RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-233 :: Tuesday, 20 December 2016

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter]

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#233
Tuesday, 20 December 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.
JRL homepage: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi
Support for JRL is provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to the George Washington University and by voluntary contributionswhinin from readers.
Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php – Donate Online: direct link

1. American Enterprise Institute: Frederick Kagan, Understanding Russia today: Russia’s many revisions.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: A hundred years on, the age of revolution is over. Many in the West are predicting turbulent times for Russia but the economic figures and political reality tell a different story, Bryan MacDonald shares his views if a new revolution in Russia possible.
3. Sputnik: Expect the Unexpected: What Will Happen in Putin’s Year End Presser.
4. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with Sergei Lavrov, Sergei Naryshkin and Alexander Bortnikov.
5. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with Russian business community representatives.
6. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with Chairperson of the Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova.
7. www.rt.com: Elections chief Pamfilova asks Putin to reinstitute video monitoring for 2018 elections.
8. Interfax: Putin briefed on election-rigging by regional officials.
9. TASS: President Putin approves Russian budget for 2017-2019. The budget was drafted on the assumption of the average yearly oil price of $40 a barrel and inflation not above 4% in the planned period.
10. The Sunday Guardian (India): Come Carpentier, Russia is reborn under Putin. Putin is the only statesman who has carried out with notable success a plan for national regeneration.
11. Izvestia: Human rights ombudsperson views rights situation in Russia. (Tatyana Moskalkova)
12. Vedomosti: Russian experts view implications of Navalny’s presidential bid.
13. RIA Novosti: Most Russians trust media – poll.
14. Facebook: Fred Weir (Christian Science Monitor) on Alexander Dugin.
15. Bear Market Brief: WEEKLY WRAP-UP.
16. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia overtakes China in BofAML rating of emerging economies. Meanwhile, the country’s progress from 51st to 40th in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking indicates an improvement of the business climate in Russia.
17. BBC Monitoring: Russian press views motives behind envoy murder in Turkey.
18. Russia Direct: Pietro Shakarian, What the assassination of an ambassador means for Russia, Turkey. If historical precedent is any guide, the assassination of Ambassador Karlov in Ankara might actually bring Russia and Turkey closer together, whatever their differences might be in Syria.
19. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Three consequences of the murder of Andrei Karlov. The brutal killing of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, will inevitably affect Russian-Turkish relations, but not necessarily for the worst. The murder is likely to encourage Moscow and Ankara to work together – and with Teheran – to continue fighting Islamic extremists.
20. www.rt.com: ‘He did much to fight terrorism’: Putin, diplomats praise assassinated Russian ambassador Karlov.
21. Ben Aris: Whitmore worst podcast ever. [re USG’s RFE/RL]
22. Gazeta.ru: Website says Russia should consider Syria pullout.
23. Russia Beyond the Headlines: With a pragmatic Asia strategy, Russia shifts focus away from China. Devaluated ruble turned out to be a blessing for Russia in 2016, making it possible for the country to start earning more on food products than on weapon sales. The devaluation has also helped Russia diversify trade with Asian countries and led to a more proactive foreign policy in the continent.
24. Russia Direct: Nikolay Murashkin, Russia and Japan, closer than ever to normalizing relations. President Vladimir Putin’s recent summit in Japan shows that economic and security considerations may finally be playing an important role in resolving the Kuril Islands territorial dispute.
25. Valdai Discussion Club: Valentin Makarov, FUTURE OF THE INTERNET: GLOBAL NETWORK OR NATIONAL SEGMENTS?
26. Fair Observer: Brian Milakovsky, The Church: Caught Between Russia and Ukraine. In Eastern Ukraine, the Orthodox Church finds itself in the crossfire of an ideological conflict.
27. Interfax-Ukraine: Parubiy announces Savchenko’s exclusion from Batkivshchyna.
28. TASS: Kiev continues policy of ideological detachment of Donbass from Ukraine– Russian envoy.
29. TASS: Ex-USSR minister: Attitude to Brezhnev would have been different, if he had quit earlier.
30. Awful Avalanche: Ballet Review: The Bolshoi Nutcracker – Part I.
31. Awful Avalanche: Ballet Review: The Bolshoi Nutcracker – Part II.
32. Russian and Eurasia Politics: Gordon Hahn, Putin’s World: Things Are Going Moscow’s Way.
33. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, Putin’s Little Helpers.
34. New York Times editorial: Russian Meddling and Europe’s Elections. To ensure that Moscow’s tactics fail, European leaders need to expose their use before voters head to the polls.
35. Paul Goble: Russians Want Fascism but Don’t Yet Have the Leader Full-Blown Fascism Requires, Ikhlov Says.
36. Washington Post editorial: A bipartisan committee should investigate Russia’s election hacking. The point isn’t to cast doubt on Donald Trump’s election, but to probe the serious matter of foreign intrusion in the U.S. democratic process.
37. Politico.com: POLITICO/Morning Consult poll: Only one-third of Americans say Russia influenced 2016 election.
38. The Hill: Dems seize on Russia’s meddling.