RUSSIA – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#160 :: Tuesday Morning 18 August 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#160
Tuesday Morning – 18 August 2015
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University.
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RUSSIA

1. Robert Legvold: re think tanks and US-Russian confrontation.
2. TASS: August 1991 coup d’etat attempt in USSR still fuels disputes.
3. www.rt.com: Russians see 1991 coup as national tragedy, but like subsequent developments.
4. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, STRAIGHT SHOOTING FROM THE UK.
5. Moscow Times: Head of Russia’s Mighty Rail Monopoly Looks Set to Step Down.
6. www.rt.com: Russian railroad boss intends to resign, poised to join upper house.
7. TASS: No big surprises expected from upcoming regional elections in Russia.
8. Vedomosti: Experts note drop in competition in upcoming Russian regional elections – paper.
9. www.opendemocracy.net: Russian press digest (17 August 2015).
10. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Dagestan: Living on the front line of Russia’s fight against terror. For several years already, Russia’s southernmost republic Dagestan has been the epicenter of terrorist activity in the country, with state law-enforcement agencies and special services engaged in a continuous struggle to identify and neutralize terror cells. However, as RBTH reports, these anti-terrorist units do not always use the most humane methods, which inevitably complicates the lives of …
11. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russian Inflation Might Have Peaked, But It’s Still Pretty Bad.
12. Russia Direct: Stanislav Tkachenko, Why Russia is having flashbacks to its nightmare 1998 default. On August 17, 1998, Russia announced a default and devalued the ruble. Fast-forward nearly two decades, and there are rising concerns that Russia could be facing a similar type of economic scenario.
13. Wall Street Journal: Russians Seek to Soften Impact of Ruble Depreciation. Businesses look for new ways to hedge against further currency volatility.
14. www.rt.com: Alexander Yakovenko, National System of Payment Cards: More independence.
15. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Russia’s Second Quarter Contraction Is No Big Deal. Data in July points to an improving economy – contradicting scaremongering stories based on an entirely predictable – and predicted – contraction in the second quarter.
16. Moscow Times: Chris Weafer, No End in Sight to the Ruble’s Downward Slide.
17. New York Times: Russians Feel Ruble’s Fall, but Putin Remains Mostly Unscathed.
18. TASS: Russia will soon suspend spending of funds from National Wealth Fund – Kremlin aide.
19. Business New Europe: Alex Nice, Russia’s surprisingly stingy sovereign wealth fund. As disputes over budget spending intensify, the stability of NWF suggests fiscal conservatives in government can still fight their corner.
20. Washington Post: Russia used to have a powerful weapon in its energy sector. Not anymore.
21. Interfax: Russia continues to increase investments in U.S. Treasuries.
22. Moscow Times: U.S.-Russian Paper Startup Sees Massive Success Despite Political Tensions.
23. Newsweek.com: Russian Startups Are Coming to the U.S.
24. The Hollywood Reporter: Movie Attendance Hits Five-Year High in Russia.
25. Moscow Times: Organizations Host Special Sporting Events for Kids with Special Needs.
26. Russia Direct: Kerry in Havana, Russian orthodoxy outrage and Tianjin explosion. Russia Direct presents the latest roundup of the most discussed events by Russian media during last week.
27. Valdai Discussion Club: Ruslan Pukhov, Russia’s Naval Doctrine: New Priorities and Benchmarks.
28. Interfax: U.S. claims about Iranian general’s visit to Russia based only on media reports – Moscow source.
29. TASS: Moscow and Tehran implementing joint plan on settling Syrian crisis.
30. Sputnik: US Spies Find Open Source Investigations Worthless, Blame ‘Russian Trolls’
31. Moscow Times: Peter Pomerantsev, West Needs to Up the Ante in Infowar.
32. Sputnik: West is Afraid to Lose Information War Against Moscow.
33. Paul Goble: Five Years Ago, Russians Said They Were For Democracy, Something They Wouldn’t Say Now.
34. Steve Shabad: Response to Gordon Hahn’s post [JRL#159]