RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#104 contents with links :: Thursday 8 May 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#104 :: 8 May 2014
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1. AFP: With tears and anger, Slavyansk buries its dead.
2. RIA Novosti: Ukraine Says Special Op to Continue Regardless of Referendum Decision.
3. Kremlin.ru: Press statements and replies to journalists’ questions.
4. ITAR-TASS: Irresponsible policy behind developments in Ukraine – Putin.
5. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Kremlin extends Ukraine olive branch.
6. PBS Newshour: Is Putin trying to diffuse the Ukraine crisis? (with Angela Stent and Stephen Cohen)
7. Wall Street Journal: Pro-Russian Separatists in Ukraine Reject Putin’s Call to Delay Vote.
8. www.rt.com: 2 southeast Ukrainian regions to hold referendum May 11 as planned.
9. Interfax: Ukraine: Separatist leader outlines prospects for “independent Donetsk republic”
10. Vineyard of the Saker: Putin offers Obama a gamit the latter cannot refuse.
11. Business New Europe: Mixed reaction to Russian offer to reduce tensions in Ukraine.
12. ITAR-TASS: Kiev says ready for dialogue with Ukraine’s federalization supporters.
13. Interfax-Ukraine: Premier sceptical about Putin’s call to postpone “referendum” in east Ukraine.
14. Moscow Times: Ukraine Candidate Poroshenko Backs Putin’s Call to Delay Referendum.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Dialogue on Ukraine must include representatives from East, says Lavrov.
16. Interfax: Russian Defense Ministry: Ukraine amasses 15,000-strong force on Russian border.
17. Reuters: Russian Foreign Ministry suggests NATO chief ‘blind’
18. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Military experts: why Russia should not introduce troops into Ukraine.
19. Reuters: Putin’s Ukraine move shows wariness of overplaying hand.
20. New York Times editorial: Amid Tensions, a Gesture From Putin.
21. Interfax: Ukraine prepared to settle gas debt within 10 days, if Gazprom agrees to return the price to $268 – Ukrainian Prime Minister.
22. RFE/RL: Explainer: Why The Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute Is Making Europe Worried.
23. AP: Sanctions Meant to Hurt Russia Take Bite in Europe.
24. Moscow Times: U.S. CEOs Shun St. Petersburg Forum But Send Their Deputies.
25. Reuters: ‘We’re already not in Ukraine’ – rebel east readies secession vote.
26. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Ukraine’s Goverment Has Plans, But They Probably Aren’t Going To Work
27. Moscow Times: Chris Weafer, Russia Needs to Pivot East and West.
28. New York Times: U.S. Trips to Russia Fall Amid Conflict.
29. Bloomberg: Horror in Odessa as Fire Shatters Jewel of Czarist Russia.
30. ITAR-TASS: 4 thousand ultra-right militants brought to Odessa – Russia’s Civic Chamber official.
31. New York Times: Young Ukrainians Brush Aside the Crisis and Voice Optimism About the Future.
32. Russia Direct: Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, Here’s why most Russia experts don’t ‘get’ Russia. Russia experts should admit that their understanding of Russia is far from perfect if they hope to analyze the motives and thinking of the Kremlin’s ‘movers and shakers.‘
33. Bloomberg: NATO Is Ready for Russia Tactics, Estonia Minister Says.
34. The National Interest: Sean Kay, Understanding-and Misunderstanding-NATO’s Role in the Ukraine Crisis. Was NATO’s open door policy a mistake?
35. www.huffingtonpost.com: Simon Saradzhyan, Photos of Bearded Armed Men in Ukraine Are No Smoking Gun.
36. Salon.com: Patrick Smith, Samantha Power’s brazen hypocrisy: Media swallows propaganda, but here’s the truth about Ukraine. The media swallows U.S. propaganda whole. Here’s the truth about Ukraine — and what it shows about American power.
37. RIA Novosti: OPINION: West Ignorant of Ukraine’s Protest Dynamics
38. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Testimony of David Kramer.
39. ITAR-TASS: Infant mortality in Russia down 10%.
40. Moscow Times: Russian Patriotism Runs High Ahead of Victory Day.
41. Interfax: Putin’s confidence rating at 78.3%, Russians drifting toward conservatism – survey.
42. Kremlin.ru: Meeting of the Presidential Commission for Monitoring Targeted Socioeconomic Development Achievement Indicators in Russia.
43. Reuters: After 10 years as president, Putin’s ratings fly high on Ukraine.
44. Moscow Times: Internet Companies Gain Voice in Government.
45. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Russia’s regions threaten to become an Achilles’ heel.
46. Wall Street Journal: Nicholas Eberstadt, Putin’s Hollowed-Out Homeland. Russia’s human capital is in steep decline. A 15-year-old boy there won’t even live as long as one in Afghanistan.
47. The International New York Times: Pamela Druckerman, The Russians Love Their Children, Too.
48. Moscow Times: Garage Encourages Spontaneity and Engagement with ‘Do It’