RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-142 :: Friday, 3 August 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#142
Friday, 3 August 2018

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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1. Russian International Affairs Council: Elena Alekseenkova, “Restored Sovereignty” as the Basis of National Pride. [russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/restored-sovereignty-as-the-basis-of-national-pride-/]
2. www.rt.com: Significant share of citizens feel capable of influencing Russian nation, poll shows.
3. Levada.ru: Russian pollster reports sharp rise in positive views of US.
4. Washington Post: Adam Taylor, Sharp increase in positive views of U.S. among Russians after Trump-Putin summit, poll finds.
5. Russia Matters: Simon Saradzhyan, Will Pension Protests ‘Take Down’ Putin?
6. Intellinews.com: Russians ready to protest pension reform, ratings of ruling United Russia drop.
7. Meduza: European University at St. Petersburg passes state inspection, possibly paving way to reclaiming education license.
8. www.rt.com: Booming agriculture transforming Russia’s energy driven economy.
9. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, US to impose “crushing” set of sanctions on Russia’s debt and oil.
10. Financial Times: US sanctions proposals shrugged off in Russia. Moscow business leaders sceptical that bill could pass through Congress.
11. www.rt.com: Russia’s move to ditch dollar in favor of gold minimizes risk of US political blackmail – analyst.
12. Reuters: For investors in Russia, U.S. sanctions will not pack the same punch as before.
13. Forbes.com: Alexey Eremenko/Control Risks, Despite Russia Sanctions, Opportunities Remain For Careful Investors.
14. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 2 AUGUST 2018. [patrickarmstrong.ca/2018/08/02/russian-federation-sitrep-2-august-2018/]
15. Russia Beyond: Why is Russia selling off its U.S. bonds? [rbth.com/business/328894-why-russia-selling-off-bonds]
16. Russia in Global Affairs: Kancho Stoychev and Andrei Raichev, Chances for a New “Peace of Westphalia”? [globalaffairs.ru/book/Chances-for-a-New-Peace-of-Westphalia-19693]
17. Wall Street Journal: Russia Seeks U.S. Help in Returning Syria Refugees. Helping Moscow link returning refugees with reconstruction would put the U.S. at odds with allies who want a political solution.
18. War on the Rocks: Aaron Stein, HOW AMERICA’S MYOPIC FOCUS ON IRAN HINDERS ITS RUSSIA POLICY. https://warontherocks.com/2018/08/how-americas-myopic-focus-on-iran-hinders-its-russia-policy/
19. The Diplomat: Nicholas Trickett, Making Sense of Russia’s Involvement in Afghanistan. There are plenty of reasons to seriously examine Russia’s role in Afghanistan, but what do many analysts miss?
20. The National Interest: Sean Crowley, NATO ‘Encirclement’ May Be Creating a New Crisis with Russia. NATO expansion has fueled some of Russia’s worst fears…and impulses. What happens now?
21. Newsweek.com: Jonathan Granoff, WHY PUTIN DESERVES A WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TRUMP.
22. The Economist: No servants of the people. Politics surpasses satire in Ukraine. Eight months before an election, the country remains filthy.
23. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to media questions on the sidelines of the Terra Scientia on Klyazma River National Educational Youth Forum, Vladimir Region, July 30, 2018. (excerpt re Ukraine) [mid.ru/en/press_service/minister_speeches/-/asset_publisher/7OvQR5KJWVmR/content/id/3308066]
24. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, CUI BONO? (re “fake news”)
25. www.rt.com: Pervasive…just a click away…not yet: US security chiefs fan Russia election-meddling scare. [rt.com/usa/434969-russia-midterm-elections-meddling/]
26. The Atlantic: David Frum, Collusion Is Worse Than a Crime. To debate whether Trump acted criminally is to miss the greater point: He’s a national-security threat.
27. Carnegie Moscow Center: Tatyana Stanovaya, Two Trumps in Helsinki: Russia’s Approach to the U.S. President. Vladimir Putin is widely viewed as the winner of the Helsinki summit. But reality may be more complicated. Despite optics in Putin’s favor, the Russian government is unsure how to further relate to Trump: should it view him as a full-fledged partner who can normalize relations between Russia and the United States, or should it use him as a tool for disrupting U.S. foreign policy?
28. Izvestia: Igor Pshenichnikov, Spy games: Who benefits from Maria Butina’s arrest
29. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, McCarthyism 2.0: Real skill of US ‘disinformation experts’ is spreading disinformation. [rt.com/op-ed/434846-twitter-russia-disinformation-mccarthyism/]

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