RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-17 :: Wednesday, 24 January 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#17
Wednesday, 24 January 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
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1. Washington Post: Fyodor Lukyanov, Trump’s defense strategy is perfect for Russia.
2. Bloomberg: U.S. Sanctions Would Be ‘Economic War’ to Head of Russia’s VTB.
3. Kremlin.ru: Vladimir Putin spoke at meeting for Supreme Court 95th anniversary.
4. TASS: Izvestia: Russia eyeing short-term ban on foreign agent media prior to elections.
5. TASS: Kremlin unaware of plans to block foreign media agents in Russia ahead of election.
6. Vedomosti: Pundit forecasts three challenges to Putin’s regime in fourth term. (Tatiana Stanovaya)
7. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, GREAT MOMENTS IN COUNTING HISTORY – TURNOUT FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN, TURNIN FOR BORIS YELTSIN, TURNDOWN FOR THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION,
8. Novaya Gazeta: Russian paper says Navalny continues ‘presidential election agenda’
9. Moscow Times: Artemy Troitsky, Why My Ksenia-phobia Is Acting Up. Her chances of winning are zilch, but her campaign will send the “Ksenia Sobchak” brand soaring.
10. Moscow Times: Russia’s Brain Drain on the Rise Over Economic Woes – Report.
11. Interfax-Ukraine: Almost half of unemployed Ukrainians have higher education.
12. Moskovsky Komsomolets: Paper views Russian economy’s successes, failures in 2017.
13. Reuters: Russia Cancels Release of ‘Insulting’ Film About Stalin’s Death.
14. TASS: RBC: Russia yanks historical comedy flick The Death of Stalin from cinemas.
15. The Guardian (UK): Natalia Antonova, Mikhail Durnenkov: the Russian writer capturing the everyday dread of modern life. In his dark comedy The War Has Not Yet Started, characters are bombarded by propaganda on TV and the constant threat of terror. Durnenkov speaks about the play’s universal concerns. (excerpt)
16. The Independent (UK): Oliver Carroll. What Russia’s reaction to the spoof naked air cadets video tells us about the country’s attitude to sexuality and protest. Clip released last week is the country’s most talked about topic.
17. Washington Post: Russia says Olympic boycott isn’t on the table even after top athletes are barred from PyeongChang.
18. Valdai Discussion Club: EXAMPLE OF RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP: CHALLENGES FOR RUSSIA’S FOREIGN POLICY IN 2018. On January 22, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted an expert discussion together with the presentation of the report, titled “Global Threats – 2018”, prepared by the Foreign Policy analytical agency.
19. Valdai Discussion Club: Vladimir Batyuk, NEW US NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGY: RUSSIA AND CHINA AS MAIN ENEMIES.
20. Vesti.ru: “Return to the Cold War” – New Defense Strategy From Pentagon Resembles Old One.
21. Russia Matters: Simon Saradzhyan,When Does Russia See Red? Foreign Minister Lavrov on Red Lines.
22. Russiafeed.com: Nick Ivanov, CIA Chief reveals shocking news: Vladimir Putin is trying to make Russia great again. Mike Pompeo trotted out an old misquote about the Russian leader’s supposed intent to restore the USSR – but what did Putin really say?
23. www.rt.com: US mounts its moral high horse to spin yet another ‘convenient’ chemical attack.
24. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Comment by the Information and Press Department on US attempts to distort Russian approaches to investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
25. Daily Mail (UK): Peter Hitchens, Is there Really a Russian Threat to Britain?
26. Russian International Affairs Council: Vasily Kuznetsov, The Arab World: Between Violence and Consensus.
27. TASS: Soviet and Russian nominees for Academy Awards.
28. Interfax: OSCE concerned by rise in Donbas shelling after New Year lull.
29. The Real News: Max Blumenthal. The US is Arming and Assisting Neo-Nazis in Ukraine, While Congress Debates Prohibition. Known as a bastion of neo-Nazism, the Azov Battalion has received teams of American military advisors and high powered US-made weapons.
30. www.rt.com: FBI agent sent ‘jaw-dropping’ text about no Russia collusion – senator.
31. Washington Post: Republicans launch extraordinary new tactics to protect Trump on Russia.
32. Wall Street Journal: Holman Jenkins, Trump’s Russian Money. The big carrot in U.S. relations has been access to Western banks and real estate.
33. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Kommersant newspaper, January 21, 2018. (transcript continued/earlier text in JRL#15]

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