RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-29 :: Wednesday, 10 February 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#29
Wednesday, 10 February 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. Moscow Times: Russia’s Suicide Rate Falls to 50-Year Low.
2. Moscow Times: U.S. National Intelligence Director Says Russia Is Paranoid, Aggressive.
3. James Clapper: Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. (excerpt re Russia)
4. Vincent Stewart (DIA): Worldwide Threat Assessment. (excerpt re Russia)
5. Wall Street Journal: NATO Moving Toward New Deterrence Model. Pact will set the stage for alliance to position troops on its borders for first time since the Cold War.
6. Sputnik: USAID to Spend $952Mln to Counter Russia in Former Soviet States.
7. Washington Post editorial: Mr. Obama stands by silently as Russia continues its onslaught in Syria.
8. Russia Beyond the Headlines: 4 key problems for Russia’s economy to overcome. Debate about the need for structural reforms has intensified in Russia. But what should they be directed at? At the Foreigners Life conference in Moscow from Feb. 5-7, leading Russian economists identified four main problems with the Russian economy.
9. Reuters: Russia considers drastic steps to plug finances hit by tumbling oil.
10. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Amid recession and predatory officials, Russia’s small businesses hang on. Small businesses are a small part of Russia’s oligarch-dominated economy. But despite the headwinds they face – and the instability they could bring to the current order – they are showing resilience amid the downturn.
11. Moscow Times: Russians Spend More Than They Earn For First Time Since 1998.
12. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia’s Foreign Currency Mortgage Protests In Context.
13. www.rt.com: Fair Russia kicks off election campaign with petition to sack govt, cancel charges.
14. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, ‘Hybrid Warfare’: Anti-Russia propaganda finds a new buzzword.
15. Bloomberg: U.S., Russia Make Syria Diplomacy Push as Assad Gains Ground.
16. Stratfor.com: In Syria, Russia Protects Its Interests From Above and Below.
17. Asia Times: Christina Lin, Asian rebels in Aleppo, Western blind spot.
18. Interfax: Self-styled groups, not soldiers, fighting Islamic State – Chechen source.
19. Carnegie Moscow Center: Vladimir Dworkin, Risky Contradictions: Putin’s Stance on Strategic Arms and Missile Defense.
20. Izvestia: Daily views significance of START 3 Treaty to Russia’s security. (Viktor Litovkin)
21. Financial Times: Russia and China: friends with benefits. As the two nations forge closer ties, will they be able to overcome their frequently fraught history? Kathrin Hille investigates.
22. The Guardian: William Dunkerly, Six reasons you can’t take the Litvinenko report seriously/ Inquiry points the finger at Vladimir Putin and the Russian state, but its findings are biased, flawed and inconsistent.
23. Europe Insight: Andrey Kulikov, The Prestige by Sir Robert Owen.
24. http://readrussia.com: Andy Potts, The Soft Power of War and Peace.
25. Russia Insider: FINALLY: ‘Masks of Revolution’ Maidan Documentary – Full Eng Subs (Video)
26. Kyiv Post: IMF warns it may halt cooperation with Ukraine.
27. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Maidan Shootings.
28. AP: Russia Helps Ukraine Battle Town Rebuild, Villages Struggle.
29. www.rt.com: Moscow shared MH17 radar images, Dutch probe ignored evidence, Russia tells victims’ relatives.
30. Russia Without BS: Jim Kovpak, Fertile soil. (re Ukraine nationalists)
31. Atlantic Council: Andreas Upland, Dutch Likely to Hand Putin a Major Symbolic Victory in Referendum on EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
32. TASS: Netherlands may pause Ukraine’s association with EU, but only for a while.