RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-15 :: Friday, 22 January 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#15
Friday 22 January 2016
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/Gazeta.ru: Russia ranks among the top 25 best countries in the world.
2. The National Interest: Vladimir Lukin, How Russia Sees the World. There’s a middle course between nationalist isolation and globalist impulses.
3. The Independent (UK): Alexander Litvinenko accused Vladimir Putin of being a paedophile four months before he was poisoned.
4. Facebook: Patrick Armstrong, My take on the Litvinenko report. (and others)
5. PBS Newshour: What the Litvinenko assassination accusation means for the Kremlin. (with Steven Lee Myers and Michael McFaul)
6. TASS: Litvinenko row to go the way political winds blow.
7. Antiwar.com: Justin Raimondo, The Craziest Conspiracy Theory of Them All. The British government’s report on the death of Alexander Litvinenko reads like a bad thriller.
8. Moscow Times: Nikolai Petrov, Russia’s Ruling Regime Must Modernize or Face Collapse.
9. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrei Kolesnikov, Russia’s Waiting Room. The Russian system is in a crisis whose outcome is uncertain. But social protest is unlikely to deliver change. Change is more likely to come about through modernization from above.
10. New Statesman: Jana Bakunina, A very special version of Russian democracy. When asked whether their country is a democracy, Russians struggle to find a comprehensive answer.
11. www.opendemocracy.net: Theodore Gerber, Grounds for (a little) optimism? Russian public opinion on human rights. Despite Putin’s clampdown on Russian civil society, public opinion trends point to growing support for civil liberties. A contribution to the openGlobalRights debate on public opinion and human rights.
12. Interfax: Russian Justice Ministry suggests determining NGOs’ political activity by participation in public actions and influence over state authorities’ work.
13. Moscow Times: Kadyrov Set to Play Hardball With Russian Opposition.
14. Journalistico: Danielle Ryan, Is Kadyrov turning into a bigger liability than a manageable asset?
15. Moscow Times: Khodorkovsky to Support Russian Opposition Candidates.
16. Interfax: Nemtsov’s daughter, associate believe his murder not solved yet.
17. Moscow Times: Facing Oil Price Plunge, Russia Considers Fire Sale of State Companies.
18. Interfax: Kudrin: Sanctions against Russia could start to ease late 2016-early 2017.
19. Intellinews.com: Kremlin nerves tested by oil and ruble’s troubled waters.
20. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Is The Russian Ruble Finished?
21. Russia Direct: How the economic crisis hampers Russia’s investment climate. Russia Direct sat down with Andrei Yakovlev, Director of the Institute for Industrial and Market Studies at the Higher School of Economics, to discuss the impact of economic recession and political uncertainty on Russia’s investment climate.
22. Russia Direct: What are the main challenges for the Russian economy in 2016? Russia Direct asked prominent economists about what challenges the year ahead holds for the Russian and global economy.
23. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian energy expert interviewed on oil price prospects in 2016. (Aleksandr Kurdin)
24. The Economist: Russia’s economy. Phase two. Russia’s economic problems move from the acute to the chronic.
25. Moscow Times: U.S. Beats Russia in ‘Most Powerful’ Ranking.
26. Interfax: Revocation of accreditation from Russia’s honorary consuls in U.S. continues Washington’s line towards scaling down of relations with Russia – Russian Foreign Ministry.
27. European Leadership Network Joseph Hobbs, Why Russia Needs Europe.
28. www.rt.com: ‘Moldova’s protests as a mirror image of Ukraine crisis’
29. Interfax: Putin entitled to personal opinion about Lenin – spokesman.
30. Russia Beyond the Headlines: What do today’s Russians think about Lenin? The leader of the revolution has turned into an ordinary historical figure for younger Russians.
31. www.ancreport.com: Ryan Dawson, Revisiting Litvinenko, What Really Happened?
32. www.foreignpolicy.com: Peter Pomersantsev, So Putin Killed Litvinenko. Carry On. Britain has been cozying up to Russian money for years, and a dead spy isn’t going to change that.
33. The Hill: White House slams Russia over killing of former spy.
34. New York Times editorial: Mr. Putin and the Poisonous London Tea Party.
35. Wall Street Journal editorial: The Kremlin’s London Hit Squad. Recommended reading for Donald Trump on Vladimir Putin.
36. Russia Insider: The Litvinenko Plot Revealed At Last! Conversation overheard in the Kremlin in 2006.
37. Washington Post editorial: Putin’s most aggressive attack dog is unleashed.
38. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Why is a US-government funded website harassing and defaming me for trying to do my job?