RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#105 contents with links :: Friday 9 May 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#105 :: 9 May 2014
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1. VIDEO: Happy Moscow.
2. VIDEO: Happy Kyiv.
3. VIDEO: Unhappy Odessa.
4. More unhappy Odessa.
5. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Investigation into Odessa tragedy continues as new details emerge. The shocking events of May 2 in the Ukrainian port, in which at least 46 people were killed, continue to be the most discussed topic not only in the Ukrainian, but also the Russian mass media. The background to the incident is now becoming clearer as video footage and eyewitness accounts surface, but many questions remain unanswered.
6. The Economist: Odessa’s fire examined. Ukraine’s murky inferno.
7. The Economist editorial: Russia and Ukraine. Putin’s Ukrainian U-turn. How to treat signs that Russia at last wants to lower tensions.
8. The Economist: Russia and Ukraine. Putin’s gambit. The Russian president’s unexpected concessions on Ukraine reflect the fact that he has already got most of what he wanted there.
9. The Economist: Battered Ukraine. Fighting on-or off? Violence in eastern Ukraine may have taken on a life of its own.
10. The Economist: Germany and Russia. How very understanding. Germany’s ambivalence towards Russia reflects its conflicted identity.
11. Counterpunch.org: Diane Johnstone, To Understand or Not to Understand Putin. That’s the Question
12. Interfax: Russia ready for compromises with Ukraine but expects West to push Kyiv for dialogue with southeast – Moscow.
13. Interfax: Ukraine election to be legitimate, if “punitive operation” stops – Kremlin.
14. RIA Novosti: Kiev’s actions may lead to Ukraine’s “disintegration” – Russian speaker.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Expert magazine: Gevorg Mirzayan, Putin puts Kiev behind the eight ball. Many observers were left wrong-footed by the comments made by the Russian president on May 7, in which he asked the southeast of Ukraine not to hold a referendum, expressed his support for presidential elections in the country on May 25, and announced the withdrawal of Russian troops from the border. What lies behind Putin’s unexpected move?
16. The Guardian letter: Charles Grant, Jonathan Haslam, et al, Peace in Ukraine.
17. Reuters: Putin keeps Russians, West guessing with Ukraine shift.
18. Euromaidan PR: Yatsenyuk alarmed by Putin’s remarks.
19. www.moonofalabama.org: Ukraine: It’s Now For The Long Run.
20. Washington Post: David Ignatius, Putin is winging it on Ukraine.
21. Financial Times: Eugene Rumer, It would be better to split Ukraine than to tear it apart. Dividing the country is no one’s first choice, but it is better than a descent into messy civil war.
22. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Ukraine’s political divisions play out among its Orthodox congregations. The main Orthodox church is divided into two major factions, one loyal to Kiev, the other to Moscow, complicating efforts to push national unity.
23. The National Interest: Nicolai Petro, Six Mistakes the West Has Made (and Continues to Make) in Ukraine. “Recognizing the indigenous nature of Ukraine’s problems therefore leads directly to a radically different strategy toward Russia-one of cooperation rather than confrontation.”
24. www.rt.com: Tanks, armed assault in Mariupol city center, casualties reported (VIDEO)
25. Reuters: Ukraine’s security forces struggle to meet rebellion in east.
26. The Independent: Ukraine crisis: Calm before the storm in Donetsk as a divided nation gears up for one final battle. With a proposed referendum still up in the air, the only certainty is more violence.
27. The Guardian: Ukraine: siege mentality pushes south-eastern region to precipice of civil war. In the town of Konstaninovka, an uneasy atmosphere of threats and violence is building ahead of a vote on independence.
28. New York Times: In Odessa, Home-Grown Combatants Keep Pro-Russia Forces in Check.
29. The Voice of Russia: Debating Russia: Ukraine on the path to civil war?
30. Reuters: Russia to switch Kiev to gas prepayment from June.
31. RIA Novosti: Kiev Refuses to Acknowledge $3.5Bln Gas Debt to Russia.
32. ITAR-TASS: Suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine cannot be ruled out – envoy.
33. www.opendemocracy.net: Margarita Balmaceda and Peter Rutland, Ukraine’s gas politics. It is commonly assumed that the main economic challenge facing Ukraine is its dependence on energy supplies, especially natural gas, imported from Russia. But that is only half the story.
34. ITAR-TASS: Ukraine builds dam on North Crimean Canal to block water supply to peninsula.
35. 5 Kanal TV (Kyiv): Ukrainian premier condemns “Russian regime” in Victory Day message.
36. Interfax: Turchynov, Yatsenyuk initiate national discussion to forge consensus on key issues in the Ukraine.
37. Euromaidan PR: Pro-Russian extremists severely tortured captured Donetsk miners.
38. Dances with Bears: John Helmer, UKRAINIAN ELECTION – HOW TO LEAD A HORSE TO WATER, AND THEN WHAT.
39. Counterpunch.org: Renee Parsons, The War Press. US Media Follows White House Lead on Ukraine.
40. Kyiv Post: Dmitry Tymchuk’s military blog: Ukraine will defeat Putin’s Nazism.
41. Reuters: Russia sanctions could hammer German growth – report.
42. Wall Street Journal: In Next Russia Sanctions, West Plans to Use Scalpel, Not Hammer.
43. Financial Times editorial: Time to turn the tables on Putin. Still no sign Russia wants diplomatic outcome in Ukraine.
44. Valdai Discussion Club/Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Alexander Bessmertnykh, The US and Ukraine: Deconstructing Political Rhetoric.
45. Russia Direct: Russia’s soft power shouldn’t add up to propaganda. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of Russia’s public diplomacy agency, talks about the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on Russia’s ability to project “soft power” abroad as well as Moscow’s efforts to change the world’s perceptions of Russia.
46. Kremlin.ru: Victory Day parade on Red Square.
47. Russia Direct: Ivan Tsvetkov, Victory Day after Ukraine: A new challenge for US-Russia relations. Victory Day, which is being celebrated today in Russia against the backdrop of the events in Ukraine, is filled with new meaning for Russians. To comprehend why, just imagine that suddenly the 4th of July for Americans ceased to be a cheerful holiday with picnics and fireworks.
48. www.abc.net.au: World Cup 2014 team profile: Russia.
49. Moscow Times: Approved Gay Event in Russia’s Far East Set to Test Tolerance.
50. Russia Direct: Vladimir Korovkin, Why Russia’s government cares about Yandex so much. When Russian search engine Yandex nominated the head of Russia’s state-owned Sberbank as a new board member, many immediately saw it as a political move to crackdown on the Internet. But it wasn’t.
51. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Foreign affair: Which brands have captured the hearts of Russians? For the majority of Russian citizens, international brands are a must: As far as cars are concerned they prefer the Korean Hyundai or KIA, but when it comes to phones they opt for Samsung. Muscovites, unlike the rest of Russia, prefer Apple and Volkswagen products.