RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#75 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#75 :: Wednesday 15 April 2015
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Russia

1. Moscow Times: ‘Optimization’ of Health Reform Causing Russian Mortality Rate to Rise.
2. Kremlin.ru: Working meeting with Healthcare Minister Veronika Skvortsova. The Healthcare Minister briefed the President on the Ministry’s performance in 2014 and its current activities.
3. TASS: Russian Finance Minister calls for “unpopular” spending cuts, pension age rise.
4. Interfax: Moody’s: Russian inflation to peak at 17%-18% in Q2 2015, drop below 10% by mid-2016.
5. Interfax: Over 1.5 million questions asked in upcoming Putin’s Q&A session.
6. Sputnik: Top Russian Officials Report 2014 Personal Income.
7. TASS: Putin has no problem with high earnings of his subordinates – press secretary.
8. Reuters: Russia must review participation in international funds, finance minister says.
9. Russia Direct: Being a member of the WTO may not be that easy for Russia. Even though it is still too early to talk about the results of Russia’s accession to the WTO, it is quite clear that in order to enjoy the potential benefits over the long term, Russia should address a range of important domestic factors today.
10. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Drugs emerge in the Nemtsov murder case.
11. TASS: Russia hints its gas export strategy may get harsher.
12. Russia Insider: Vlad Sobell, Why Do We Stand by and Watch the Destruction of European Unity? If we do not start asking questions about the stories that are being spun, we risk not only the destruction of European unity but a potentially cataclysmic war with Russia.
13. Moscow Times: Despite Confrontation, Russia Still Looks to West for Approval.
14. Vedomosti: Russian Duma approves more funding for RT channels, TASS news agency.
15. Sputnik: How a Twitter Propaganda Army Can Be Yours for Less Than $20.
16. The Nation: Stephen F. Cohen, Why We Must Return to the US-Russian Parity Principle.
17. The National Interest: Nikolas Gvosdev, How Russia Plans to Save Its Massive Military Buildup. “For those who expected that sanctions and the fall in energy prices would tame the bear’s claws, think again.”
18. The National Interest: Dmitri Trenin, Russia’s Missile Moves Explained: The S-300 Challenge. Breaking down Moscow’s decision and what it will mean for the Middle East and relations with Washington.
19. Moscow Times: Why Russia Ended its Ban on Selling Advanced Air Defense Systems to Iran.
20. Moscow Times: How Much Power Will Russia’s S-300 Missile Defense Systems Give Iran?
21. Russia Direct: Artem Kureev, What Scandinavia’s stance against the Russian threat means for the Kremlin. The decision by five Scandinavian defense ministers to release a public joint declaration on strengthening defense capabilities may irritate the Kremlin further and exacerbate tensions in the region.
22. Sputnik: NATO’s Russia Myths: Busted.
23. The International New York Times: Ilya V. Ponomarev, In Exile, but Ready to Save Russia.
24. Ukraine Today: Khodorkovsky: Putin started war in Ukraine to avoid political downfall in Russia.
24a. Russia Insider: Russian Hackers: Putin Foe Khodorkovsky To Spend $5Mil on New Media Product.
25. Stanford.edu: At Stanford, dissident describes Russia at crossroads. (Mikhail Khodorkovsky)
26. www.project-syndicate.org: Joseph Nye, The Challenge of Russia’s Decline.
27. Vedomosti: Nigel Gould-Davies. The Forgotten Reformer. (Sergei Witte)

Ukraine

28. TASS: Ukraine’s current potential for social protests is highest in past decade – expert.
29. New York Times: In Rebel Territory of Ukraine, Relief for Illness and Pain Is Blocked.
30. Moscow Times: Georgy Bovt, Ukraine Is Attempting to Wipe Away Its Past.
31. Jerusalem Post: Ukrainian parliament recognizes militia that collaborated with Nazis. The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned Ukraine’s recognition of the group as well as a second bill that equated communist and Nazi crimes.
32. The Nation: Alec Luhn, Will Ukraine’s New Anti-Communist Law Usher in a Free-Speech Dark Age? The law, still to be signed by the president, is more about silencing the left than anything else.
33. Interfax: SBU head insists Surkov was in Kyiv on Feb 20-21, 2014.
34. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Ukraine hits ‘dead end’ as lasting peace deal eludes leaders. The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine on Monday called for incremental steps to de-escalate the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But the two sides have yet to agree on a long-term political settlement.
35. TASS: Donetsk republic envoy suggests Ukrainian foreign minister should read Minsk accords.
36. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Donbass and Russia Talk Peace, Kiev Attacks, Germany Does Nothing. Germany again appeases Kiev as ceasefire is again violated, preparing the ground for the failure of Minsk 2.0.
37. Jamestown Foundation Eurasia Daily Monitor: Roger McDermott, Rebel Forces Prepare Spring Offensive in Ukraine.
38. Carnegie Moscow Center: Isaac Webb, All for All? The Breakdown of POW Exchanges in the Donbas.
39. Business New Europe: Eastern Ukraine returns to the ruble.
40. The Vineyard of the Saker/Odnako: The Ukrainian oligarchs have lived a year without a state, but what future awaits them?
41. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Russian experts criticise Yarosh appointment to Ukrainian General Staff.
42. www.rt.com: Russia to turn to courts if Ukraine fails to pay $3bn debt in time – Siluanov.
43. www.euractiv.com: Ukraine faces ‘unprecedented’ energy crisis.
44. www.rt.com: Alexander Yakovenko, Ukraine: Which way to Europe and for Europe?
45. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, ‘DETERRING RUSSIAN AGGRESSION’
46. Russia Insider: Fascinating Interview with Vlad Wojciechowski – an Active Participant in the Odessa Anti-Maidan Movement. He tells a harrowing tale of his journey from the Trade Unions House on the day of the massacre, to his flight to Crimea, his return and arrest in Odessa, and then finally to the Donbas via a prisoner exchange.
47. Lawyer in Moscow: The Report Of The Very Good Judge Valeriy Zorkin Made On 24 March 2015.

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

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