RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-77 :: Thursday, 20 April 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-#77
Thursday, 20 April 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 contributionswhinin from readers.

Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.phpDonate Online: direct link

1. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Do Russians really drink as much as people think they do? “How is vodka…” “Why did Putin…” RBTH has chosen some of the most popular search queries related to Russia and will answer each question in detail in a series of articles titled “Why Russia.” Today, we examine how Russia has earned its reputation as a country that loves to drink.
2. Interfax: Most densely populated part of Russia environmentally unfavorable – document.
3. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Moscow plans to give people new apartments, but is there a catch? Many of the Moscow apartment buildings slated for demolition are indeed dilapidated. But residents may be moved to replacements far from their old homes – and the prime real estate they vacate could mean big profit for developers.
4. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Kremlins Concoct Powerful Pro-Navalny Video.
6. www.foreignaffairs.com: Stephen Crowley, Why Protests Keep Putin Up at Night. The Fears of a Strongman.
8. AP: Soyuz space capsule with American, Russian blasts off for International Space Station.
9. Valdai Discussion Club: Timofei Bordachev, THE END OF INSTITUTIONS AND THE ERA OF “SMALL DEALS”?
0. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Is the world gearing up for ‘Cold War: The Sequel’? Tensions in 2017 between Washington and Moscow can certainly be comparted to the political strain during the Cold War, and experts say Russia and the West need to find common ground to avoid a new conflict
11. RFE/RL: In Annual Report, Medvedev Says Russian Economy Avoided Catastrophe.
12. Government.ru: Government report on its performance in 2016. (transcript continued)
13. TASS: Russian PM sets goal to raise share of small businesses in economy to 50%.
14. TASS: Modernization and market: how to improve labor productivity in Russia.
15. Reuters: Russia Fin Min wants economy to grow at least 3 pct a year.
16. Bloomberg: Putin Pins Housing Hopes on Mortgage Factory Modeled on U.S.
17. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Lenin may be dead, but his popularity is alive and kicking. Poll shows that more Russians support preservation of leader’s monuments.
18. www.rt.com: RIP at last? Over half of Russians want Lenin’s body to be buried – poll.
19. The Conversation: Matthew Rendle, Why Putin is shy about celebrating the centenary of the Russian revolution.
20. Russia Beyond the Headlines: 2/3 of Russians still view reunification with Crimea in positive light. Majority of those asked think Donetsk and Lugansk should be independent.
21. TASS: Russian analysts expect no breakthrough in Moscow-Washington relations.
22. The National Interest: What Does Russia Want? What Does America Need? (with Angela Stent, Steven Pifer, Paul Saunders, and Michael Kofman)
23. CNN.com: Hayden: Why Russia is more worried about war than US.
24. Russia Insider: Valeria Nollan, Russia Understands What War Really Means – Does the United States?
25. The Nation; Stephen Cohen, Why the New Cold War Is More Dangerous Than the Preceding One. Questionable but orthodox Cold War narratives make actual war with Russia more likely than during its 40-year predecessor.
26. International Affairs: Sergei Karaganov, FROM THE PIVOT TO THE EAST TO GREATER EURASIA.
27. Newsweek.com: Sumantra Maitra, WHY RUMORS OF RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN THE WEST ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.
28. CNBC.com: Michael Tracey, It’s time for Democrats to drop the Russia ‘shtick’
29. www.rt.com: ‘Conspiracy theory fantasies’: Russian think tank dismisses report it masterminded Trump victory.
30. Russia Insider: M.K. Bhadrakumar, McMaster Is Deluded, Trump Hasn’t Divided China and Russia. The inexperienced Trump admin is giving itself too much credit. Russia-China ties are on a completely different level from US-Chinese contacts.
31. The Intercept: Glenn Greenwald, A Bernie Sanders Campaign Adviser Was a Russian. Now He’s Speaking Out. (Vitali Shkliarov)

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