RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#212 :: Monday 2 November 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#212
Monday – 2 November 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. Russia Beyond the Headlines: The crash of the Russian airliner in Egypt: Theories abound.
2. Wall Street Journal: No Evidence of Terrorism in Russian Plane Crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Says U.S. Intelligence Chief.
3. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, Two reasons why ISIS claims to have downed a Russian airliner. The tragic crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt is now part of a broader information war between Russia and ISIS.
4. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Made in Russia: Not Just Oil and Gas.
5. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Is the Russian economy about to be hit by a new drop in oil prices? Low prices for hydrocarbons have led to the record-breaking filling of storage facilities in Europe and the United States, according to data published by Goldman Sachs. Although the report predicts a sharp decline in demand for oil, posing a threat to the Russian economy, Russian experts do not expect panic in the oil market.
6. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Russia Goes Up on WB’s Doing Business Rankings.
7. www.rt.com: Stuart Smith, Putin – Western media’s villain for every season.
8. TASS: Analysts: Syrian settlement process in Vienna shows signs of progress. (Lukyanov and Malashenko)
9. AP: Steven Hurst, Analysis: Russian Goals in Syria Defined by Timing.
10. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, In Syria, Russian media take a page from US playbook. Russian reporting is as sophisticated and compelling as US reporting in Iraq, thanks to the military’s adoption of ’embeds’ and the media’s adoption of Western techniques. But it’s also repeating US mistakes.
11. Russia Direct: Artem Kureev, The one military scenario in Syria that scares the Kremlin. The Kremlin recognizes the risks of the Syria campaign, especially the potential for capture of Russian pilots carrying out the ISIS bombing campaign. So how will Russia respond to casualties in Syria?
12. London Review of Books: Too Weak, Too Strong. Patrick Cockburn on the state of the Syrian war.
13. Wall Street Journal: John Kerry Seeks to Check Russia’s Influence in Central Asia.
14. Carnegie Moscow Center: Tatyana Stanovaya, Warriors vs Merchants: Russia’s Foreign Policy Rivals.
15. The Atlantic: Tim Marshall, Russia and the Curse of Geography. Want to understand why Putin does what he does? Look at a map.
16. www.wnd.com: FAMOUS RUSSIAN CHESS CHAMPION: ‘BRING DOWN PUTIN.’ ‘Dictator’ seeking to ‘create mass chaos and wars in Middle East.’ (Garry Kasparov)
17. Newsweek.com: William Courtney and Donald Jensen, We Need to Take a Tougher Line With Putin.
18. The Daily Star (UK): EXCLUSIVE: Europe braced for Russian INVASION as Putin masses troops on NATO borders. EUwindowROPE is braced for a Russian invasion and will use “any means” necessary to protect its freedom.
19. Defensenews.com: Gen. Breedlove: Intelligence Community Changing How it Handles Russia.
20. New York Review of Books: Amy Knight: “Putin’s personality cult is fast approaching that of Stalin.”
21. Russia Insider: Tourists Are Flocking to Moscow’s Cheap Prices.
22. Russia Beyond the Headlines: American pop culture trends Russians choose to adopt. While public polls are showing a negative attitude toward Americans among ordinary Russians, from a lifestyle perspective, the influence of American pop culture is quite notable.
23. Nov. 4 event on Capitol Hill: The Crisis in US-Russia Relations, from Ukraine to Syria.

UKRAINE

24. AFP: Ukraine leader says arrest of oligarch ally just ‘the start’
25. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, Yes, Folks, Ukraine Is Still Politically Divided.
26. The Guardian (UK): Jack Losh, Ukrainian rebels grow restless amid cracks in alliance with Russia. A trip to the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine reveals militants unhappy with the ceasefire and increasingly out-of-step with Moscow.
27. Valdai Discussion Club: Vladimir Bruter, The Settlement Process in Ukraine: Breakthroughs, Problems, Prospects.
28. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova. (excerpt re Ukraine)
29. Interfax-Ukraine: Corrupt judges continue to work in Ukraine – Pyatt.
30. AFP: Ukraine leader’s wealth grows despite war, economic woes. President Petro Poroshenko’s assets reportedly rose by 20 percent to $979 million.
31. TASS: IMF set to help Ukraine avoid debt repayment to Russia.
32. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Maidan Snipers.
33. http://newcoldwar.org: Right-wing nationalists under investigation after last year’s sniper massacre in Kiev.
34. Deutsche Welle: Re-integrate Donbass? No, thanks! While the Ukrainian leadership tries to implement the Minsk agreement, opposition to a re-integration of separatist-controlled areas is growing. Experts warn of a new internal political crisis.
35. Fort Russ: Aleksandr Rostovtsev, Ukrainization = dehumanization: a personal reflection on mass psychosis in Ukraine.
36. Counterpunch.org: Andrew Stewart, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, AKA Triumph of the Will 2.0.
37. Interfax: Case against Moscow’s Library of Ukrainian Literature may be closed.
38. Euromaidan Press: After Putin, Russia to become even greater threat to Ukraine, Kyiv analyst says.