RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-150 :: Monday, 15 August 2016

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#150
Monday, 15 August 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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1. www.project-syndicate.org: Anders Aslund, The Putin Question. As war fever returns in Ukraine, the question of why Russian President Vladimir Putin went from would-be modernizer to aggressive autocrat is being revived. Whatever the reason – fear for his safety, a sense of historical grievance, or both – Putin’s inability to reform Russia’s economy seems certain to be his downfall.
2. Sean’s Russia Blog: Ossified Putinism. Sean Guillory interviews Mark Galeotti.
3. The Daily Star (Lebanon): Vladislav Inozemtsev, Russia’s flirtation with fascism: Putinism is real, but fleeting.
4. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with Sergei Ivanov and Anton Vaino.
5. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russian reshuffle claims another big name: Putin’s chief of staff. The sudden retirement of Sergei Ivanov, a longtime ally of Putin’s, is just one of many recent changes in Russia’s government, which seem to be aimed at bringing in younger Putin loyalists with new ideas.
6. BBC Monitoring: Russian press ponders reasons behind Kremlin reshuffle.
7. Russia Direct: Dmitry Polikanov, Resignation of Putin’s chief of staff is just political routine. The resignation of Sergei Ivanov could be part of a broader political trend, in which Vladimir Putin looks to appoint new individuals who can gain experience now in order to guide the smooth transfer of power later.
8. http://theduran.com: Nathaniel Habifullin, Sergei Ivanov: a loyal, but not a very effective manager. Ivanov’s removal is a reshuffle of a loyal but not managerially a very effective official and has no great political significance.
9. Levada.ru: TV still most popular, trusted news source in Russia – poll.
10. http://theduran.com: Adam Garrie, Here’s what to expect from Russia’s upcoming Parliamentary elections. In an election defined by Russia’s ongoing confrontation with the West, national patriotic parties are expected to dominate Russia’s electoral landscape.
11. Sputnik: Stronger Ruble Reveals Huge Potential for Russian Economy’s Recovery.
12. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Why Russia is seeing prices fall for the first time in 5 years. Russian analysts cite seasonal factors and cautious consumers among the reasons for the fall in prices, with some expressing hope that Russia may be able to reach 4 percent inflation for the first time in its history by 2017.
13. www.rt.com: Russia set to become world’s biggest wheat exporter.
14. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, Russia searches for pragmatic solutions in the Caucasus. Russian President Vladimir Putin has put into play a reinvigorated diplomatic approach to resolving the longstanding crises involving the troubled states of the Caucasus.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Kommersant: 6 reasons Russia and Turkey will struggle to become strategic partners. The Russian-Turkish rapprochement obtained during the Aug. 9 summit in St. Petersburg must not engender unrealistic expectations and excessive illusions. There are still many problems and serious contradictions in relations between Moscow and Ankara for there to be, as some commentators are already saying, a “strategic alliance” between Russia and Turkey.
16. Sputnik: West Should Cooperate With Russia, Not Try to Change It.
17. TASS: Lavrov confident that Russia-West relations will return to previous level.
18. Reuters: James Bamford, The world’s best cyber army doesn’t belong to Russia.
19. Consortiumnews.com: Ray McGovern, Mike Morell’s Kill-Russians Advice.
20. Washington Post: Stephen Sestanovich, What a failed Soviet coup can teach us about 21st-century populism.
21. Center on Global Interests: Save the Date: Arrested Development: Rethinking Politics in Putin’s Russia. (meeting with Andrei Soldatov, Maria Lipman, Nikolay Petrov, Kirill Rogov, and Daniel Treisman)
22. Brian Taylor: On Russian studies.
23. Wall Street Journal: Russian Foreign Minister Says No Plan to Break Diplomatic Ties with Kiev.
24. www.rt.com: Captured Ukrainian infiltrator testifies he planned to blow up air hub, bus station in Crimea.
25. Russia Beyond the Headlines: ‘Sabotage’ in Crimea: What will be Moscow’s next move? After Russia’s FSB accused Ukraine of attempting to create a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea, the question is – how will Moscow respond to this alleged provocation? Russian observers believe that the “attacks” were supposed to have a long-term effect, but the main issue is not Crimea – it is the Donbass.
26. http://theduran.com: Alexander Mercouris, West fails to back Ukraine over Crimean shootout incident. Instead of the public statements of support it was looking for, Kiev gets calls for restraint.
27. Washington Post editorial: While the world is distracted, Putin escalates his war in Ukraine.
28. www.rt.com: Russia will not use military force in reply to Kiev’s attempted terrorism in Crimea – report.
29. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Bryan MacDonald, The Minsk agreement and the reasons for current Russia-Ukraine tensions. Suddenly, the seemingly dormant strife in Ukraine has exploded again with reports of a Ukrainian incursion into Crimea, which Kiev denies, and renewed fighting in the east. The question is, why now?
30. www.foreignpolicy.com: Alexander Motyl, Let It Go. Ukraine’s occupied Donbass region is a pointless burden. It’s time for Kiev to accept that it’s better off without it.