RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#247 table of contents with links :: Monday 1 December 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List
JRL 2014-#247 :: Monday 1 December 2014
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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Ukraine

1. Der Spiegel (German): Summit of Failure. How the EU Lost Russia over Ukraine.
2. TASS: One third of Russians polled think Cold War is round the corner.
3. TASS: Gorbachev warns of new cold war, calls to stop building fences around Russia.
4. www.opendemocracy.net: Nikolai Sokov, The ‘return’ of nuclear weapons. The current crisis unfolding in Ukraine has brought the issue of nuclear weapons back into sharp focus.
5. http://jackmatlock.com: Jack Matlock, Cold War II??? Notes for a Presentation.
6. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Ukraine crisis: West’s sanctions target Putin, not policy, Russia insists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the West’s sanctions are aimed at promoting regime change, a view that analysts warn will make compromise over Ukraine even more difficult.
7. Los Angeles Times: Sabra Ayres, In Ukraine’s east, support for the central government in Kiev is dying.
8. Interfax: Truce coordinators travel to Donetsk airport to settle situation – Ukrainian military.
9. The Economist: Ukraine’s government. Tragedy and farce. Tensions between president and prime minister may further derail Ukraine.
10. Kyiv Post: Poroshenko: ‘The worst situation is in our judicial system’ (TRANSCRIPT)
11. Rutgers Today: Turmoil in Ukraine: A Rutgers Professor’s Perspective. Russia is not totally evil and Ukraine not totally virtuous, Jochen Hellbeck says.
12. TASS: Ukraine parliament to debate nationalist army role as WWII combatants.
13. Euromaidan Press: Kremlin organizing “fifth column” in Ukraine’s parliament – Kremlinologist. (Lilia Shevtsova)
14. Interfax: Point of no return in Russia-NATO relations has not been passed – Russian Deputy Foreign Ministry.
15. Interfax: Russia will wait patiently for EU to come out of “sanctions spiral” – Russian Foreign Ministry.
16. Moscow Times: Mark Adomanis, Europe’s Russia Policy Pleases Nobody.
17. Russia Direct: Michael Slobodchikoff, Eastern Europe faces a tough choice on Russian sanctions. The nations of Eastern Europe are increasingly feeling the pressure from both the U.S. and the EU to sanction Russia. As a result, Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria have become new battleground states in the confrontation between Russia and the West.
18. Wall Street Journal: Russian Firms Hire Lobbyists to Fight Senate Sanctions. Energy Company Partly Owned by Friend of Putin Spends at Least $280,000 on Effort.
19. Russian International Affairs Council: Alexander Gushchin and Sergei Markedonov, Russia and Ukraine: A Corridor of Opportunities.

Russia

20. TASS: Putin to voice Address to Federal Assembly on December 4 – Kremlin.
21. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Vox Pop: Does Russia have friends or enemies? (video)
22. Russia Direct: Russian media assess OPEC decision, Hagel resignation, French warships.
23. Moscow Times: Moscow Medical Staff Keep Pressure on Authorities With Massive Street Protest.
24. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, The Latest “Reform” in Healthcare.
25. Moscow Times: Cesar Chelala, Russia Is Losing the Battle Against HIV.
26. TASS: Helping millions of Russians to rise above poverty line quite a challenge.
27. Moscow Times: Russian Government Gives Church $40 Million to Set Up Spiritual Centers.
28. www.opendemocracy.net: Aleksandra Romanycheva, Russia’s new media law. Amendments to Russia’s new media law limiting foreign ownership to 20% show there is no free market in the country.
29. Izvestia: Eduard Limonov, Opposition deferred; writer and politician Eduard Limonov on why political protest in Russia today has no chance of success.
30. Reuters: Russian manufacturing grows in Nov at fastest pace since Oct 2013: PMI.
31. TASS: Cheap oil sends Russian ruble to record lows.
32. TASS: Lower oil prices may persist for long time – Central Bank deputy head.
33. Sputnik: Alexander Mercouris, Debunking Popular Oil Price Myths.
34. Moscow Times: Europe’s Biggest Mall Opens in Moscow Amid Economic Decline.
35. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Amid tensions with West, a new Moscow emerges. Moscow and the West may be far apart politically. But at street level, the Russian capital looks closer to Europe than ever.
36. http://readrussia.com: Matthew Luxmoore, Whither Russia’s Economy?
37. Russia Direct: Edward Chow, OPEC doesn’t yield: Russia’s oil curse continues. When prices rise sharply, they will also decline sharply. A long period of high prices is followed by a long period of low prices. This is the major lesson that Russian market participants and policymakers should relearn.
38. Reuters: In fight for influence, Russia can play good cop too.
39. Reuters: Moldova set to press on with pro-Europe course after election.
40. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Zakhar Prilepin: You have to constantly prove your worth in literature. Famous writer Zakhar Prilepin, who lives in a small village 250 miles from Moscow, has come to the capital to accept yet another literary prize. RBTH talked to the author about his books, his reception in the West, and the conflict in Ukraine.