RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#214 :: Wednesday 4 November 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#214
Wednesday 4 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. Interfax: Putin says external pressure gives Russia chance to develop.
2. Russia Insider: Shellback, These Suggestions Won’t Fix “Broken” US Intelligence on Russia. You have to get outside the box. (re Mark Galeotti/JRL#213)
3. Sputnik: National Unity Day in Russia: History and Facts.
4. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Mikhail Shvykoi, A ‘new’ National Holiday serves to unite 11 time zones. In a country where more than 130 languages are spoken, the idea of unity is a necessary theme to explore.
5. TASS: Putin to take part in events marking National Unity Day.
6. Russia Insider: Alexei Pankin, Russian National Unity Day: “Stop Quarrelling, Boys!” A personal reflection on Russia’s history.
7. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Integration still a challenge in Russia. Russian society has yet to accept that mass migration is a fact, which makes it harder for those moving to the country to integrate into society, according to an expert on xenophobia. (interview with SOVA head Alexander Verkhovsky)
8. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Moscow creates vast new bank from Post Office. Russia’s postal service joined forces with VTB Bank to establish Post Bank, a new retail lender with three times as many retail branches as the current leader, Sberbank.
9. Moscow Times: Airbnb Sees Rapid Growth in Russia Amid Recession.
10. Moscow Times: Exiled Kremlin Critic Becomes EBRD Chief Economist. (Sergei Guriev)
11. www.rt.com: Putin signs law allowing retaliatory sequestration of foreign property in Russia.
12. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian World on the path to consolidation. Russian Foreign Minister explains major tenet of country’s foreign policy. (Sergei Lavrov)
13. Los Angeles Times: Patrick McDonnell, In Damascus, Syrians express a surprising level of optimism.
14. Ekho Moskvy news agency (Moscow): Syria regime change could spell global disaster – Russian spokeswoman.
15. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: “Definite shifts” seen in sides stances at Vienna talks on Syria.
16. TASS: Russia says operation to continue as long as Syria army carries out offensive.
17. Moon of Alabama: BREAKING NEWS: Russia’s Position On Assad Unchanged Since 2011 – Reuters, BBC.
18. Russia Direct: Syria war: A turning point in Russia-West relations? Russia Direct’s October think tank roundup: Russia’s top experts examine the implications of military operations in Syria, with some suggesting they could help ease Russia’s global isolation and others fearing they might undermine internal security.
19. The National Interest: Michael Peck, Shock and Awed: Yes, Russia Can Still Fight a War. Newsflash: Russia is not some tinpot third-world basket case with a make-believe army, but rather the nation with the third-highest military spending on the planet.
20. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, Russia is Targeting Jihadi Terrorists in Syria Including the Islamic State and Russians Approve of Putin’s Military Intervention Against ISIS: UPDATE.
21. Asia Times: Manish Rai, Russia’s growing muscle in the Middle East.
22. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Will extremists unite to fight against Russia and the West? The al-Qaeda leader has urged Islamist groups to overcome internal divisions and join forces to oppose the West, Russia, Syria and Iran. However, it raises the question of whether extremists can forget their differences and act as a united front.
23. Russia Direct: Galiya Ibragimova, The US eyes Central Asia as a new front in the battle against ISIS. The U.S. will help Central Asia do battle against Afghan terrorists – but will they succeed without Russia’s assistance?
24. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, MAKING THE SOVIETS LOOK GOOD. (re Afghanistan)
25. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: New Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. (DJ: Panel deserving of reflection.)
26. www.rt.com: Margarita Simonyan, On The Washington Post and fear of RT.
27. www.russia-insider.com: William Dunkerley, Stop Calling It Russophobia — It’s Anti-Putin Provocateurism.
28. National Public Radio (NPR): Gen. Philip Breedlove On How NATO Should Deal With Russia.
29. The Daily Cardinal (University of Wisconsin): Ben Miller, Rethinking Putin’s Russian government.
30. Politico.com: Mark Perry, Inside the Pentagon’s Fight Over Russia. How the victors of one of America’s most celebrated battles are facing off on the future of the Army.
31. New York Times SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW: Serge Schmemann, ‘Winter Is Coming,’ by Garry Kasparov.
32. Voice of America: Russian Propaganda: ‘The Weaponization of Information.’ (Congressional hearing)

UKRAINE

33. TASS: Labour migrants from Ukraine benefit Russian economy.
34. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Rapped Over Conditions in War-Torn East. Council of Europe says people denied key services, assistance.
35. Bloomberg: Ukraine Failing to Probe Pro-Russia Protester Deaths, Panel Says. (Odessa firebombing)
36. AP: Attacks on black fans show rising tide of fan racism amid Ukraine’s turmoil.
37. Interfax: DPR to launch combat actions if Ukraine breaches truce – Zakharchenko.
38. Carnegie Moscow Center: Balazs Jarabik, Ukraine After Local Elections: Putting Out Fires. While local elections proceeded peacefully, the fires are still burning around Kyiv.
39. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken.
40. Reuters: Ukraine Risks Losing Foreign Support Over Reform Delay, PM Says.
41. RFE/RL: Five Questions: The Arrest Of Ukrainian Oligarch Hennadiy Korban.
42. TASS: Russia and Ukraine agree upon preliminary terms of uranium supplies in 2016.
43. Atlantic Council: John Herbst, The Motivations Behind Poroshenko’s New Anticorruption Drive.