RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#175 :: Friday 4 September 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#175
Friday – 4 September 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. Business New Europe: Anna Kravchenko, MOSCOW BLOG: What crisis? Moscow marks 868th birthday with glam metal and plenty of make-up.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: New lessons in economics. Russian parents struggle with school expenses as real incomes fall.
3. Vedomosti: Poll shows dissatisfaction with Putin strongest among poorest Russians. (Aleksey Levinson)
4. Moscow Times: Lack of Manifestos Points to Political Complacency in Russian Regions – Experts.
5. www.rt.com: Half of Russians express readiness to vote in 2016 parliamentary poll.
6. Interfax: Poll shows three parties likely to be elected to next Russian parliament.
7. Rossiiskaya Gazeta: Sergei Karaganov, Bidding Farewell to the Civil War. A nation that has not buried its perished fellow citizens cannot respect itself and move forward.
8. Moscow Times: Ivan Sukhov, Russians Must Open Up and Think Long Term.
9. Russia Beyond the Headlines: TROIKA REPORT: Negotiations on Ukraine are a marriage of convenience. (and other stories)
10. Wall Street Journal: Russia Says Economy Recovery Slow in Coming. Finance Ministry predicts return to growth only late this year or early next.
11. TASS: US sanctions against Russia as weapon of economic warfare.
12. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, Putin Achieves Political Draw in Sanctions War with Europe.
13. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Putin showcases Russia’s pivot to Asia as he visits China for WWII parade. As he visits for China’s World War II 70th anniversary military parade Thursday, the Russian president hopes to stabilize a relationship roiled by economic problems in both countries.
14. Wall Street Journal: Putin Pitches for Foreign Investment in Russia’s Far East. Russia turns to China to develop its remote but resource-rich region, despite recent market turmoil.
15. Russia Direct: Russian think tanks turn attention to instability in Asia. China’s financial and economic instability, as well as the escalation of tensions between North and South Korea, attracted a great deal of attention from Russian think tanks in August.
16. www.rt.com: EU refugee crisis ‘absolutely expected’ – Putin.
17. Carnegie Moscow Center: Maksim Vikhrov, Turmoil in Kiev: Ukrainian Society and Decentralization.
18. Kyiv Post: Oleg Sukhov, War, weapons mix for deadly politics.
19. TASS: Kiev does not implement conditions of political settlement – Putin.
20. Sputnik: Ukraine’s Great Ukrainian Wall’ Rides Roughshod Over People’s Interests – Report.
21. TASS: Eastward expansion secures undisputable strategic advantages for NATO – Russia’s mission.
22. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Mikhail Rostovskiy, At the United Nations, Khrushchev banged his boot. What will Putin do? Why VVP’s voyage to America will be more extreme than the descent in the bathyscaphe.
23. http://readrussia.com: James Pearce, What Foreigners Hear from Russians?
24. The Guardian (UK): BBC Russian’s Seva Novgorodsev: ‘The facts are the last thing they think of.’ The veteran World Service presenter on how his homeland has changed under Putin, his 38 years with the BBC, and why news needs a ‘human face’
25. www.rt.com: Sam Gerrans, The Cold War and end of certainty.
26. Moscow Times: What Trump as U.S. President Would Mean for Russia.