RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#169 :: Thursday 27 August 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#169
Thursday – 27 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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1. Moscow Times: Adoption in Russia: Families Helping Families.
2. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Ruble turning to rubble? No signs of panic in the Kremlin. Most Russians still blame the West, not their own government, for their intensifying economic pain. President Putin’s approval rating has remained around 90 percent.
3. Sputnik: Ukrainian State Oppression Against Protests Triples After Coup – Monitor.
4. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Kiev under pressure from EU over Minsk accords, insist Russian experts. Recent talks between the Ukrainian, French and German leaders on the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region saw Paris and Berlin express their continued support for Kiev, but Russian analysts say Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is under pressure to make compromises.
5. Vice.com: Jack Losh, ‘We Want Orders to Attack’: Celebrating Ukrainian Independence Day on the Eastern Frontlines.
6. Reuters: Ukraine, separatists to strive for full ceasefire from September 1.
7. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Sept. 1 ceasefire in Donbass agreed at meeting in Minsk. A meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk with representatives from the Donetsk and Lugansk “people’s republics” has ended with the parties agreeing to a ceasefire effective from Sept. 1. However, experts are not convinced this a breakthrough on the path to peace.
8. Interfax: DPR claims Ukraine holding approx. 450 prisoners of war.
9. TASS: Donetsk republic military police accuses Kiev of torturing prisoners.
10. www.rt.com: Dmitry Babich, ‘Old guard’ pragmatists criticize Western policy on Ukraine.
11. Russia Insider: Patrick Armstrong, Ukraine: Such a Disappointment for a Girl. Hope and change blasted and gone. What to do?
12. Russia Beyond the Headlines/RBC Daily: ‘It’s all guesswork’: Russian entrepreneurs on the falling ruble. As the Russian ruble hit another record low on Aug. 24, the heads of several major Russian companies spoke about what the devaluation means for their activities.
13. Izvestia: Russian poet defends destruction of embargoed food. (Igor Karaulov)
14. TASS: West predicts BRIСS demise, experts disagree.
15. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Russian academician assesses state of international relations. (Andrey Kokoshin)
16. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Russia, Ukraine preparing for long standoff – daily. (Mikhail Rostovskiy)
17. TASS: Kiev refuses to offer Moscow better debt restructuring terms.
18. www.rt.com: Ukraine agrees 20% debt haircut with creditors, Russia refuses to take part.
19. Bloomberg: All You Need to Know About Ukraine’s $18 Billion Debt Agreement.
20. Fort Russ: Poroshenko’s Real Fear is Peace in Donbass.
21. http://newcoldwar.org: Stunning poll results showing Ukrainians’ disatisfied with government, economy and war.
22. www.brianmefford.net: Brian Mefford, Ukraine Update 8/25: Pre-Election Preview II & Italian Arrests. (excerpt)
23. Sputnik: Politics for Sale: West Admits Money the Only Power to Matter in Ukraine.
24. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and replies to questions at the Russian Terra Scientia Educational Youth Forum on Klyazma River, Dvoriki, Vladimir Region, August 24, 2015.
25. Reuters: Paul Stronski, Why Russia’s latest attempt at a land grab is a farce.
26. Paul Goble: Khodorkovsky Calls for Civil Disobedience against Unjust Laws and Putin’s Unjust System.
27. RFE/RL: Report With Tally Of ‘Russian War Casualties’ Causes Stir.
28. Parlio.com: Q&A. Michael McFaul. Stanford Professor – Former US Amb. to Russia.
29. The Kremlin Stooge: Mark Chapman, The Abyss Looks Back: Europe’s Phenomenal Arrogance.