RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-166 :: Wednesday, 12 September 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#166
Wednesday, 12 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. www.rt.com: We know who people named as suspects in Skripal case are, they are civilians – Putin. [rt.com/news/438238-skripal-suspects-putin-civilians/]
2. Wall Street Journal: Putin Says Accused Skripal Attackers Are Civilians.
3. The Blog Mire: Rob Slane, Some Questions for the Metropolitan Police.[theblogmire.com/some-questions-for-the-metropolitan-police/]
4. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Former agent refutes Russian intelligence service’s hand in Skripal case.
4. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Former agent refutes Russian intelligence service’s hand in Skripal case.
5. GeoHistory Today: Russia on the Ground – August, 2018. This resource serves to track domestic news inside Russia – focusing primarily on demographics, public opinion, economy, and major domestic political events inside Russia.
6. Geohistory Today: Russia’s Second De-Urbanization. This text is an interview with Alexander Nikulin, Director of the Research Center for Agricultural Studies. In it he talks about Russia’s unique demographic spread patterns in which people often maintain residences in both urban and rural areas. Historically, he says, this has given Russians greater flexibility in times of crisis. Today, however, an increasing number of Russians are beginning to favor the countryside for targeting their careers.
7. Paul Goble: Differences between Male and Female Life Expectancy in Russia ‘Largest in the World,’ New Study Says.
8. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrei Kolesnikov, Russia’s New Agenda: Choosing Between Two Versions of State Capitalism. In an economic system that wasn’t so focused on solving government problems or fulfilling the “public agenda,” the state wouldn’t have to find ways of extracting funds from business to spend on social programs.
9. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Why Putin Is Softening on Internet Memes. The Kremlin is having second thoughts about jailing people for silly social media posts it calls “extremist.” It wants to look scary, not ridiculous.
10. The New Yorker: Masha Gessen, What Can We Expect of Vladimir Putin When He Is Scared?
11. Intellinews.com: Russian government split on controversial data storage law.
12. www.rt.com: America’s $20 trillion debt makes US dollar a risky asset – Putin.
13. Reuters: Russia Warns of ‘Fragile’ Oil Market Due to Geopolitics, but Says It Can Raise Output.
14. Interfax: Putin invites foreign partners to develop Northern Sea Route.
15. Valdai Discussion Club: REPORT: TOWARD THE GREAT OCEAN – 6: PEOPLE, HISTORY, IDEOLOGY, EDUCATION. REDISCOVERING THE IDENTITY. “The first stage of Russia’s turn to the rising Asia is underway, with the Russian Far East advancing twice as fast as the rest of the country (although this is still not enough).”
16. Valdai Discussion Club: RUSSIA AND THE AGE OF ASIA: REALIZING THE BENEFITS AND FINDING IDENTITY.
17. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, Greater Eurasia coming together in the Russian Far East. The Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok has become a crucial part of strategic integration between China, Russia and other countries in northeast Asia, a graduation assimilation set to transform the current world system.
19. The Times (UK) editorial: Bear and the Dragon. Joint military exercises represent a challenge to the West.
20. Consortiumnews.com: Ray McGovern, On the Brink with Russia in Syria Again, 5 Years Later. It’s deja-vu all over again in Syria, with the U.S. on the verge of a confrontation with Russia as Donald Trump faces his biggest decision yet as president.[consortiumnews.com/2018/09/12/on-the-brink-with-russia-in-syria-again-5-years-later/]
21. Stratfor.com: Here’s What the New U.S. Strategy in Syria Means For Russia.
22. The Real News Network: Are Warnings About Chemical Warfare in Syria Another ‘Weapon of Mass Distraction’? Col. Larry Wilkerson says that it was the plan of John Bolton and the neocons to take Iraq, then Syria, and then Iran. These false flag operations are all about maintaining the perpetual war in the region.
23. Daily Beast: Team Trump Warns Russia of ‘Total Economic Isolation’ Over Possible Syria Bloodbath. The Russians are playing tough, but on this issue the Trump administration may play tougher.
24. Valdai Discussion Club: Georgy Toloraya, TRILATERAL COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA, NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA.
25. Interfax: Putin calls for int’l security guarantees for N. Korea supported with involvement of nuclear powers.
26. Wall Street Journal: Japan, Russia See Way Out of 70-Year Squabble. Japanese leader Abe suggests joint administration of long-disputed islands; Russia’s Putin goes even further.
27. Washington Post: Anna Ohanyan, Why Russia starts so many conflicts on its own borders.
28. Kremlin.ru: Eastern Economic Forum plenary session. Vladimir Putin took part in the Eastern Economic Forum. The President spoke at a plenary session of the Forum.
29. www.rt.com: Is Russia behind ‘attacks’ on US diplomats in Cuba & China? Anonymous US officials obviously say yes. [rt.com/usa/438208-is-russia-behind-attacks-cuba/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS]
30. Pravda.ru: Dmitry Babich, ‘Crusaders’ of Ill Repute: Browder, Menendez, Khodorkovsky. [pravdareport.com/opinion/columnists/11-09-2018/141573-crusaders-0/]
31. www.rt.com: No Russian trace in Manafort case, but Moscow portrayed as villain – Lavrov [rt.com/news/438231-lavrov-manafort-russia-scapegoat/]
32. www.rt.com: Butina prosecutors wrote their own James Bond novel with sex allegations – and the media loved it. (excerpt) [rt.com/usa/438115-butina-media-spy-retraction/]
33. www.rt.com: One man’s journey from anti-Putin artistic star to inmate ‘tortured’ by French prison guards (VIDEO) [rt.com/news/438251-pavlensky-rise-fall-video/]
34. Applications open – American Councils Russian study abroad programs + financial aid.

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