RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-148 :: Monday, 13 August 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#148
Monday, 13 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. The Blog Mire: Rob Slane, If Yulia Skripal Can’t be Prevailed Upon to Believe the British Government’s Claims, Why Should Anyone Else? [theblogmire.com/if-yulia-skripal-cant-be-prevailed-upon-to-believe-the-british-governments-claims-why-should-anyone-else/]
2. TASS: Niece of Russian ex-spy poisoned in Salisbury to apply for passport for his mother soon.
3. The Hill: Matthew Bunn, In Gorky Park, with nuclear worries.
4. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Buddhism flourishes in Siberia, opening window on its pre-Soviet past. Orthodox Christianity may be Russia’s most high-profile religion, but it is only one of the country’s four official “founding” faiths. Another of the four, Buddhism, has been experiencing a rebirth in post-Soviet Russia. Second in a five-part series.
5. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, MISERY.
6. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, THE USE OF FORCE.
7. The National Interest: George Beebe, Is Russia Really Trying to Sway the Midterm Elections? If Moscow views its social-media campaign as a defensive response to American meddling in Russian politics, then it might see little to gain and much to lose by giving up this activity without getting reciprocal U.S. concessions.
8. The National Interest: Lyle Goldstein, A Decade After the Georgia War. As NATO military forces roll into the Caucasus region, Moscow observes and calculates its next move.
9. Russia Insider: Andrei Martyanov, 10 Years Ago the Russian Army Crushed a Sneak Georgian Invasion of South Ossetia. The war began with a Georgian assault on South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinvali and an accompanying artillery barrage which killed a dozen Russian peacekeepers — just as all eyes were focused on the opening of the Beijing Olympics. [russia-insider.com/en/10-years-ago-russian-army-crushed-sneak-georgian-invasion-south-ossetia/ri24423]
10. Levada.ru: Poll says Russians increasingly unhappy with Putin’s policies.
11. Twitter: Michael McFaul, “To advance almost all of our core national security and economic interests, the US does not need Russia. Remember that.”
12. TASS: Kommersant: Russia should focus on domestic development as its response options to US sanctions are limited.
13. Bear Market Brief: Experts discuss Russian responses to new US sanctions.
14. TASS: Possible US sanctions unpleasant, but not fatal for Russian economy, says finance minister.
15. www.rt.com: Russia’s top 5 trump cards in the sanctions game against the US.
16. www.rt.com: Russia to sell off more US Treasuries in retaliation against sanctions.
17. AP: Newest US Sanctions Against Russia Hit an Economic Nerve.
18. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, US declares economic war on Russia.
19. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, New US Sanctions vs. Russia. [unz.com/akarlin/russia-sanctions/]
20. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, LATEST AMERICAN SANCTIONS.[patrickarmstrong.ca/2018/08/11/latest-american-sanctions/]
21. Bloomberg: Putin’s Wealth Shift Aims at Russian Economy’s Idled Engine.
22. New York Times editorial: The Administration Gets Tough on Russia – Despite Trump. The president holds chummy meetings with Vladimir Putin, while his administration imposes new sanctions.
23. www.rt.com: Russia ‘can’t beat US in trade war,’ but could hurt Washington elsewhere (or team up with China).
24. www.rt.com: Russia’s chemical disarmament confirmed by OPCW, while US has ‘problems’ in the area – Lavrov.
25. TASS: Media: Five countries sign deal to end 22-year dispute on Caspian Sea.
26. The Guardian (UK): Landmark Caspian Sea deal signed by five coastal nations. Convention seen as vital to break Iran’s sense of economic isolation after US sanctions.
27. Russian International Affairs Council: Zach Battat, Peace in the Middle East: Russia’s Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
28. The Nation: Gordon Bardos, Montenegro and NATO’s Faustian Bargain. Did Montenegro’s NATO accession increase the collective defense of the West or merely protect a corrupt regime?
29. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Turkey’s crisis a golden opportunity for the Kremlin.
30. Russia Beyond: How foreigners search for their Russian roots. [rbth.com/lifestyle/328944-foreigners-search-for-their-russian-roots-genealogy]
31. Washington Post: Joe Scarborough, This is not a hoax, and things are not okay.
32. Facebook: Kevin Rothrock, Americans’ newfound interest in Russia.
33. Washington Post editorial: Don’t fall for Trump’s latest whataboutism.
34. Foxnews.com: John Dale Grover, Anti-Russian hysteria isn’t in America’s national interest.
35. The Hill: Sharyl Attkisson, What would the intelligence community’s ‘insurance policy’ against Trump look like?
36. #1 New York Times bestseller: The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump by Gregg Jarrett.
37. www.rt.com: Ukraine sees nothing criminal in Manafort’s lobbying – ex-president Yanukovich’s lawyer.

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