RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-17 :: Monday, 25 January 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#17
Monday 25 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
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RUSSIA

1. David Satter on Yeltsin.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: The poorer Russians get, the happier they become and other mysteries.
3. Paul Goble: Fear Once Again Dominating Russian Society, Gudkov Says.
4. Moscow Times: Schooling in Moscow: A Mixed Bag.
5. Moscow Times: Record Number of Russians Empty-Handed at New Year – Poll.
6. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, AUTONOMY V. SOBORNOST’ (with comments)
7. TASS: State has the right of access to personal data – Russian presidential adviser.
8. AFP: Lenin watches on over increasingly indifferent Russians.
9. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, The Nth Wave of Russian Emigration.
10. RFE/RL: The Exodus Equation: Study Shows Russian Math Geniuses Excelling In West.
11. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov.
12. TASS: Western promises to cancel sanctions are means of pressure on Russia.
13. Reuters: Russian economy contracts 3.7 percent in 2015, slump set to continue.
14. Reuters: Russia allots $1.7bn for real economy in draft anti-crisis plan – sources.
15. Russia Direct: The worst of the economic crisis in Russia lies ahead. The Russian delegation at the World Economic Forum in Davos admitted that the country needs structural economic reforms. However, experts warn that these will not happen as long as there is no change in policy mindset within Russia.
16. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Gazeta.ru: The volume of Russia’s foreign debt decreases by $83.7 billion in 2015.
17. TASS: Average oil price to be over $30 per barrel in 2016 – Russian minister.
18. Financial Times: Reasons for Russia’s rouble rollercoaster ride. Moscow has to work at structural reform and a stronger rule of law, writes Sergei Guriev.
19. Wall Street Journal: Russian Oil: Output Grows as Prospects Shrink. Plummeting prices and U.S.-led sanctions raise questions about Russian oil’s capacity to continue underwriting Putin’s global ambitions.
20. Russia Beyond the Headlines: At Davos forum Russia promises to eliminate its dependence on oil. Russian representatives announced imminent large-scale economic reforms at the World Economic Forum. The proposed changes would affect the country’s dependence on oil and the facilitation of investors accessing the market.
21. AFP: Oil wealth a blessing, energy dependence a curse for Russia’s economy.
22. Reuters: McDonald’s to open more than 60 restaurants in Russia in 2016.
23. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Russia Investors May Have To Think Twice About Sanctions Ending This Year.
24. Sputnik: Unexpected? Russia Can ‘Cope With Oil Price Under 20 Dollar Better Than US’
25. The Street: Here’s How to Profit From the Collapse of Putin’s Economy.
26. www.opendemocracy.net/RBK: Denis Sokolov, Can the North Caucasus adapt to political change? Amid a crumbling and fragile system, central and regional elites gear up for a new power struggle in Russia’s North Caucasus.
27. AFP: Aided by Russian air power, Syria regime takes last rebel bastion in Latakia ahead of peace talks.
28. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Moldova.
29. www.foreignpolicy.com: Nate Schenkkan, A Perfect Storm in Central Asia. For years, the five ex-Soviet republics have enjoyed surprising stability. But Russia’s economic crisis is shaking their foundations.
30. Business Insider: GEORGE FRIEDMAN: Putin has 2 years to hold Russia together.
31. Consortiumnews.com: Gilbert Doctorow, Encountering a Sophisticated Putin.
32. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, COLD WAR, COLD SHOULDER – SERGEI LAVROV’S PASSING HAND LEAVES VICTORIA NULAND’S MOUTH GAPING, SIGNALS “DIRE DISTRESS”, AND MUCH MORE.
33. Buzzfeed.com: Marco Rubio: U.S. Has No Choice But To Try To Improve Relations With Russia. “We have no choice but to meet with and look for ways to improve the relationship,” Rubio said Thursday.
34. The Week: Emily Tamkin, Vladimir Putin’s American apologists have a point.
35. The Unz Review: The Saker, Putin’s Biggest Failure.
36. Vedomosti: Paper says Litvinenko report “time bomb” under Russia’s relations with West.
37. Antony Penaud, Reflections on the Litvinenko case.
38. Washington Post: The death of a former KGB operative is a reminder of Vladimir Putin’s past life as a spy.
39. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, January 21, 2016. (excerpt re Litvinenko case)
40. Russia Insider: Lisa Marie White, BBC’s ‘War and Peace’ Is Actually Pretty Good.
41. Wall Street Journal: A U.S.-Russia Fabergé Exhibit on Ice. Stalled Fabergé exhibit points to chill between American and Russian museums.
42. History News Network: Walter Moss, Review of Ludmila Ulitskaya’s “The Big Green Tent”
43. Facebook: Patrick Armstrong, Russia Observer.

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