RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-97 :: Wednesday, 30 May 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#97 :: Wednesday, 30 May 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: ‘Assassinated’ journalist Babchenko alive, Kiev says, accusing Russia of murder plot.
2. Bear Market Brief: Opposition, authorities prep for Moscow mayoral election.
3. Vice.com: How Putin’s Russia Became Mafia Heaven. Inside the long, strange story of organized crime taking over the former Soviet Union-and how Russia tamed it only to unleash it on the West. (re Mark Galeotti)
3a. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, Babchenko’s Death and Russia’s Dark Power. Russia has adopted a policy of blessing freelance murders carried out in its name.
4. Washington Post: Daniel Drezner, Spoiler alerts went to Moscow, and all you get are these lousy observations.
5. http://usforeignpolicy.blogs.lalibre.be: Gilbert Doctorow, Western news coverage of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum: a study in futility.[usforeignpolicy.blogs.lalibre.be/archive/2018/05/30/western-news-coverage-of-the-st-petersburg-international-eco-1167219.html]
6. www.rt.com: Russian Upper House passes latest bill on reciprocal sanctions.
7. TASS: Poll shows how many Russians plan to follow FIFA World Cup.
8. USAToday.com: World Cup 2018: Getting to know Team Russia.
9. ESPN.com: Nizhny Novogorod, a ‘closed’ city, is ready for a World Cup party.
10. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrey Sushentsov, ROYALTIES FOR SECURITY: ON THE POLISH INITIATIVE OF HOSTING A US MILITARY BASE.
11. Washington Times: Edward Lozansky, Is Trump-Putin summit still in the cards? Washington swamp forces and the risk of war.
12. The Verge: Facebook’s new political ad policy is already sweeping up non-campaign posts. (re Sean Guillory)
13. Reuters: Ukraine and Russia Trade Accusations Over Killing of Dissident Journalist.
14. TASS: Extensive blood-soaked chain of violent deaths among journalists haunts Ukraine.
15. Russiafeed.com: Matfey Shaheen, Russian journalist critical of Gov. Arkadiy Babchenko shot DEAD in Ukraine. Russia will likely be blamed for the murder of Arkadiy Babchenko – here is why Russia DIDN’T do it. [russiafeed.com/russian-journalist-critical-of-gov-arkadiy-babchenko-shot-dead-in-ukraine/]
16. Los Angeles Times: Mansur Mirovalev, In battle between Russia and Ukraine, even God is in dispute.
17. New York Times Magazine: Mattathias Schwartz, Who Killed the Kiev Protesters? A 3-D Model Holds the Clues. A team of civilian investigators used cellphone videos, autopsy reports and surveillance footage to reconstruct a virtual crime scene. 
18. Sic Semper Tyrannis: The Plot to Slaughter Donald Trump by Publius Tacitus. [turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/05/the-plot-to-slaughter-donald-trump-by-publius-tacitus.html#more]
19. Wall Street Journal: Holman Jenkins, Clapper Disinformation Campaign. Why does a former intelligence chief make claims he can’t back up?
20. The Federalist: Margot Cleveland, It’s Time To Admit The Russia Investigation Was Illegitimate From The Start. While claims that the FBI properly inquired of connections between the Trump campaign and Russia were valid to a point, that point has long since passed.
21. Atlantic Council: Stephen Blank, Richard Pipes: An Appreciation.
22. The New Republic: Sasha Senderovich, An Ending for the Conflicted Cold Warriors of The Americans. Why Elizabeth Jennings won’t betray her ideals in the series finale.

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