RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-231 :: Tuesday, 12 December 2017

St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter]

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#231
Tuesday, 12 December 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
The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
JRL homepage: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi
Support for JRL is provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to the George Washington University and by voluntary contributions from readers.
Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.phpDonate Online: direct link

1. Valdai Discussion Club: SETTLEMENT THAT NEVER TOOK PLACE: WHY THE RUSSIA-WEST CRISIS IS ROOTED IN THE EARLY 1990S. (With James Goldgeier, Samuel Charap, Fyodor Lukyanov)
2. TASS: Every second citizen favors amending Russia’s Constitution – poll.
3. RFE/RL: Recession Recoveries In Russia, Brazil Help Lift World Growth To Six-Year High.
4. Bear Market Brief: Tax and pension reform lose steam, for now.
5. Bloomberg: Skyscraper City Becomes Citadel of Putin’s State Capitalism.
6. TASS: Moscow outshines many EU cities and is safer than Paris, Russian capital’s mayor says.
7. www.opendemocracy.net: Ewa Dabrowska, Debt and poverty: the thriving business of high-risk moneylenders in Russia. In Russia, loansharks and payday lenders masquerade as “microfinance” organisations to attract clients. But for many people, short-term loans are a way of life.
8. RFE/RL: Russia’s Media Monitor Moves To Block Websites Of ‘Undesirable’ Organizations.
9. Moscow Times: Russia’s Channel One Will Broadcast Olympics, Despite Team’s Ban.
10. Wall Street Journal: Russia to Let Athletes Compete in Winter Games Despite Calls for Veto. Clean athletes will be allowed to participate in the 2018 Games, but may face domestic pressure not to.
11. The Unz Review: Mike Whitney, Petty, Backstabbing Washington Sinks Russia’s Olympic Dreams.
http://www.unz.com/mwhitney/petty-backstabbing-washington-sinks-russias-olympic-dreams/
12. Valdai Discussion Club: Vyacheslav Trubnikov, FIGHTING TERRORISM: RENOUNCING DOUBLE STANDARDS.
13. TASS: Vedomosti: Putin hailed as peacemaker in run-up to presidential race.
14. Intellinews.com: Putin makes surprise appearance at Russian airbase in Syria to declare “victory.”
15. Kremlin.ru: Vladimir Putin visited Khmeimim Air Base in Syria.
16. http://theduran.com: Alexander Mercouris, Putin’s Syrian withdrawal announcement: neither a full Russian withdrawal nor victory in Syria. Putin’s withdrawal announcement does not spell the end of Russian involvement in Syria or signal the end of the war in Syria. (excerpt)

Putin’s Syrian withdrawal announcement: neither a full Russian withdrawal nor victory in Syria


17. Bloomberg: Russia Says No Reason for Assad to Give Up Syria Leadership.
18. Russian and Eurasian Politics: Gordon Hahn, Who Got Syria Wrong and Who Got It Right: An Update.
19. www.rt.com: Russia’s Syria op: Key points of campaign that helped crush ISIS & gave peace a chance.
https://www.rt.com/news/412873-russian-syria-op-key-points/
20. The Hindu (India): Russia favours dialogue with the Taliban: Lavrov.
21. The National Interest: Nikolai Sokov, Are Arms Control Agreements Losing Their Value? The sad fate of the INF treaty should serve as a lesson, not as an example.
22. Russia Beyond: MoneyTaker: Russian-speaking hackers target bankers and lawyers in the U.S. and UK.
23. TASS: Putin receives reports about Trump’s tweets – Kremlin.
24. www.rt.com: Moscow sees Trump tweets as official statements – Kremlin.
25. TASS: Ex-Soviet leader advises US envoy not to repeat past mistakes in bilateral relations. (Gorbachev)
26. Interfax: Jack Matlock: Current tension in U.S.-Russia relations is result of political mistakes on both sides.
27. Washington Times: Edward Lozansky, Normalize U.S.-Russia relations? Post-Cold War words and actions.
28. New York Times: Fingerprints of Russian Disinformation: From AIDS to Fake News.
29. Politfact.com: 2017 Lie of the Year: Russian election interference is a ‘made-up story’
30. Mother Jones: Russian Propagandists Are Pushing for Roy Moore to Win. Kremlin-linked trolls have also joined Trump and Fox News in targeting the FBI.
31. http://theduran.com: Alexander Mercouris, From Watergate to Russiagate: from the sublime to the ridiculous. The recent string of false media stories about Russiagate shows the media’s growing desperation as proof for the Russiagate collusion allegations fails to appear.

From Watergate to Russiagate: from the sublime to the ridiculous


32. Gilbert Doctorow: BOOK PRESENTATION: DOES THE UNITED STATES HAVE A FUTURE? Speech to The National Press Club, Washington, D.C., 7 December 2017. (excerpt)
33. Sean’s Russia Blog Podcast: The Life and Times of Mikhail Gorbachev. (with William Taubman)
34. Interfax-Ukraine: Yatsenyuk says in Feb. 2014 he spoke twice over phone with Medvedev upon initiative of Russian side.
35. Stratfor.com: Ukraine: Saakashvili Protests Are the Sideshow to the Presidential Battle.
36. Reuters: War-Scarred Neighborhoods in Ukraine’s Rebel-Held Donetsk.
37. Russian International Affairs Council: Andrei Kortunov, Will Donbass Live to See the UN Peacekeepers?

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

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

Map of CIS Central Asia and Environs

Eurasia Map

Comment