RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#100 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Thursday, May 21, 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#100 :: Thursday 21 May 2015
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
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RUSSIA

1. The Nation: James Carden, Neo-McCarthyism and the US Media. The crusade to ban Russia policy critics.
2. Moscow Times: Chris Weafer, Where Are Oil Prices and the Ruble Going Next?
3. AP: IMF Upgrades Russia Growth Outlook.
4. Reuters: No quick end to Russia’s economic pain.
5. Moscow Times: Q&A: ‘The Barriers Are Going Up’ – Derk Sauer on Russian Media.
6. RIA Novosti: Russian upper house passes bill on “undesirable” foreign NGOs.
7. Washington Post: Matthew Light and Gavin Slade, Here is fascinating new research on crime in Russia.
8. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia is seeking dialogue with the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Brussels showed that Moscow is looking for platforms for constructive interaction with Europe. Though a wide range of issues were discussed – from illegal immigration to the fight on terrorism – special attention was paid to finding ways to resolve or control the crisis in Ukraine.
9. www.rt.com: Alexander Yakovenko, Re-engagement between Russia and NATO in everyone’s interest.
10. Russia Direct: Pavel Koshkin, Despite recent US overtures, gap with Russia still exists. Even though the Kremlin sees the visits of high-ranking U.S. officials as a sign of diplomatic victory, Russian and American experts remain skeptical. They point to the significant differences that still exist in how Russia and America view the world.
11. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Russian relations with US warm (a little) as Washington re-engages.
12. www.rt.com: Hillary who? Russians skeptical about Clinton as future US president, poll shows.
13. Russia Direct: Alexander Kravchenko, A cold, hard look at why the US should back down on Russia. RD Student Essay Contest finalist: By softening its rhetoric on Crimea, rolling back sanctions and accepting a compromise for eastern Ukraine, the U.S. can avoid a nightmare scenario of instability in Eurasia.
14. New York Magazine: Obama Is Defaming Putin, Complains Harper’s Cover Story.
15. New York Times: Russia and U.S. Find Common Cause in Arctic Pact.
16. Interfax: NATO transit through Russia still possible – envoy.
17. Russia Direct: The U.S. needs Russia’s help in solving tough Middle East issues. RD interview: Veniamin Popov, former Ambassador to Yemen, Libya and Tunisia, shares his views on the current crisis in Yemen and suggests that the West may need Russia’s help in bringing order and stability to the Middle East.
18. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, The Riga summit of disappointment.
19. BBC: Unrest tilts Georgia towards Russia.
20. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to questions during Government Hour at the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly, Moscow, May 20, 2015.

UKRAINE

21. www.rt.com: World swatting away Ukraine like ‘an annoying fly’ – ex-president Yushchenko.
22. E-International Relations: Paul Robinson, Review – Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands. (Richard Sakwa)
23. Global Times: Dmitri Trenin, Ukraine crisis causes strategic, mental shift in global order.
24. The National Interest: Olena Lennon, Abandoned: The Kiev Government’s Isolation of Eastern Ukrainians. “[W]hen governments strip people of their identity, they create a vacuum that will inevitably be filled with something else, like extremism, religiosity, nationalism, etc.”
25. Russia Insider: Rostislav Ishchenko, Ukraine Inherited Some of the Best Parts of the USSR – and Completely Blew It.
26. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, The International Republican Institute Just Released A Fascinating Poll On Ukraine.
27. Ukraine Today: Lavrov: Donetsk and Luhansk breakaway republics should remain part of Ukraine.
28. Euromaidan Press: Vitaliy Portnikov, “Republics” – Kremlin’s Trojan horse in Ukraine.
29. Interfax: Dozens of priests leave Ukraine, 19 churches of Moscow Patriarchate seized – Russian Orthodox Church representative.
30. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Nazis Triumph Over Communists in Ukraine.
31. Krytyka: Mykhailo Haukhman, The Case of Decommunization.
32. Stars and Stripes: Ukraine’s displaced trade one uncertainty for another.
33. Reuters: Russia says Ukraine debt repayment law amounts to default.
34. www.rt.com: Putin says Ukraine’s statement on default unprofessional.
35. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, As Ukraine Default Looms, Russia Talks Of Legal Action.
36. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Ukraine Doubles Down, Uses Money Owed to Creditors to Fund War. Sensing weakening Western support, Ukraine, under the cover of a debt moratorium, diverts money it owes its creditors to fund more war.
37. The Economist: Ukraine’s economy. War-torn reform. Ukraine’s government is making some progress. But much more needs to be done.
38. Business New Europe: Ukraine tries to prove that is serious about corruption.
39. Sputnik: He is Just Not That Into You: EU Does Not Need Ukraine.
40. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, THE MYTH OF THE LAND BRIDGE.
41. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Nuland in Moscow: Squeaky bum time for Kiev?
42. Washington Post: Mikhail Alexseev and Henry Hale, Russians see Ukraine as an illegitimate state.
43. Washington Post: Ukraine says it wants a missile shield to protect against Russian aggression.
44. RIA Novosti: Moscow plays down Ukrainian security supremo’s remarks about US missiles.

 

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

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