RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#218 :: Tuesday 10 November 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#218
Tuesday 10 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. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs: The Putin Worldview, Russia in Syria, and the Ukraine Elections. (interview with Nicolai Petro)
2. The Nation: James Carden, Obama Administration Officials Insist Russia Is to Blame for the Syrian Crisis. Will it finally dawn on the American political establishment that the US and Russia are in this fight together?
3. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, The Russians Are Either Weak or Strong.
4. RFE/RL: Russian Justice Ministry Accuses Memorial Of Calling For Regime Change.
5. Kremlin.ru: 70th session of the UN General Assembly. [Putin on climate change]
6. Reuters: Special Report: Putin’s daughters and Russia’s second-generation elite.
7. Reuters: Rising stars among children of Russia’s elite.
8. Sputnik: Modern Technology Prevents Media Censorship – Rossiya Segodnya Chief.
9. TASS: Russian minister: Decision on floating ruble rate was absolutely correct.
10. Bloomberg: How the Unshackled Ruble Has Changed Russia’s Economy Forever. The weaker currency has hit consumers hard but helped oil producers.
11. The National Interest: William Wilson, Russia’s Economy: What Do the Numbers Tell Us?
12. TASS: Russian Sports Ministry urges WADA to focus on real facts in anti-doping investigation.
13. Bloomberg: Russia Fears Islamic Terror Blowback Over Syria After Sinai.
14. Interfax: Russia set to work constructively at Vienna meeting; calls for regime change in Syria will not lead to success – Lavrov.
15. www.thedailybeast.com: U.S. Spies Root for an ISIS-Russia War.
16. Interfax: Cooperation with USA, Saudis against ISIS possible – top Russian diplomat.
17. Russia Direct: Dmitry Polikanov, Why Russia and the West won’t be teaming up against ISIS anytime soon. Russia and the West fundamentally differ in their interpretations and responses to the crash of a Russian civilian airliner in Egypt. As a result, they are losing another opportunity to unite against the global threat posed by ISIS.
18. Russia Direct: Ivan Tsvetkov, Egyptian air crash will not lead to Russia-West coalition against ISIS. If a terror attack is indeed the real cause of the crash of the Russian aircraft in Egypt, it remains to be seen how the Kremlin will frame this version of events, given the current political situation in the country and Russia’s direct involvement in the Syrian war.
19. Vineyard of the Saker: Russia’s intervention in Syria – a reality-based evaluation.
20. New York Review of Books: Amy Knight, Egypt: Why Putin Needs the FBI.
21. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, The Pentagon’s Empire of Whining.
22. The Toast: Every Russian Novel Ever.
23. The Duke Chronicle: Q&A: Former U.S. ambassador Matlock reflects on Cold War.
24. DukeTODAY: Summit: 30 Years Later. Rubenstein Fellow Jack Matlock recalls the Reagan/Gorbachev summit of 1985.

UKRAINE

25. www.mcclatchydc.com: Ukraine’s military has rebounded despite budget and battle woes.
26. TASS: Kiev redeploys two squadrons of combat helicopters to Donbas – DPR intelligence.
27. TASS: OSCE mission confirms recent shelling of Donetsk from Grad rocket launchers.
28. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments and answers to media questions following the Normandy format ministerial talks, Berlin, November 6, 2015.
29. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Bershidsky: Ukraine as a Failed State?
30. TASS: Ukraine’s inflation skyrockets by 33.3% from January 1 – report.
31. TASS: Analysts: Kiev needs tensions in Donbas as excuse for belt tightening.
32. United Nations: UN refugee agency delivers aid to eastern Ukraine for first time in months.
33. www.opendemocracy.net: Sara Cincurova, Ukraine: Europe’s forgotten refugees. While the world focuses on refugees arriving in Europe from warzones in the Middle East, the plight of those fleeing war in Ukraine has been forgotten.
34. Kyiv Post: Right Sector activists, volunteer soldiers aren’t willing to give up on Crimea blockade.
35. Interfax-Ukraine: Rada fails to introduce “anti-discrimination” provision into Labor Code.
36. www.rt.com: Kiev has enough gas to last 4 days–Gazprom CEO.
37. Counterpunch.org: Dave Lindorff, US Spy Sats See Everything, Except when the Government Says They Didn’t.
38. Euromaidanpress.com: Paul Goble, Moscow laying groundwork to annex Belarus, open second front against Ukraine next year.