RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-148 :: Tuesday, 1 August 2017

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#148
Tuesday, 1 August 2017

A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
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1. Washington Post editorial: We’re on the road to a new Cold War. And the fault lies squarely with Vladimir Putin.
2. www.foreignpolicy.com: Dmitri Trenin, If Putin Wanted to Step Up His Fight With America, You’d Know It. The Russian president’s decision to cull 755 U.S. Embassy employees was not the act of a man ready to give up on relations with the United States.
3. The National Interest: George Beebe, Russia Signals Tough Pragmatism toward the United States. Misinterpreting Russian signals is the most immediate danger to the United States as the White House considers next steps.
4. The Real News Network: Russians See Sanctions Regime as a Blessing in Disguise. Despite existing sanctions against Russia German exports to Russia have gone up by twenty percent, further there are increasing investments in the the domestic economy says Richard Sakwa, professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent.
5. TASS: Press Review: Kommersant: US embassy staff cuts to slow down visa issuance for Russians.
6. www.rt.com: Moscow denies banning US diplomats from their compound ahead of deadline.
https://www.rt.com/news/398146-moscow-us-diplomats-sanctions/
7. Russia Beyond the Headlines: What property does the U.S. government lease in Moscow? Washington’s access to Moscow’s buildings is shrinking as the Russian government reacts to U.S. sanctions, but the buildings rented by America throughout the ages certainly have stories to tell, from extravagant balls to grenade attacks.
https://www.rbth.com/arts/2017/08/01/what-property-does-the-us-government-lease-in-moscow_814944
8. Russia Matters: Paul Saunders, Latest Diplomatic Rift Places US, Russia on Edge of ‘Tipping Point.’
9. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, U.S. Sanctions Are Another Gift to Putin. Far from being hurt by them, he finds them useful.
10. Israel National News: Pundit predicts ‘devastating consequences’ of Russia sanctions. US sanctions will ‘drive Europe into the arms of the Russians and Chinese’ and may lead to Russian arming of Iran, says columnist Spengler.
11. TASS: Over 80% of Russian youth support Putin’s policies, poll shows.
12. www.rt.com: Putin signs bill banning web anonymizers in Russia.
13. Dances With Bears; John Helmer, THE ST. ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL AFFAIR – RUSSIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT APPROVES STATE OF LAWLESSNESS, AS JUDGE YURY DANILOV STANDS ALONE IN DEFENCE OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AGAINST STATE AND CHURCH.

THE ST. ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL AFFAIR – RUSSIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT APPROVES STATE OF LAWLESSNESS, AS JUDGE YURY DANILOV STANDS ALONE IN DEFENCE OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AGAINST STATE AND CHURCH


14. Kennan Institute: Edward Holland, A View from the South: Reflections on Dagestan.
15. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Russian manufacturing growth accelerates in July. Manufacturers’ Purchasing Managers’ Index points to continued manufacturing expansion despite continued high interest rates.
16. Sputnik: Against All Odds: Russian Economy in ‘Active Growth’ Phase, Minister Says. (Maxim Oreshkin)
17. TASS: Kremlin concerned over expansion of alliances rather than neighbors’ relations with US.
18. www.rt.com: US attempts to shift blame onto Russia & China over N. Korea are baseless – Moscow.
19. Valdai Discussion Club: Timofei Bordachev, SECURITY OF MACRO-REGIONS?
20. Salon.com: Danielle Ryan, Trump’s foreign policy: Bizarre and inconsistent, or more strategic than we think? Trump’s global dance with Vladimir Putin has played out in Syria and Ukraine in deeply bewildering fashion.
http://www.salon.com/2017/07/30/trumps-foreign-policy-bizarre-and-inconsistent-or-more-strategic-than-we-think/
21. The Unz Review: Philip Geraldi, Groupthink at the CIA. Hating Russia and Trump is de rigueur.
22. New Eastern Europe: Russia’s meddling gets more credit than it deserves. Interview with Mark Galeotti. (excerpt)
23. The Unz Review: Mike Whitney, Did Hillary Scapegoat Russia to Save Her Campaign?
24. Vanity Fair: From Russia, With Love: the Sudden Resurgence of the Soviet Villain. The Cold War is over, though you might not know it from the bad guys crowding Atomic Blonde and GLOW.
25. Wall Street Journal: Pentagon Offers Plan to Arm Ukraine. U.S. officials say proposal, which needs White House approval, is meant to deter Moscow aggression.
26. www.rt.com: Ukraine signs deal to buy American coal.
27. Intellinews.com: Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party is leading the polls in Ukraine with 11.2%
28. New York Times: Russia’s Military Drills Near NATO Border Raise Fears of Aggression.
29. New York Times: After Russia’s Retaliation, Embassy Workers Brace for a ‘Shock to the System’
30. US Congress: S.1221 – Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017.
31. Two new books by Masha Gessen.

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