RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-87 :: Monday, 16 May 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#87
Monday, 16 May 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. The Guardian: Mary Dejevsky, How do people see Russia? Eurovision gave one answer. Ukraine triumphed – but the popular vote suggested a more nuanced view of Russia than has often been assumed.
2. Russia Direct: Natasha Bluth, To understand Putin’s popularity, visit Russia’s industrial heartland. Book Review: Far from Moscow and St. Petersburg, former NPR correspondent Anne Garrels brings readers closer to the “real Russia” with her new book Putin Country.
3. https://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, The Present Stability of Putin’s ‘Sistema’
4. Consortiumnews.com: Gilbert Doctorow, Russia’s Diversity of Opinion.
5. www.opendemocracy.net: Nataliya Rostova, Could a union do anything to protect Russian journalists? Physical attacks and management interference have put Russian journalists’ safety – and their ability to work freely – back on the table. A new union will have to survive in an increasingly hostile environment.
6. Washington Post: Andrew Roth, Meet the woman who says she’s going to fix Russia’s rigged elections. (Ella Pamfilova)
7. Izvestia: Leader outlines All-Russia People’s Front’s role in politics. (Alexander Brechalov)
8. Bloomberg: Russian Economy Shrank Less Than Forecast as Growth Seen Closer.
9. Intellinews.com: Chris Miller, Russia’s central bank – giving credit where credit is due.
10. Interfax: Lower key rate would not boost Russian economy – Central Bank.
11. Wall Street Journal: As Oil Reserves Dwindle, Russia Weighs Tax Increases to Fill Budget Gaps. Russian officials say the potential measures would take place after 2018, a presidential election year.
12. TASS: Kremlin makes no decision on increasing taxes in Russia after 2018.
13. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Panama Papers: Are Russian entrepreneurs actually moving back onshore? The latest information published from the Panama Papers shows that some Russian billionaires began closing their offshore companies after the beginning of the governmental de-offshorization campaign in 2015.
14. Bloomberg: Hedge Funds Reap Big Rewards From Roller-Coaster Russian Markets.
15. Paul Goble: Russians Face Sustained Declines in Standard of Living for the Foreseeable Future, Economist Says.
16. Kremlin.ru: Meeting on defence industry development.
17. Wall Street Journal: U.S. Dismisses Putin’s Objection to European Missile Systems. Polish and Romanian sites designed to protect against the threat from Iran.
18. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Is NATO’s antimissile defense system in Europe a threat to Russia? Moscow has called the American antimissile defense system in Romania a threat to its security. Washington and Brussels insist that the system is not aimed at Russia and is helpless against Russian missiles. But is this true?
19. Sputnik: US Missile Defense in Eastern Europe: How Russia Will Respond.
20. Defensenews.com: Hagel: US, Russia Risking Cold War Buildup.
21. http://theduran.com: Alexander Merocuris, Russia’s Military Builds Up in Syria.
22. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, 22 years after the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire, historical battle persists. Resolving the current conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is impossible without understanding the complex history of the region and the specific grievances of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
23. Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Goes His Own Way With Vladimir Putin. Warm words and push to improve ties with Moscow aren’t shared by Barack Obama, Republican presidential rivals.
24. AP: Russia has doping problem and is ‘sorry,’ says minister.
25. www.rt.com: Russian senator calls for criminal prosecution for doping in sports.
26. Washington Post editorial: Russia’s reported doping is a subversion of the Olympic ideal.
27. New York Times editorial: Can Russia Clean Up in Time for Rio?
28. www.rt.com: Drugs, alcohol & offended insider: 5 reasons why Sochi doping allegations don’t hold up.
29. http://theduran.com: Peter Lavelle, 5 Western Media Memes Which Turn Russians Against US. The west lectures Russia about media professionalism, but Russians no longer trust western media when it comes to coverage of their country.
30. World Socialist Web Site: David King 1943-2016: Revolutionary socialist, artist and defender of historical truth.

UKRAINE

31. Kyiv Post: Human rights festival carries on despite anti-gay threats.
32. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Eurovision’s odd odyssey to geopolitics in spandex.
33. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Bryan MacDonald, Eurovision meets its Waterloo as Russia-Ukraine rivalry takes center stage. While Russian officials lost no time in lashing out over Ukraine’s Eurovision victory with a song about the Stalinist deportations of the Crimean Tatars, the results of the public vote suggest that Russia-Ukrainian enmity doesn’t extend to the general public. But the overtly political nature of the winning song may mark a watershed for the competition.
34. Deutsche Welle: Reporters targeted on Ukraine witch-hunt site. A Ukrainian site has leaked personal details of journalists working in Donbass and put them under general suspicion of collaborating with separatists. The scandal points to official involvement, DW’s Bernd Johann writes.
36. Kyiv Post: Ukrainian officials enraged by shutdown of Myrotvorets website.
36. www.thedailybeast.com: Anna Nemtsova, Ukraine Tries to Terrify Journalists Who Cover the War. Government-backed hackers publish information about reporters supposedly aiding the enemy by talking to people on both sides of the war.
37. www.rt.com: BBC shrugs off Kiev’s demand to say ‘Russian aggression’ instead of ‘civil war’
38. The Unz Review: The Saker, The Ukraine Between Fascism, Ochlocracy and Breakup.
39. Fort Russ: Donbass: the end of the war is near?
40. Kyiv Post: Armine Sahakyan. What to expect from next US ambassador to Ukraine. (former US Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch)

 

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

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

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