RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-50 :: Monday, 14 March 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#50
Monday, 14 March 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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RUSSIA

1. Russia Direct/Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Fyodor Lukyanov, In search of Russia’s role in the new world order. The rebirth of Russia as a global player is a necessary step to restore an overall balance of power in the world.
2. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with REN TV network, Moscow, March 13, 2016.
3. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russians started drinking less and living longer. Russians’ life expectancy increased to 71.2 years.
4. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, DEBUNKING MYTHS.
5. Interfax: Poll: Most Russians not ready to join protests.
6. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Living Not By Lies in Lithuania.
7. TASS: New Russian party critical of economic policies, supports political course.
8. Interfax: Russian veteran opposition politician discusses policy, presidential ambitions. (Grigoriy Yavlinskiy)
9. Washington Post: As energy prices drop, ordinary Russians are protesting.
10. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian statistics body reports on key economic data for 2015.
11. Russia Direct: Vladimir Korovkin, Strategy 2030: How to tackle economic challenges in Russia. Higher oil prices are not a panacea for Russia. Instead, the country needs a new economic development model that re-thinks and reformulates key institutions without relying too much on centralized state resources.
12. Bloomberg: Putin’s $50 Billion Oil Cache Gives Russia Luxury to Ignore ECB.
13. Intersection: Vladislav Inozemtsev, Economy of disillusionment vs. economy of hope. One should not count on ‘a return to sluggish growth’ let alone ‘quick rebound’, regardless of oil prices or the duration of sanctions.
14. TASS: Big Three rating agencies ready to work in Russia within current legislation – ministry.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Who’s to blame for the meldonium: Russia’s athletes, doctors or officials? The drug that has been banned since January 2016 may lead to the disqualification of several leading Russian athletes in the wake of the Maria Sharapova scandal. However, Russian officials and athletics insiders disagree on who should take responsibility for the latest doping debacle to engulf Russian sports.
16. CNN.com: Ford Vox, Sharapova suspension: Doping agency’s unfair game of ‘gotcha’?
17. www.rt.com: Robert Bridge, Grand Slam: Russia’s Maria Sharapova facing different sort of Western court.
18. TASS: PM: Russia to lift its counter measures to Western sanctions after external pressure gone.
19. Wall Street Journal: WSJ Q&A With Sergei Chemezov. The Rostec chief discusses the effects of defense spending, oil prices and sanctions.
20. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, The South Caucasus retains a fragile status quo. The new status quo set in the South Caucasus back in August 2008 is generally being preserved, despite numerous problems, disagreements and the influence of dangerous background factors.
21. The Independent (UK): Syria conflict: West should have listened to Russia, says UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. Brahimi says Russian offer to force Assad to step aside in 2012 was a missed opportunity.
22. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Vzglyad: ISIS threat forces Russia to return to Central Asia. The recent tragedy involving a migrant nanny from Central Asia who killed a four-year-old girl has shaken Russians and prompted Russian society to think seriously about what role Russia should play in the region, where some of the former Soviet republics have failed to cope with independence, making them potentially easy prey for ISIS.
23. Russia Beyond the Headlines: U.S. officials unhappy with Russian plans to upgrade spy plane. Russia plans to enhance the surveillance technology it uses to observe the territory of the U.S. and Canada – but American officials have expressed concern over the plans.
24. Bloomberg: Hawks See Obama’s NATO Pick as Soft on Russia. (Rose Gottemoeller)
25. The Nation: John Pepper, Beyond a New Cold War.
26. The Unz Review: The Saker, Could Russia Still Become an Ally of the West?
27. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, The Brexit Debate and Russia.
28. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, MIKHAIL LESIN’S CORPSE PRESS-GANGED FOR INFOWAR BY VICTORIA NULAND.
29. Moscow Times: Obama: ‘Putin is Not Completely Stupid’
30. RFE/RL: ‘They Took Everything Away’: Russia’s Disabled Hit Hard By New Rules.
31. New York Times: Stalin, Russia’s New Hero.

UKRAINE

32. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, Maidan’s Weimarization Woes Still Wear on Ukraine.
33. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Europeans Staring At Total Failure in Ukraine. Increasingly frantic diplomatic efforts by European leaders show growing desperation to settle Ukrainian crisis before failure of sanctions policy becomes obvious.
34. Interfax-Ukraine: New govt led by Jaresko or Sadovy may be formed in Ukraine, or Rada to propose third option.
35. Interfax-Ukraine: Populists, oligarchs, Kremlin interested in early parliamentary election – Yatseniuk.
36. Kyiv Post: Yatsenyuk: ‘Stop the backstabbing and this primitive race for power and seats’
37. Kyiv Post editorial: Replacing Yatsenyuk.
38. Financial Times: Ukraine’s pro-western reform project hangs in the balance. Kiev could move towards greater EU integration or slide back into cronyist authoritarianism.
39. Newsweek.com: Brian Mefford, DEMOCRACY TAKES A BIG HIT IN UKRAINE.
40. The Observer (New York): Condoleezza to the People of Ukraine: Just Be Glad You Aren’t Liberian! The former Secretary of State gave a speech so offensive, Ukrainian media isn’t even covering it.
41. Russia Beyond the Headlines” Nadiya Savchenko trial: Questions and answers. On March 21, a Russian court will begin announcing the verdict against Ukrainian pilot and servicewoman Nadiya Savchenko, who mysteriously reappeared in detention in Russia in summer 2014 after vanishing in eastern Ukraine. RBTH presents a brief Q&A account of the controversial trial.
42. Russia Insider/Izvestia: Here’s All You Need to Know About the Nadia Savchenko Case. She’s being put on trial for killing Russian citizens as a warning to future war criminals. (Sergey Markov)
43. https://newcoldwar.org: Widows of Donbass war: At the gates of grief.
44. http://www.pltv.fr: Ukraine, masks of the revolution. A FILM BY PAUL MOREIRA.
45. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Maidan shootings.
46. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, The Real “Snipers’ Massacre”, Ukraine, February 2014: Updated/Revised Working Paper.

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

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

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