JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#227 – 26 December 2012
Johnson’s Russia List
2012-#227
26 December 2012
davidjohnson@starpower.net
A World Security Institute Project
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In this issue
POLITICS
1. Interfax: Few Russians celebrate Western-style Christmas – poll.
2. Moscow News: New Year makes Russians go childish.
3. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: 80, 41 or 5 What Percentage of Russians are Orthodox Christians?
4. RIA Novosti: Moscow Students Invoke Putin for Protection in Rare Strike.
5. Moscow Times: Thomas Owen, The Heavy Burden of History Haunts Russia.
6. BBC Monitoring: Russian TV talk show sums up political results of 2012.
7. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, Russia In 2012: A New Normal.
8. International Herald Tribune: Charles Grant, Stifling Progress in Russia and China.
9. Christian Science Monitor: Doing the Lindy for fun and exercise in Moscow.
10. Moscow TImes/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Dec. 26, 2012.
11. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Putin becomes informal and sharp with the press. Experts agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the journalists both left pleased with each other.
12. Moscow TImes: Navalny Hit With 3rd Criminal Case.
13. www.russiatoday.com: Moscow legislature approves creation of ‘Hyde Parks’ for rallies and protests.
14. BBC Monitoring: Russian pundit, activist expect arrests, clampdown on opposition to continue.
15. Moscow Times: Acquittal Nears for Magnitsky Suspect.
16. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Protests in Russia’s Provinces Very Different from Those in Moscow, Expert Says.
17. Valdai Discussion Club: Leonid Gozman, Disregard for the law is a matter of trust.
18. International Relations and Security Network (ISN): Dmitry Gorenburg, Challenges Facing the Russian Defense Establishment.
19. New York Times: Former Official Stole Millions in Real Estate, Russia Says.
20. Moscow TImes: Russian-Language Textbooks Stir Controversy.
ECONOMY
21. RIA Novosti: Medvedev Tackles Stimulus as Economy Slows.
22. Voice of Russia: 2012 Recap. Russia’s joining WTO: benefits, prospects.
23. Moscow Times: Gazprom Facing Challenges at Home and Abroad.
24. Moscow TImes: Mark Nuckols, A Long Haul From Snail Mail to Skolkovo.
25. New York Times: Russia’s Desire for Cars Grows, and Foreign Makers Take Notice.
26. AFP: Russia unveils $25 bn oil link to Pacific.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
27. www.opendemocracy.net: Dmitri Trenin, Russia and the West need to rediscover each other in 2013.
28. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Dmitri Trenin, The End of the EU-Russia Relationship As You Know It.
29. Kommersant: NOT TO BE ABANDONED. Russia is about to establish a structure to aid its citizens in trouble abroad.
30. Interfax: U.S. Senators created a Catch 22 for Obama, hit reset issue – Lavrov.
31. Moscow TImes: Kremlin, India Strike Weapons Deals.
32. AFP: Russia ban on US adoptions clears parliament.
33. Interfax: Russia to start preparations for severing adoption deal with U.S. in near future – diplomat.
34. Wall Street Journal: Most Russians Back U.S. Adoption Ban.
35. Vedomosti: VENGEANCE. RUSSIAN RESPONSE TO THE MAGNITSKY BILL FACILITATES CORRUPTION AND PUNISHES THE INNOCENT.
36. Moscow Times: Alexander Gezalov, U.S. Adoptions Give Russian Children New Lives.
37. Moscow News: The heartbreak kids. Foreign adoptions have always raised hackles in Russia but they also offer hope.
38. Voice of America: Kremlin’s Syria Policy Hurts Russia’s Position in Arab World.
39. Kennan Institute: Meeting Report: Russia’s Global Health Engagement. (Judyth Twigg)
40. Moscow News: Mark Galeotti, The sulky teenager. Will the world see a friendlier, more cooperative Russia in 2013?
41. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Vzglayd: Once again, Russia and Georgia try to find common ground. Russian pundit Sergei Markedonov and his Georgian counterpart comment on the first direct talks between Russian and Georgian diplomats since the “hot August” of 2008.
42. Izvestia: LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO PIN BLAME ON. The Georgian Defense Ministry formed an expert group to study the Five-Day War and say who is to be blamed for it. Russia will remain an aggressor in any event.