RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-161 :: Wednesday, 31 August 2016

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#161
Wednesday, 31 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
The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
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1. i-D: how russia’s entrenched notion of masculinity is shifting, thanks to fashion. We meet three figures working in Moscow’s fashion industry who continue to fight for acceptance in a culture reluctant to embrace gender diversity.
2. Christian Science Monitor: Russian radio telescope picks up mysterious signal from space. Russian researchers’ detection of a signal from the vicinity of the sun-like star HD 164595 has prompted plenty of speculation, although the possibility that it was sent from intelligent life is slim.
3. Flavorwire: PSA: Here Is a Fascinating Treasure Trove of Old Soviet Sci-Fi Films.
4. Antiwar.com: Justin Raymondo, The Campaign to Blame Putin for Everything.
5. www.foreignpolicy.com: Elias Groll, Did Russia Really Hack U.S. Election Systems? American e-voting is vulnerable to hacking, but that doesn’t mean Moscow’s agents hacked Illinois and Arizona voter databases – this time.
6. Moon of Alabama: NYT Laments Of Allegedly False Russian News Stories – With A False U.S. News Story.
7. http://theduran.com: Adam Garrie, New media and the ‘Russia Myth’
8. Middle East Eye: Gareth Porter, The real US Syria scandal: Supporting sectarian war. Senior Obama administration officials were aware from 2012 that a war to overthrow Assad would inevitably become a sectarian bloodbath.
9. The National Interest: Simon Saradzhyan, Yes, Russia’s Military Is Training for a ‘Mega War.’ That’s What Militaries Do. Snap drills weren’t a sign that Putin is about to march on Kyiv, but the fear they provoked is a reminder that Europe’s security architecture needs an update.
10. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russian army to show its cards to NATO. The Defense Ministry’s command is to provide the alliance’s military attaches with additional information about personnel and equipment numbers for snap combat readiness checks of the army, as well as their objectives. The aim is supposedly to reduce the degree of tension in relations with the West.
11. Reuters: Russian oil privatization saga points to limits of Putin’s power.
12. BBC Monitoring: Russian election debate: Defending a country under threat.
13. BBC Monitoring: Russian election debate: Security, countering terrorism.
14. www.rt.com: Opposition figure Yashin presents report on ‘criminal connections’ of ruling party.
15. TASS: Russian Prime Minister: No decision yet on raising retirement age.
16. Government.ru: Dmitry Medvedev attended the Global Forum “Solidarity with Russia”
17. Bloomberg: Russia’s Ruble Shakes Off August Blues With First Gain in Decade.
18. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Recycling in Russia – time to get dirty.
19. Russia Direct: How to adapt Russian universities to global trends. The new Russia Direct report deals with the most pressing issues facing the current system of higher education in Russia and provides an overview of steps required to change the system for the better.
20. Washington Times: Edward Lozansky and Jim Jatras, Like pawns on the chessboard. Politicization of the game is reminiscent of the Cold War. (re chess)
21. Valdai Discussion Club: Timofei Bordachev, RUSSIA’S PIVOT TO THE EAST AND COMPREHENSIVE EURASIAN PARTNERSHIP.
22. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Is Russia shifting its Asian economic focus away from China? At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. China will be represented at the forum by a lower-ranking official. Experts say this is a result of the Kremlin’s general disillusionment when it comes to economic cooperation with China.
23. Russia Direct: Anton Tamarovich, What Russia can expect at the G20 Summit in China. Three major topics are likely to be at the top of the agenda for Russia at the upcoming G20 Summit: China, Ukraine and Syria.
24. TASS: Kremlin reveals Putin’s plans for G20 summit in China.
25. Carnegie Moscow Center: Vladimir Dvorkin, A New Russian-U.S. Nuclear Treaty or an Extension of New START?
26. Russia Insider: Javier Piedra, Time To Fundamentally Rethink Our Relationship with Russia.
27. Christian Science Monitor: Anna Mulrine Grobe, How big a military threat is Russia, really? Some US generals see Putin’s moves in Ukraine and Syria as dangerously aggressive. Others see calculated efforts aimed at blunting Western influence but not directly challenging the US.
28. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Mortality calls: How the death of Central Asian leaders will affect Russia. Uzbek President Islam Karimov is in hospital and rumors have appeared in the press about his death. The imminent departure of the perennial leaders of the Central Asian countries threatens the region with destabilization and creates a risk for Russia.
29. RIA Novosti: Russian expert forecasts “quiet” power transfer in Uzbekistan. (Alexey Malashenko)
30. Intellinews.com: The best Uzbek bet to succeed Karimov.
31. www.opendemocracy.net: Archil Sikharulidze, Who do I call if I want to speak to “pro-Russian forces” in Georgia? In Georgia, whether you’re in opposition or in power, you can always call your opponent an agent of the Kremlin.
32. TASS: Kremlin says Russia ready to provide all information for MH17 crash probe.
33. TASS: Poll shows more Russians seek Moscow’s neutrality on Donbass status.
34. TASS: Kremlin does not rule out direct dialogue with Kiev.
35. Stephen Shenfield: Stories of a Soviet Studier: My Experiences in Russia.

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

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