RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#226 :: Thursday 19 November 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#226
Thursday 19 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. Moscow Times: Terrorist Attacks Force Russia and the West to Talk About Collaboration.
2. Kennan Institute: Maxim Trudolyubov, The Beginning of the End of Russia’s Estrangement from the West.
3. Asia Times: David Goldman, Vladimir Putin, Leader of the Free World.
4. TASS: Islamic State was set up by ‘guys’ US had kept in jail but released afterwards – Lavrov.
5. www.rt.com: NATO is actively inventing enemies, Russia is not – Lavrov.
6. Bloomberg: Putin’s Thaw With U.S. Gives Russia Room to Phase Out Stimulus.
7. Bloomberg: Russia Sees Biggest Decline in Wages, Retail Sales Since 1999
8. Russia Direct: Dmitry Dokuchaev, Why a free-floating ruble is not in freefall. One year ago, the Central Bank of Russia refused to place restrictions on the foreign currency exchange market, releasing the ruble into a free-floating state. What have been the results?
9. Reuters: EU’s Juncker dangles trade ties with Russia-led bloc to Putin.
10. Paul Goble: ‘Traditional Family’ Said Making a Comeback in Russia– But It’s Mostly Rural and Muslim.
11. Russia Direct: How Russia fits into the changing structure of world trade. Interview: Radhika Desai, professor at the Department of Political Studies, director of Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba (Canada) and member of the Valdai Discussion Club, discusses the growth of regional trade agreements and possible implications for developing economies, such as Russia.
12. Russia Insider: Patrick Armstrong, Toss Your MSM Subscriptions and Buy The Saker’s Book. You’ll save money and learn more.
13. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Sinai plane bomb puts Russia in familiar situation: in terrorists’ sights. The Kremlin confirmed that the Russian jetliner destroyed last month, killing 224, was felled by a bomb. History indicates that Russians will stand behind Putin against terrorism.
14. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Lavrov answers question on Syria conflict.
15. Russia Direct: Anton Varfolomeev, Why Russia can invoke the right to self-defense to attack ISIS. After the Paris attacks and the act of terrorism against a Russian airliner in Egypt, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a clear signal to terrorists and those who are behind them .
16. Sputnik: Why is Washington Turning Blind Eye to ISIL’s Gulf Funding Sources?
17. www.rt.com: Pepe Escobar, In the fight against ISIS, Russia ain’t taking no prisoners.
18. Washington Post editorial: Teaming up with Russia in Syria could be a dangerous false step for the U.S.
19. Washington Post: Fred Hiatt, A dogged fighter for the rule of law in Russia.
20. Washington Post: As France seeks a grand coalition, Obama is wary of allying with Russia.
21. RFE/RL: Possible Russia-West Rapprochement Over Syria Stokes Fears In Europe’s East.
22. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexander Baunov, Paris, Russia, and the New Borders of Darkness.
23. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, Moscow Faces Terror Threat It Can Handle.
24. The New Yorker: Joshua Yaffa, Putin’s Ambitions for the War Against ISIS.
25. Russia Direct: Pietro Shakarian and Steven Luber, Why the Kremlin should have Georgia on its mind. Two recent controversies in Georgia – an ownership dispute over a TV channel and leaks revealing a coup attempt – might have foreign policy implications for the Kremlin.
26. TASS: Is Islamic State’s threat to Central Asian countries real?
27. New York Review of Books: Richard Pipes, Stalin: ‘He Couldn’t Have Done It Without Them.’ (re Sheila Fitzpatrick’s On Stalin’s Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics)

UKRAINE

28. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Zrada! All Your ISIS Are Belong to Us.
29. Fort Russ: Ukrainian nationalist leader: “ISIS is our ally in the struggle against Russia”
30. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Ukrainians Eager to Help Out ISIS.
31. www.thedailybeast.com: Anna Nemtsova, Chechen Jihadis Leave Syria, Join the Fight in Ukraine.
32. TASS: Moscow says growing number of provocations and skirmishes in Donbas is worrisome.
33. Interfax-Ukraine: Involvement of Russian snipers in shooting of Maidan activists still unconfirmed – PGO.
34. Interfax-Ukraine: Previous Ukrainian govt provoked confrontation outside Rada on Feb 18, 2014 to justify anti-terror operation planned since Jan – PGO.
35. Reuters: Ukraine mounts soccer show of unity, but east “blind” to success.
36. Interfax-Ukraine: EU must prolong Russia sanctions – presidential administration.
37. Wall Street Journal: Europe On Course to Renew Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine. Despite new cooperation in wake of Paris attacks, EU said to want to keep pressure on Moscow.
38. www.rt.com: Russia bans food imports from Ukraine.
39. www.opendemocracy.net: Denys Gorbach, #DontFuckWithUs: labour reforms and the progressive agenda in Ukraine.
40. Zik (Ukraine): If government fails to change Ukraine, people will do it – Saakashvili.
41. Kyiv Post: Poroshenko, Saakashvili disagree on state of progress in stamping out corruption.
42. New Statesman (UK): Oliver Bullough, Is Ukraine finally getting to grips with its corruption problem? Two years of war, illness and economic pain has followed Ukraine’s revolution, and reforms are still slow to arrive.
43. Reuters: Russia says ready to ease some Ukraine debt terms, reiterates debt not commercial.
44. TASS: Russia will restructure Ukraine’s debt but Kiev should recognize its sovereign nature – PM.
45. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Putin Shows up IMF’s Christine Lagarde. Putin makes an offer the West has to refuse, exposing Western dishonesty about Ukraine’s future.