has laid down a serious challenge to Vladimir Putin. The anti-corruption blogger-turned-politician wants to run for president in elections that are barely a year off, and has been conducting himself as if his campaign were already under way. The Kremlin has the means to prevent him, by invoking a […]

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