RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-69 :: Monday, 11 April 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#69
Monday, 11 April 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. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, On My Mind.
2. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Putin’s here, Putin’s there, Putin’s busy everywhere.
3. www.rt.com: If Putin’s not in it, he’s behind it: Western media’s new spin on Panama Papers.
4. Interfax: Putin’s annual Q&A session set for April 14.
5. Reuters: Investors Starting to Show Interest in Russia Again: Credit Suisse.
6. Bloomberg: Why Hedge Funds Are Loading Up on Rubles.
7. Intellinews.com: Russian shopping mall activity continues 2016 recovery.
8. Wall Street Journal: Russia’s Most Important Bank Needs a Bailout. VEB faces task of paying off about $20 billion in foreign-currency debt.
9. Novaya Gazeta: Experts mull possible electoral impact of recent protest wave in Russia.
10. Russia Direct: Why did Putin just create the National Guard? Experts weigh in on President Vladimir Putin’s establishment of a National Guard in Russia, with a focus on what it might mean for the Kremlin’s approach to domestic security.
11. Novaya Gazeta: New Russian National Guard spells end of Kadyrov’s own army in Chechnya.
12. Interfax: Russians believe Belarus, China, Kazakhstan are the friendliest to them.
13. Sputnik: New Rules: Why West Needs NATO-Russia Council More Than Moscow.
14. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Izvestia: Russian experts: U.S. can’t do without Russia in Syria. Russian and American servicemen are secretly working together in Syria as part of the fight against ISIS, say Russian analysts, who argue that cooperation is unavoidable.
15. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, SUN TZU IN SYRIA.
16. Wall Street Journal: Syria Defies Russia in Bid to Keep Assad. Damascus, emboldened by battlefield victories, pushes a political plan even as allies prepare military offensive to retake Aleppo.
17. The National Interest: Alexander Decina and Eugene Steinberg, How to Play Putin’s Game in Syria. Moscow wants prestige. That means the conflict is not as zero-sum as it may seem.
18. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, Another Crimea scenario is highly unlikely in the South Caucasus. The initiative by the breakaway republic of South Ossetia to hold a future referendum on joining Russia will almost certainly have an impact on Moscow’s relations with Georgia and the West.
19. Russia Beyond the Headlines: 5 great new Russian films to watch online with the Dubl Dv@ festival. New Russian movies will be available for streaming online with English subtitles as part of the Dubl dv@ (Take Two) film festival from April 11-22. We have selected the five most interesting movies from the program.

UKRAINE

20. Atlantic Council: MICHAEL DRUCKMAN AND KATIE LAROQUE, You Wouldn’t Think It from the Headlines, but Ukraine Is Making Progress.
21. Newsweek.com: Nolan Peterson, PUTIN PONDERS A SPRING OFFENSIVE IN UKRAINE.
22. www.foreignpolicy.com: Stephen Walt, Obama Was Not A Realist President. (excerpt re Ukraine)
23. Facebook: Roman Podolyan, Breakdown of Ukraine.
24. https://newcoldwar.org: Andriy Manchuk, Exposing the high-profile cases of political prisoners in Ukraine.
25. Human Rights in Ukraine: Halya Coynash, Arrested in Ukraine for being Russian?
26. TASS: Lavrov: Implementation of Minsk-2 stalled by non-fulfillment of political part by Kiev.
27. https://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, Why Kiev Refuses to Negotiate with the Donbas Rebels.
28. www.rt.com: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi leader becomes top military adviser, legalizes fighters. (Dmitry Yarosh)
29. www.rt.com: Ukrainian far-right groups clash with police during WWII commemoration (VIDEO)
30. Russia Insider: Donetsk blog, April 11: Cemetery Shelled on Religious Holiday – Civilian Casualties – DPR’s Second Anniversary.
31. Interfax: DPR expecting Ukrainian army offensive shortly – Zakharchenko.
32. Fort Russ: “Suicide Bomber Battalion” Formed on the Crimean Border.
33. www.thedailybeast.com: Anna Nemtsova, Ukraine on Fire. Activists are furious at Petro Poroshenko for not tackling corruption-while keeping offshore, tax-dodging accounts.
34. Financial Times: Petro Poroshenko becomes focus of Ukraine’s disillusion.
35. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Yatsenyuk Goes – Finally!
36. Kyiv Post: Arseniy Yatsenyuk: The core of Ukraine’s problems is ethical.
37. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Yatseniuk.
38. Wall Street Journal: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to Quit. Resignation could allow reforms required to secure much-needed loans.
39. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine’s Parliament Speaker Submits Proposal for New Government. Volodymyr Groysman is a close ally of President Petro Poroshenko.
40. Reuters: Ukraine ‘Very Volatile’ After PM Resignation, Says Council of Europe.
41. Kyiv Post: Olga Rudenko, Moment of truth arrives for Poroshenko.
42. RFE/RL: Volodymyr Hroysman: Ukraine’s Likely Next Prime Minister Is Loyal Poroshenko Ally.
43. TASS: Yatsenyuk’s resignation unlikely to change Ukraine’s policies – Russian lawmaker.
44. BBC Monitoring: Russian press doubts Ukrainian PM resignation will affect bilateral ties
45. Kyiv Post: Oksana Grytsenko, Anything To Hide?: Revelations undercut trust in Poroshenko.
46. https://davidrmarples.wordpress.com: David Marples, Poroshenko, Polls, and the Rise of the ‘Gas Princess’
47. Reuters: Disappointed Ukrainians turn fire on leaders after Dutch vote.
48. Valdai Discussion Club: Jacques Sapir, THE DUTCH ‘NO’ PUTS AN END TO UKRAINIAN DREAM TO JOIN EU.
49. Washington Post: Anne Applebaum, The Dutch just showed the world how Russia influences Western European elections.
50. Russia Insider: Top Spanish Analyst on Dutch Ukraine Referendum Results. (Video). Some serious analysis of the outcome of Ukraine’s ‘revolution of dignity’

 

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

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

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