Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#25 :: Thursday, 6 February 2014

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#25 :: 6 February 2013
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POLITICS

1. Moscow Times: What to Expect at Sochi’s Opening Ceremony.
2. ITAR-TASS: Sochi welcomes 2014 Winter Olympics with traditional Russian hospitality.
3. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Sochi Olympics: Putin’s moment on world podium. Russia’s leader, eager to burnish his legacy and boost the country’s global standing, has risked a lot of prestige in staging the most expensive Olympics in history.
4. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Do Russians need psychological help? The Soviet experience taught Russians that it was better to suffer than admit the need for help, but times are changing.
5. Moscow Times: What the Papers Say, Feb. 6.
6. Moscow Times: Some Government Agencies Could Move East.
7. RIA Novosti: Putin Signs Contentious Courts Merger Into Law.
8. www.opendemocracy.net: Dmitry Travin, Rich cities and dying company towns. Russia’s unemployment figures look low, but they are rising, and there is a great gulf between the prosperous centre and failing regions.
9. Moscow Times: Sergei Markov, Dozhd TV Fomenting a Hipster Revolution.
10. RFE/RL: Russia’s ‘Optimistic Channel’ Fighting For Survival.
11. RIA Novosti: Local NGO Fights ‘Foreign Agent’ Status. (St. Petersburg)
12. Moscow Times: Writers Denounce Repressive Russian Laws in Open Letter.
13. The Guardian: Marc Bennetts, Russia’s anti-gay law is wrong – but so is some of the criticism from the west. Sochi gay rights protesters may have noble intentions, but they are playing into Putin’s hands.
14. Interfax: Deputy prime minister calls Sochi Olympics Russia’s biggest investment project.
15. Wall Street Jorunal: In Sochi Olympics, Russia Tries to Recapture Soviet-Era Glory. A Look Inside the Host Country’s New Olympic Push.
16. ITAR-TASS: Lavrov: World politics’ personages reject IOC invitation to Sochi, not Russia’s one.
17. Interfax: Putin’s spokesman downplays Sochi problems.
18. Reuters: Russia seeks to soothe security jitters on eve of Winter Games.
19. Moscow Times: Sochi Ready for Some, Not for Others.
20. Moscow Times: 57% of Americans Think Sochi Terror Attack Is Likely, Poll Says.
21. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexey Malashenko, Preventing Terrorism During the Olympics.
22. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Top 20 must-see attractions to make your Sochi experience complete. Here is a to-do list for travelers who don’t want to miss any of Sochi’s highlights.

ECONOMY

23. Moscow News: Consequences of a weakened ruble.
24. Moscow Times: Konstantin Sonin, When Flexibility Is Better Than Stability.
25. ITAR-TASS: Russia is steadfast in its intention to develop Far East.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

26. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia: Speech by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, at the 50th Munich Security Conference, Munich.
27. Interfax: West will stop criticizing Russia if it becomes weak – Putin’s spokesman.
28. Interfax: Russian ambassador to US: No link between McFaul departure, reset policy.
29. The National Interest: James Carden, The Fall of McFaul.
30. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russian ICBM missile tests: What lies behind U.S. allegations?
31. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, The Russian And American UN Ambassadors Fight About Pussy Riot, Hilarity Ensues.
32. New York Times: Pussy Riot at The New York Times.
33. Sarah Lindemann-Komarova: Pussy Riot Invades America and Everything in Russia is Awful as Putin’s Olympics Begin: A Historical Perspective.
34. Business New Europe: Russia calls for federalization of Ukraine, simultaneous trade regimes.
35. The Voice of Russia: Dmitry Babich, Will Ukraine split in two?
36. Interfax: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nuland, Ukrainian opposition leaders discusses situation in Ukraine.
37. Time.com: Exclusive: Leader of Far-Right Ukrainian Militant Group Talks Revolution With TIME. In his first interview with foreign media, Dmitro Yarosh, leader of the far-right militant group Pravy Sektor, says he and his antigovernment cohorts in Kiev are ready for armed struggle.
38. RIA Novosti: EU Offers Ukraine Financial Aid in Exchange for Reform.
39. New York Times: Ukraine Chief Loses Support in Stronghold.
40. www.opendemocracy.net: Valery Kalnysh, Who is fighting whom in Ukraine – and why.