RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#68 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Tuesday AM, April 7, 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#68 :: Tuesday AM 7 April 2015
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1. Interfax: Half of Russians say political, economic position of their country mediocre – poll.
2. TASS: Health minister reports declining number of smokers and less alcohol consumption in Russia.
3. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrei Kolesnikov, The Russian Middle Class in a Besieged Fortress. There is little reason to believe that the Russian middle class will react to the ongoing financial and economic crisis with protests or renewed calls for change. Instead, it seems almost certain that it will opt for strategies of survival and perseverance.
4. Paul Goble: Few in the Russian Intelligentsia Oppose Putin Even if They Don’t Support Him, Kirillova says.
5. Russia Beyond the Headlines: New Cold War conditions imperil global nuclear security. As a result of the chill in relations between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, Russia has already left the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, and the future of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces and START treaties hangs in doubt. How serious a threat do these developments represent to global nuclear security and what further steps are the two sides likely …
6. Russia Insider: Patrick Armstrong, The West Throws a Temper Tantrum Putin trolls: another jejune NATO fantasy!
7. Thick Toast: Jennifer Cohagen, Western Hypocrisy, Social Media Manipulation.
8. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia’s Oil Revenue: Shrinking Fast.
9. Interfax: No artificial liquidity crunch – Nabiullina.
10. Reuters: US Financier Rogers Says Now May Be Time to Invest in Russia.
11. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, The Last Man In Russia Will Probably Live In A City.
12. TASS: Russians show no wish to leave elsewhere for good.
13. www.rt.com: S&P sees Russian economy growing 1.9% in 2016.
14. Diplomatic Courier: THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION IN RUSSIA. (interview with Ilya V. Ponomarev)
15. AP: Supporters commemorate Russian politician’s murder.
16. Institute of Modern Russia: Dmitry Oreshkin: “In the light of Nemtsov’s murder, Putin looks like a weak and dependent politician”
17. Moscow Times: Russian Church Leader Says Stalin Fans Need to ‘Sober Up’ to Realities.
18. Washington Post: Susanne Sternthal, Closing the doors on a museum of political repression in Russia.
19. Vedomosti: Russian commentary bemoans tightening state grip on academia.
20. Russia Direct: Natalia Burlinova, Russian soft power is just like Western soft power, but with a twist. Russia’s concept of “soft power” is similar to the one first articulated by Harvard’s Joseph Nye decades ago, but it is based much more on the use of information to present alternative viewpoints.
21. Russia Direct: Eugene Bai, Sorry, but soft power is not a part of the Russian tradition. Russian soft power has experienced its share of ups and downs. Even showcase instruments of soft power – such as RT – have met with their share of criticism, leading to concerns that “soft power” is simply not in Russia’s political lexicon.
22. Russia In Global Affairs: Vladimir Lukin: I Am a Bit Wary of a “Popular” Foreign Policy. A conviction formed over time that the United States was abusing the friendship offered by Russia. It was the position of the U.S. and its allies on Yugoslavia and NATO expansion that made both the general public in Russia and its elites take a critical view of Washington’s policy. (former Russian ambassador to the US)
23. http://america.aljazeera.com: Richard Lourie, Who’s afraid of big, bad Putin? The Baltic states needn’t fear; Russia’s jolting behavior is merely a diversion from its actions farther east.
24. Moscow Times: Howard Amos, Will Putin Rescue Greece’s Tsipras?
25. www.rt.com: Here is what you need to know about Putin’s meeting with Tsipras.
26. RIA Novosti: Lavrov sees US trying but failing to curb “every nation” in ties with Russia.
27. New York Times editorial: Greece Should Be Wary of Mr. Putin.
28. Moscow Times: Jochen Warmth, Future Can Be Bright for Russia-EU Relations.
29. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Lausanne agreement: Russia and Iran to maintain ties, but EU is real winner.
30. Moscow Times: Alexander Golts, Keep Calm and Keep an Eye on Iran.
31. Stratfor.com: Russia Nervously Eyes the U.S.-Iran Deal.
32. Moscow Times: ‘Master and Margarita’ Show Goes for Drama.
33. Andrei Zolotov: New Orthodox journal The Wheel.
34. Nail Farkhatdinov: The Russian Sociological Review.