RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#85 contents with links :: Tuesday 15 April 2014

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter]

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#85 :: 15 April 2014
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org
JRL homepage: russialist.org
JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist 
JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi
Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php

To subscribe to the JRL email version, email David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net

1. Reuters: Russia says Ukraine close to civil war as Kiev begins offensive.
2. www.rt.com: Kiev launches military operation in eastern Ukraine.
3. RIA Novosti: Army Attacks Protesters in Eastern Ukraine, First Wounded Reported.
4. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Ukraine’s Economy Is Nearing Collapse.
5. The Independent (UK): Mary Dejevsky, Ukraine crisis: Both sides in the conflict lay claim to the truth. It is all too easy to envisage civil war being triggered by mistake.
6. ITAR-TASS: Russian experts retain hopes for Geneva meeting over Ukrainian crisis.
7. http://euromaidanpr.com: Dnipropetrovsk promises Putin a “second Stalingrad”
8. http://euromaidanpr.com: Thomas C. Theiner, Retreat is defeat.
9. Interfax: There are no Russian troops in Luhansk – self-defense coordinator.
10. Kyiv Post: Brian Bonner, Ukraine on verge of losing 20 percent of its nation.
11. Moscow Times: Criminal Case for Separatism Opened Against Ukrainian Presidential Candidate Severely Beaten in Kiev.
12. The Guardian (UK): Volodymyr Ishchenko, Maidan or anti-Maidan? The Ukraine situation requires more nuance. We should support the progressive wings of both factions, not tie ourselves up with hypocritical justifications of one or the other.
13. Interfax: Medvedev: Kyiv authorities fall into their own trap.
14. Interfax: Yatsenyuk’s idea of dialogue with southeastern Ukraine is right, albeit belated – Russian foreign minister.
15. Interfax: Initial democratic impulse of Ukrainians devalued by bet on radicals – Naryshkin.
16. www.rt.com: Putin to Obama: Use your influence to prevent bloodshed in Ukraine.
17. www.rt.com: US facing intelligence ‘black hole’ over Ukraine events.
18. London Evening Standard: ‘We don’t need the Russians…we can fight Kiev on our own’
19. Los Angeles Times: Pro-Russia police help foil Ukraine crackdown in east.
20. RIA Novosti: Defence source dismisses alleged evidence of Russian agents role in east Ukraine.
21. New York Times: In Ukraine’s East, Russians Are Blending Right In.
22. Carnegie Moscow Center: Eugene Rumer, The Mystery of Russian Strategy for Ukraine.
23. Russia Direct: Russia watchers try to predict the next Crimea. Russia Direct presents the latest in its series of think tank round-ups from the leading U.S think tanks on Russia and Eurasia. With many experts regarding Crimea as a fait accompli, the focus now shifts to predicting Russia’s next moves.
24. BBC: Jonathan Marcus, Ukraine crisis: What now?
25. Irish Times: Daniel McLaughlin, Ukrainian army rendered lame by Yanukovich’s neglect.
26. Voice of America: Q&A with US Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt: Ukraine Crisis Escalates as War Fears Grow.
27. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, MOSCOW BLOG: Nato refutes Russian claim was promised no expansion.
28. Moscow Times: Alexander Golts, Why NATO Should Erect a Monument to Putin.
29. The Daily Telegraph (UK): Charles Crawford, Ukraine is a testing ground for Putin’s plan to bring back a Russian empire.
30. Moscow Times: Most Russians Support McDonald’s Closures, Poll Says.
31. Bloomberg: Fragile Europe Weakens U.S. Push for Russia Sanctions.
32. Robert Bruce Ware: A Way Forward in Ukraine.
33. www.rt.com: US considers offering military help to Ukraine – Kerry advisor.
34. Washington Post editorial: It’s probably too late to prevent war in Ukraine.
35. Los Angeles Times editorial: Standing up to Russia. If Moscow continues to threaten Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe should impose tougher sanctions.
36. Wall Street Journal editorial: Putin Acts, Obama Assesses. Is the American President still interested in his job?
37. Wall Street Journal: Gerald Seib, Putin’s Pain Threshold Presents Sanctions Dilemma.
38. www.rt.com: Robert Bridge, Ukraine’s great unraveling, brought to you by corporate America.
39. The American Interest: Lilia Shevtsova, Russian Mythbusting. The Putin Doctrine: Myth, Provocation, Blackmail, or the Real Deal? When it comes to explaining Russia’s Ukrainian adventurism, the West has attempted to hide behind a wall of myths and hope its problems will just go away.
40. Moscow Times: Book Review: What Can We Learn From the Crimean War?
RUSSIA
41. RIA Novosti: PREVIEW: ‘Direct Line with Vladimir Putin’ to Cover Crimea, Sanctions and NATO Buildup.
42. Moscow Times: Russia’s First Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill Under Consideration by Duma.
43. RIA Novosti: Medvedev Says Russian Financial System Reliable.
44. Interfax: U.S. sanctions may spur economy reforms in Russia – business ombudsman.
45. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russian regions dangerous for immigrants to live, according to study.
46. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russian schoolchildren no longer fit into their uniforms. According to statistics, children in Russia have grown bigger over the past 10 years, largely due to changes in lifestyle and the quality of food. Experts have expressed concern over the trend and claim it is a symptom of a growing health problem among the country’s young.
47. Wall Street Journal: Matthew Kaminski, Putin Tightens His Clampdown at Home. ‘In suffocating Ukraine,’ says an analyst in Moscow, ‘Putin’s really suffocating Russia.’
48. www.rt.com: Politicians face personal fines for ignoring reporter’s enquiries.
49. Moscow Times: Nabi Abdullaev to Replace Andrew McChesney as MT Editor.
50. Moscow Times: What the Papers Say, April 15, 2014.