Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#138 :: 31 July 2013

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#138 :: 31 July 2013
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POLITICS

1. Interfax: Degree of secrecy of geographical data in Russia will be reduced – Medvedev.
2. Interfax: VTsIOM: Russians have less health complaints.
3. Interfax: Death rate in Russia keeps decreasing – Health Minister.
4. http://blogs.channel4.com: The rising spectre of tuberculosis across Russia.
5. RIA Novosti: Russian Prosecutor Questions Reported Bribery Figures.
6. Moscow Times: Yeltsin’s Bear Will Retire to Better Digs Outside Moscow.
7. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Presidential Regiment commander reveals Kremlin secrets. Looking at recent satellite photographs of the Moscow Kremlin, one can spot several new construction projects. The editorial staff of Rossiyskaya Gazeta sent its correspondents to uncover the Kremlin’s “military secrets.”
8. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, July 31, 2013.
9. Moscow Times: Group Debate Irks Mayoral Candidates.
10. Interfax: Two thirds of Moscow residents happy with Sobyanin’s work – poll.
11. Vedomosti: Navalnyy Moscow Mayoral Campaign ‘Guerrilla’ Methods Detailed.
12. Gazeta.ru: Presidential Staff Monitoring Media, Blog Reactions to Moscow Mayoral Candidates.
13. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Prokhorov Seen Player in September Elections, Attracting Moderate Voters.
14. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Lack of Funding, Name Recognition Dooming Small Parties in Regions.
15. Moscow Times: Vice Rector Follows Guriev Out of New Economic School. (Konstantin Sonin)
16. Moscow Times: Anders Aslund, United Russia’s Adoration of Communism.
17. www.opendemocracy.net: Yuri Dzhibladze, ‘Foreign Agents’ fight for survival.
18. www.opendemocracy.net: Anna Sharogradskaya, Keeping calm and carrying on. (director of the Regional Press Institute in St Petersburg)
19. Interfax: ECHR judgment on first Yukos case should lead to its review – Fedotov.
20. New York, TImes editorial: Mr. Putin’s War on Gays.
21. RFE/RL: Western Activists Urge Vodka Boycotts, Visa Bans To Protest Russia’s Antigay Laws.
22. Moscow Times: John Freedman, Best Thespians, Theaters and Themes of 2012-13.

ECONOMY

23. Interfax: Income disparity in Russia up slightly in H1.
24. ITAR-TASS: Government to continue reducing state’s ‘excessive participation in economy.’ (Medvedev)
25. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia’s Oil Industry May Face Overproduction Crisis In Near Future.
26. Interfax: Russians deem ruble devaluation possible – poll.
27. Moscow Times: Low Demand Limits Russia’s 2013 Growth.
28. Moscow Times: Expert Invokes Italian Economic Miracle as Model for Russia.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

29. ITAR-TASS: No response to Snowden’s asylum request from Russia’s Migration Service yet.
30. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russia learned ‘nothing new’ from Snowden leak…but Russia should boost its cybersecurity anyway, says Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
31. AFP: ‘Find a safe haven,’ father tells Snowden in Russia.
32. ITAR-TASS: Russia regards US assessment of Bradley Manning case manifestation of double standards.
33. Russia Beyond the Headlines Asia Pacific: Edward Snowden’s last letter. Edward Snowden, the fugitive former CIA employee, will have to spend longer than he originally intended in Russia, according to the latest news reports. We have asked Leonid Kaganov, a famous Russian science fiction writer, to give us his take on what future may hold for Mr. Snowden.
34. www.russiatoday.com: Russia attacks US attempts to broaden Magnitsky List.
35. The American Interest: David Kramer, President Obama Should Skip Moscow and the Sochi Olympics. And It’s Not Just Because of Edward Snowden
36. Russia Direct: How can the U.S. avoid ‘a folly of historical proportions’? In response to a question submitted by a Russia Direct subscriber, a Russian foreign policy expert comments on the implications of a Russia-China coalition for America. (Viktor Sumsky)
37. Reuters: Russia’s Putin to meet new Iranian president in September.
38. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Defense Spending In ‘New Europe’ Is Collapsing.
39. The Economist: Ukraine and Russia. The 1,025th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus.
40. International Relations and Security Network (ISN): Stephen Aris, The Foreign and Security Policies of the Central Asian States.
41. RIA Novosti: Georgian Culture Ministry Denies Agreeing Return of Stalin Statue.
42. Los Angeles Times: Monument to Soviet dictator Stalin to be restored in Georgia.

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