RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-164 :: Monday, 10 September 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#164
Monday, 10 September 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. New York Times: A Spy Story: Sergei Skripal Was a Little Fish. He Had a Big Enemy. (excerpt)
2. The Postillon: British police find Putin’s passport at scene of Salisbury poison attack.
3. Snopes.com: Fact Check. Did British Police Find Putin’s Passport at the Scene of the Salisbury Poison Attack?
4. Bear Market Brief: Levada poll: Russians’ worries close to home.
5. Reuters: Fury Over Pension Changes Hurts Putin Allies in Russian Regional Elections.
6. Meduza: United Russia loses ground, as the Communist Party gains it. Here are the main results of Sunday’s regional elections.
7. Interfax: Putin views organization of Sept 9 elections as good, but not without some minor flaws.
8. www.rt.com: Moscow mayor elected for second term as city undergoes groundbreaking changes. [rt.com/politics/438047-moscow-mayor-reelected-second/]
9. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Russian elections: pro-Kremlin domination amid protests, but some hope for opposition in regions. [rt.com/politics/438097-russian-election-kremlin-opposition/]
10. Washington Post: Anton Troianovski, Putin bets on parks and trains to win over Moscow’s middle class. His bet is paying off.
11. Paul Goble: Russian Opposition Must Have a Bigger Agenda than ‘Putin Must Go,’ Rumarchuk Says.
12. American Thinker: Brandon Weichert, Putin is Here to Stay, and the Russian State Will Die with Him.
13. Russian International Affairs Council: Russian Writer Evgeny Chizhov: Writers Should Stay away from Both Authorities and Opposition. [russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/interview/russian-writer-evgeny-chizhov-writers-should-stay-away-from-both-authorities-and-opposition/]
14. Oilprice.com: Russia Looks To Boost Gas Sales In Tighter European Markets.
15. Sputnik: Climate Change: Big Ships to Save 2 Weeks Taking Russia’s Northern Sea Route.
16. Washington Post: Russia’s Suez Canal? Ships start plying a less-icy Arctic, thanks to climate change.
17. www.rt.com: Russian Orthodox Church will ‘cut ties’ with Constantinople if it makes Ukrainian Church independent.
18. TASS: Kiev may launch massive mop-up operation in Donbass, expert warns.
19. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian pundit views Middle East future after ‘final battle’ of Idlib. (Fyodor Lukyanov)
20. Valdai Discussion Club: Sergei Karaganov, WHY RUSSIA’S ‘PIVOT TO ASIA’ IS ABOUT COMING BACK HOME.
21. AP: US Policy Drives Russia, China Together Ahead of Summit.
22. The National Interest: Peter Zwack, Russia and China’s Growing Military Interaction; Surprised? Why does Russia place such emphasis and media attention on incredibly large military exercises with China?
23. http://theduran.com: Paul Goncharoff, Why we are seeing a slow motion decline of the US-led world order. Of dominoes and contagion. [theduran.com/slow-motion-decline-of-the-us-led-world-order/]
24. Russian and Eurasian Politics: Gordon Hahn, REPORT (Complete): What Is Post-Sovietness (Or Kakaya raznitsa in Post-Sovietistan)? (excerpt)
25. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, THE LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME – THE SECRET IN THE CLINTON-YELTSIN PAPERS WHICH THE KREMLIN SPOKESMAN REGRETS TO SEE EXPOSED IS THE LOVE OF SUBMISSION. (excerpt) [johnhelmer.net/the-love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name-the-secret-in-the-clinton-yeltsin-papers-which-the-kremlin-spokesman-regrets-to-see-exposed-is-the-love-of-submission/#more-19697]
26. The Independent (UK): Mary Dejevsky, Escalating action against Russia over the Skripals’ poisoning will hurt the UK in the end. With EU-UK relations now approaching the countdown to Brexit, the UK risks being left stranded between the sides of the Atlantic, doggedly pursuing an ultra-hardline policy towards Russia all by itself.
27. The Independent (UK): Kim Sengupta, The theories which might be true about the novichok poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal – and the ones which definitely aren’t. One believable explanation is that the attempt on Sergei Skripal’s life was in revenge for comrades he had betrayed to MI6, for money, after becoming a double agent. But even that has its major flaws.
28. TASS: Izvestia: Russia could appeal to Trump over Butina’s human rights.
29. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Case Against Maria Butina Continues Falling Apart. (excerpt) [unz.com/akarlin/case-against-maria-butina-continues-falling-apart/]
30. Washington Post editorial: We’re running out of time to deter Russia.
31. PONARS Eurasia: Marlene Laruelle, Is Russia Really “Fascist”? A Comment on Timothy Snyder.
32. www.russiamatters.org: ‘Above All, Avoid Zeal’: EastWest’s Cameron Munter on Russia’s Relations With the West.
33. Telos: Paul Grenier, Russia-gate as Symptom: The Crisis of American Community.

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