RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: 2014-#73 :: Wednesday, 2 April 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#73 :: 2 April 2014
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RUSSIA

1. Moscow Times: Snowstorm Paralyzes Moscow on April Fool’s Day.
2. Interfax: Abnormal heat waves, floods will continue due to global warming – experts.
3. RIA Novosti: Russians Regain Right to Contest Election Results in Court.
4. Moscow Times: 25% of Russians Think Government Is Corrupt, Poll Says.
5. RIA Novosti: Housing and High Wages Will Stop Russian ‘Brain Drain’ – Russian Official.
6. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, 4 Things You Should Know About Russian Demography That Vanity Fair Won’t Tell You.
7. Moscow Times: What the Papers Say, Apr. 2, 2014.
8. Moscow Times: Bill to Toughen Law on Rallies Raises Concerns.
9. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Revisiting the adage ‘trust but verify.’ Suzanne Massie is ‘the greatest student of the Russian people’.
10. ITAR-TASS: Russia’s GDP growth rates to be under 1 % in 2014.
11. London School of Economics and Political Science: Pekka Sutela, Russia’s sluggish economy is not a function of the Ukraine crisis or sanctions, but reflects long term economic trends.
12. Transitions Online: Galina Stolyarova, If You Want Coverage in Russia, Prepare to Pay. There are plenty of ways to describe what most of the country’s media do, but journalism is not one of them.
13. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, A bit of satire in Russia earns a big backlash.
14. Moscow Times: In Sochi and Crimea, Cossacks Seek to Define Role in Society.
15. www.opendemocracy.net: Alex Jackson, When charity should begin at home. Civil society development in Russia has been hampered by restrictive laws and apathy or suspicion on the part of the public. What is needed so it can start again? Salzburg Global Seminar is considering the issues.
16. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Encounters with Russian humour. Russian people have an amazing ability to see the humour in some of the glummest situations. It’s hard to argue that laughter is the best medicine.
17. Moscow Times: ‘Geograf’ Picks Up Top Russian Film Award.

UKRAINE

18. ITAR-TASS: Over 90% of polled Russians back Crimea’s accession to Russia – WCIOM.
19. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Paris talks yield progress on Ukraine for Russia and the U.S.. Moscow and Washington have agreed to work with the government in Kyiv to ensure respect for the rights of national minorities, the disarmament of provocateurs, implementation of constitutional reform and the holding of elections.
20. http://darussophile.com: Alexander Mercouris, The Lavrov-Kerry Meeting.
21. Russia Direct: Dieter Boden, If you thought Germany has given up on Russia, you’d be wrong. While Germany may be more cautious about engaging with Russia after events in Crimea, the future stability of the European continent requires that Germany once again find a common ground with its eastern neighbor.
22. PRIME: Europe Risks Losses of $215 Billion by Stopping Russian Gas Imports – Report.
23. RIA Novosti: OPINION: West and Russia Should Share Interest in Ukrainian Stability. (Cathryn Cluvier)
24. ITAR-TASS: Ukraine’s accession to NATO not on agenda – presidential candidate. (Petro Poroshenko)
25. RIA Novosti: EU Not Ready to Offer Membership for Ukraine – Russian Ambassador.
26. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Why Ukraine needs a new constitution fair to all. The Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko explains Russia’s official position on the past events in Ukraine.
27. RIA Novosti: Turmoil in Ukraine Caused by Constitutional Crisis – Russian Foreign Ministry.
28. RFE/RL: ‘We Need To Cure Ukraine:’ Maidan Doctor Aims For Presidency. (Olha Bohomolets)
29. Interfax: Russian official sees no “national leader” among Ukraine presidential candidates. (Valentina Matviyenko)
30. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine’s New Boss, Same as the Old Boss? (Petro Poroshenko)
31. www.rt.com: Crimea leaving Ukraine a tragedy – ousted president Yanukovich.
32. Interfax-Ukraine: Right Sector to continue arming itself if Ukraine situation does not change.
33. Bloomberg: Russia Presses Ukraine on Nationalists Amid NATO Talks.
34. Time.com: Simon Shuster, Corruption Still Plagues Ukraine as West Pumps in Aid.
35. Wall Street Journal: NATO Military Chief Gen. Philip Breedlove Readies Response to Russian Moves.
36. www.nato.int: Statement by NATO Foreign Ministers.
37. RIA Novosti: Moscow Says NATO’s Freeze of Cooperation Reminiscent of Cold War.
38. RIA Novosti: NATO Decisions Hinder Domestic Ukrainian Talks – Russian Foreign Ministry.
39. The Daily Star (Lebanon): Ali Wyne, Russia’s takeover of Crimea could well have been improvised.
40. RIA Novosti: Geopolitics Poses Risks to Russian Financial Stability – Bank of Russia.
41. Moscow Times: Andrew Yorke, U.S. Sanctions List Sets Dangerous Precedent.
42. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Mikhail Rostovskiy, Ukraine’s weakness as main threat to Russia.
43. Izvestia: Andranik Migranyan, Variants of way out. Ukrainian Crisis: Possible Ways Out. Political Expert Andranik Migranyan on How Russia Could Help Ukraine and What Will Happen If Ukraine Rejects Its Help.
44. Global Times (China): Dmitri Trenin, Moscow determined to follow its own path.
45. The National Interest: Chase Carter, Russia Is Not Nazi Germany.
46. www.thenation.com: Stephen F. Cohen, Cold War Again: Who’s Responsible? In the name of ‘democracy,’ the West has unrelentingly moved its military, political and economic power ever closer to post-Soviet Russia.
47. Seattle Times: Glennys Young, Cold War containment is the wrong way to deal with Russia.
48. The Diplomat: Zachary Keck, Why Did BRICS Back Russia on Crimea? The BRICS’s support for Russia shows the Western-dominated post-Cold War order is eroding.
49. The National Interest: Samuel Charap and Ely Ratner, China: Neither Ally nor Enemy on Russia.
50. ITAR-TASS: Russia keeps pressing for reunification of “Russian world”
51. http://reconsideringrussia.org: Pietro Shakarian, How the West Got Moscow’s Eurasian Union Wrong.
52. Council on Foreign Relations: Alexander Kliment, Putin’s Fairy Tale. Why Russia Will Try — and Fail — To Build a New Empire.