RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-157 :: Thursday, 25 August 2016

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#157
Thursday, 25 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. The National Interest: Thomas Graham, The Sources of Russian Conduct. Kennan’s Long Telegram needs an update for Putin’s Russia.
2. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, For Ukraine, an independence day marked by deep public frustration. Ukrainians’ patience is running out as the economy stagnates, the fight against corruption shows little progress, and Moscow-backed rebels in the east remain defiant.
3. Interfax: Russians blame govt for price rise, insufficient social protection – poll.
4. The Globalist: Leonid Grigoryev, Russia’s Elites and the “Crowded Streetcar Effect.” To preserve their gains, will Russia’s oligarchs now demand a strong rule of law?
5. www.rt.com: Putin: Russian Paralympic ban ‘cynical & immoral’
6. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Route barred for Russian farmers on tractor march to Kremlin. Farmers from the Krasnodar Territory in southern Russia, who are fighting against the dominance of agricultural holding companies, organized a tractor march on Moscow in protest. Experts believe that their action is unlikely to change the situation: In the agricultural sector, the state relies on large producers.
7. http://theduran.com: Russian agriculture to have best year since Soviet Union.
8. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Moscow-Based Hedge Fund Manager Says Russia Getting Better.
9. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Russian bond boom gathers pace.
10. New York Times: Moscow Crushes an Uprising, This Time an Artistic One.
11. Russia Direct: US and Russia share many of the same nuclear non-proliferation goals. RD Interview: Laura Holgate, the new U.S. Representative to the IAEA, discusses the approach of the U.S. and Russia when it comes to the issue of nuclear non-proliferation.
12. Russia Direct: Tatiana Indina, US and Russia on the eve of elections: Any hope for change? After four years of tensions in U.S.-Russia relations, there is a chance that with a new American president and administration, relations between Moscow and Washington might actually improve.
13. Interfax: Third of Russians deem potential Trump victory in U.S. presidential race to be advantageous for Russia – poll.
14. www.foreignpolicy.com: Matthew Rojansky, Trump and Clinton Have No Idea How to Deal With Putin. Murky links to Moscow and speculation of Kremlin interference have dominated the U.S. election. So how come neither candidate has a coherent Russia policy?
15. Valdai Discussion Club: Paul Saunders, TECTONIC SHIFTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, OR ARE THEY REALLY? Russia’s military operation in Syria-and America’s restraint there-has catalyzed discussion and debate about possible strategic realignments in the Middle East, generating excitement in Moscow about Russia’s “great power” role and parallel concern in Washington and some allied capitals about future U.S. influence.
16. Russian Foreign Ministry: Comment by the Information and Press Department on developments in Syria.
17. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Could Russia-Turkey relations deteriorate again over Syria? The Turkish army has launched an operation against the Islamic State group in the north of Syria. According to one Russian expert, Istanbul’s main objective is to prevent the domination of the Kurds along the Syrian-Turkish border.
18. Gazeta.ru: Russian expert views possibility of anti-IS military bloc. (Mikhail Khodarenok)
19. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, More Alarming News From the Fronts of the New Cold War. Finland may become yet another front, the war party may have defeated Obama on Syria policy, and dangerous desperation in Kiev.
20. TASS: Ukraine’s first president acknowledges Crimea as part of Russia.
21. Sputnik: Students From Western Ukraine Failing Ukrainian Language Exams.
22. The Real News Network: How Ukrainian and Russian Elite Benefit From New Flare-ups at the Border. These border confrontations distract from domestic policies as a source of internal social problems, says Moscow-based political economist Aleksandr Buzgalin.
23. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Maidan Shootings.
24. BBC Monitoring: Ukraine independence parade warning to “enemy” – president. (Poroshenko’s Independence Day speech)
25. Rethinking Russia: Three Days in August. Dramatic events which went down in history as August Putsch unfolded in Moscow on August 19-21, 1991. Today is the 25th anniversary of the events. (interviews with Oleg Baklanov and Ruslan Khasbulatov)