RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-175 :: Tuesday, 25 September 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#175
Tuesday, 25 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. Yahoo News: Alexander Nazaryan: Fiona Hill, Trump’s top expert on Russia, is quietly shaping a tougher U.S. policy.
2. www.craigmurray.org.uk: Craig Murray, The Incredible Case of Boshirov and Petrov’s Visas.
3. Meduza: Russia’s ruling political party blows another two gubernatorial runoff elections, prompting a wave of new speculation about what it all means.
4. RFE/RL: Pundits Say Russian Vote Results Signal Protest, Not Real Change.
5. Interfax: Info that Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party will be ‘punished’ over elections is provocative – source.
6. Interfax: Zyuganov calls for gathering political elites in Kremlin, scrapping pension reform.
7. www.rt.com: State Duma passes Putin’s bill criminalizing the sacking of workers approaching retirement age.
8. Bear Market Brief: Pension reform clears committee for 2nd reading.
9. www.rt.com: Court hands another civil sentence to Kremlin critic Navalny, bringing criminal prosecution closer.
10. Survival (IISS): Anatol Lieven, The Dance of the Ghosts: A New Cold War with Russia Will Not Serve Western Interests. In their nostalgia for the Cold War, Western elites may be trying to revive the comforting ghosts of the past to cope with a frightening present. (excerpt)
11. Reuters: Sanctions Seen Hitting Russia’s Economic Growth, Not Rating-Fitch.
12. www.rt.com: US won’t sanction Russia’s state debt & dollar transactions – Fitch.
13. www.strategic-culture.org: Eric Zuesse, Not ‘in Tatters’: Why the West Has Failed to Destroy Russia’s Economy. [strategic-culture.org/news/2018/09/23/not-in-tatters-why-the-west-has-failed-destroy-russia-economy.html]
14. TASS: Rossiyskaya Gazeta: US spooked by Russia’s grain boom.
15. Foreign Affairs: Gabuev, Why Russia and China Are Strengthening Security Ties. Is the U.S. Driving Them Closer Together?
16. AP: Syria: Everyone else’s battleground, in both war and peace.
17. TASS: Media: S-300s coming to protect Syrian skies.
18. Valdai Discussion Club: Tatiana Nosenko, RUSSIA-ISRAEL: HOW TO INTERACT IN SYRIAN CHAOS. [valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/russia-israel-how-to-interact-in-syrian-chaos/]
19. www.aljazeera.com: Yuri Barmin, What next for Russian-Israeli relations? Russia’s decision to install the S-300 in Syria increases the risk of unintended confrontation with Israel.
20. TASS: US missile defense in Eastern Europe may ruin INF treaty, warns Russian Foreign Ministry.
21. Financial Times: US and Russia to discuss nuclear weapons treaty extension in October.
22. Facebook: Sean Guillory and others, Russian trolls and the 2016 election.
23. Nikkei Asian Review (Japan): Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia-Japan — peace can wait. Putin has snubbed Abe as he boosts links with China amid growing US hostility to Beijing and Moscow. [asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Russia-Japan-peace-can-wait]
4. Wall Street Journal: Judith Miller, Surprise-Ukrainians Are Bullish on Trump. He’s oddly fond of Putin, but his administration has been tougher on Russia than Obama’s was.
25. Kyiv Post: Poll: Ukrainians say bribe problem worse now than in 2015.
26. Intellinews.com: Poroshenko regains public support ahead of Ukraine presidential election.
27. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexander Zanemonets, Resolving Ukraine’s Orthodox Church Crisis.
28. http://theduran.com: Elias Hazou, The Magnitsky affair: the confession of a hustled hack. A Cypriot journalist’s confession of how he too fell for the wrong account of the Magnitsky Affair. [theduran.com/the-magnitsky-affair-the-confession-of-a-hustled-hack/]
29. Russia Insider: Andrei Grachev, Petrov and Boshirov Are Likely Private Courier-Security Guys Transporting Valuable Documents for Russian Billionaires. This version would explain their behavior in Salisbury and over the years far better than either ‘fitness coaches’ or ‘GRU agents’ [russia-insider.com/en/petrov-and-boshirov-are-likely-private-courier-security-guys-transporting-valuable-documents-russian]

 

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