Tag: Russia

RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#261 table of contents with links :: Saturday 20 December 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#261 :: Saturday 20 December 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  1. New York Times: Putin Cites Claim About U.S. Designs on Siberia […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#260 table of contents with links :: Friday 19 December 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#260 :: Friday 19 December 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  1. Interfax: Russian Labor Ministry reports natural population growth in 2014. […]

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The oil price is all that matters regarding Russia

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Well file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Chris Weafer – December 19, 2014) Chris Weafer is Senior Partner at Macro-Advisory, which offers bespoke Russia-CIS consulting. The key takeaway concerning the economy and the ruble from President Valdimir Putin’s press conference on December 18 is that the Kremlin does not have any strategy or plan to try and pull out of this […]

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How does the 2014 ruble crisis compare with the 1998 vintage?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – December 17, 2014) The ruble’s crash on December 15 from RUB53 to nearly RUB80 vs the dollar has caused many commentators to compare this crisis to Russia’s financial collapse in 1998. Is Russia really going into a full-scale meltdown for the fourth time in two decades? Crashing oil prices […]

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Interfax: Russian Labor Ministry reports natural population growth in 2014

Population Disaster, Demographics
File Photo of Russian Expectant Couple with Mother in Hospital Bed

MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) – A natural population growth in Russia stood at 37,100 in January-October 2014, Labor and Social Protection Minister Maxim Topilin said. “On the whole, natural population growth amounted to 37,100 people in January-October 2014. It grew by 23,200 persons compared with the relevant period of 2013,” the ministry press service quoted Topilin as saying on Friday. […]

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Russia’s Increasing Alienation from West ‘Only Partially’ Result of Putin’s Actions, Bunin and Makarkin Say

Europe, EU, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama Seated Before Russian and U.S. Flags

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 19, 2014) Many in Moscow and the West believe that Vladimir Putin bears complete responsibility for the breakdown in relations between Russia, on the one hand, and Europe and the United States, on the other, and thus they believe that if he changes course or is replaced, a more positive partnership […]

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Is the protest movement dead? Street politics: Reform agenda loses appeal as pressure on the economy grows.

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Moscow Protest file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ilya Krol, Yevgeny Levkovich, special to RBTH – December 16, 2014) Three years ago, Russia witnessed its largest anti-government protests since the early Nineties, with four mass demonstrations in a month, the largest of which drew an estimated 150,000 people to the streets of Moscow. Today, opposition rallies struggle to attract 10,000. President […]

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Russia doomed to recession (excerpt)

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – December 19, 2014) [Full text and charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/story/russia-doomed-recession] 1.0 Economics 1.1 Economics overview The mood amongst Russia watchers is as black as it has always been in the midst of one of Russia’s major crises. The forecasts for 2015 are almost – but not unanimously – bleak. The crash of […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#259 table of contents with links :: Thursday 18 December 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russia, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#259 :: Thursday 18 December 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  1. AP: 80 Percent of Russians Back Putin Even as Ruble […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#258 table of contents with links :: Wednesday 17 December 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#258 :: Wednesday 17 December 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  Ukraine 1. Sputnik: Medvedev: ‘Russia Has Experienced Tragic Events in Ukraine as Our Own Pain’ 2. www.rt.com: ‘Dating that will never end in […]

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RIA Novosti: Putin Says Poroshenko Seeks Peace in Ukraine, But Many Others Want War

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of European Portion of Former Soviet Union

Russian President Putin commented on ecomomic blockade of Donbas, humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s southeast and Poroshenko’s commitment to restoring peace in the country. MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is looking to restore peace in his country, but many senior officials are opposed to this idea, Russian President Vladimir Putin Said Thursday. “Naturally, the president of […]

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NEWSWATCH: In 2015, Vladimir Putin may witness his empire’s death knell

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Terrorism
Vladimir Putin

[“In 2015, Vladimir Putin may witness his empire’s death knell” – Strobe Talbott – Reuters – Dec. 16, 2014] Strobe Talbott predicts that a third Chechen War could break out in 2015, sounding the death knell for Russia’s current geographic configuration. Indeed, Talbott comments that Russia could break apart by the end this century, and that the policies of Russian President […]

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NEWSWATCH: Poroshenko best chance for Ukraine at present — Lavrov

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File photo of Barack Obama and Petro Poroshenko facing one another, with Obama gesturing

[“Poroshenko best chance for Ukraine at present — Lavrov” – ITAR-TASS – Dec. 17, 2014] Russian government-backed news agency TASS reported on comments to French television by Russian Foreign Ministery Sergei Lavrov, indicating that Russia can work with current Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. President Petro Poroshenko is the best chance for Ukraine at present, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in […]

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NEWSLINK: Russia says it wants east Ukraine to stay with Kiev under reformed constitution

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Sergei Lavrov file photo

[“Russia says it wants east Ukraine to stay with Kiev under reformed constitution” – Reuters – Dec. 16, 2014] Reuters reports on Russian calls for Ukrainian constitutional reform to provide greater autonomy for eastern regions impacted by separatists.  They cite comments from an interview with Interfax by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Moscow wants Ukraine to carry out … constitutional reform to […]

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Russian Media Downplay Extent of Ruble Crisis

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos, Ivan Nechepurenko – December 17, 2014) While the ruble pinballed erratically between 58 and 80 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, making headlines around the world, Russia’s state-run media have attempted to take a soft and conciliatory stance on the home currency’s woes. A news bullet by state-owned Channel One aired at 6 p.m. […]

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What awaits Russia’s economy in 2015 after ruble collapse?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Oil Well file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Konstantin Korishchenko, special to RBTH – December 17, 2014) Konstantin Korishchenko is head of the stock market and financial engineering department at the Finance and Banking Faculty of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, and a former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank. As the Russian ruble plunges […]

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Medvedev says ruble ‘undervalued’ as slide slows

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev with United Russia Logos Behind Him

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – December 17, 2014) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the ruble undervalued at a meeting on December 17 with the top officials of the government, the central bank and heads of Russia’s largest exporters. He said that regulation of the currency market would remain based on market principles, but the presence […]

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Picking through the ruble

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Russian Central Bank file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – December 16, 2014) The Russian ruble crashed again on December 15, in the biggest fall since the last big crisis in 1998. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) belatedly stepped in with a huge interest rate hike overnight, but it has been roundly criticised for being “behind […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: A war of words in U.S.-Russia relations

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama Seated Before Russian and U.S. Flags

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Pavel Koshkin – December 17, 2014) The press has hyped poll numbers showing an increase in anti-Americanism in Russia, but experts argue that the numbers need context. A popular T-shirt sold in central Moscow features a man in a martial arts costume resembling Russian president and known judo enthusiast Vladimir Putin knocking down […]

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STRATFOR: Viewing Russia From the Inside

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Stratfor.com – George Friedman – December 16, 2014) Last week I flew into Moscow, arriving at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 8. It gets dark in Moscow around that time, and the sun doesn’t rise until about 10 a.m. at this time of the year – the so-called Black Days versus White Nights. For anyone used to life closer to the […]

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Fears of Capital Controls Grow as Russia’s Economy Goes Haywire

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – December 17, 2014) The possible implementation of capital controls in Russia came a step closer Tuesday as the authorities appeared to be running out of options to stem the country’s dramatic currency collapse. The ruble defied an emergency interest rate rise of 6.5 percentage points announced overnight, falling 20 percent to above […]

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All love for Russia lost in Ukraine

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – December 16, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin may have won the battles in East Ukraine but he has definitely lost the war for hearts and minds in Ukraine, which suggests that he will also fail to achieve his long-term goals to keep Ukraine out of EU and maybe even […]

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Moscow Times: Ukraine Ranked 3rd Deadliest Country for Journalists

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 17, 2014) War-torn Ukraine was one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists this year, international press rights group Reporters Without Borders said in a report released Tuesday. Ukraine ranked third among the world’s deadliest locales for media professionals, with six such casualties this year, trailing behind Syria with 15 casualties […]

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Business New Europe: What price European values when economic collapse is imminent?

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – KYIV BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – December 15, 2014) Ukraine needs about $15bn now or it will collapse, possibly in the next few weeks. Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseniy Yatseniuk, called on Western donors to come up with a $15bn rescue package to stave off collapse on December 11 and was met by a […]

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The Kremlin’s Top 75 Lies About The Ukraine Crisis [with video]

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Kremlin and Environs Aerial View

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – December 12, 2014) The folks at StopFake.org are committed to uncovering untrue or misleading information being disseminated by Russian media about the crisis in Ukraine. And now StopFake has published a video (below) that runs down the Top 75 lies and untruths of 2014. “Obviously, when you see these, you’ll see there’s a purpose behind all of […]

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Russian NGOs need to rethink their strategy

Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(opendemocracy.net – Andrei Jvirblis – December 10, 2014) Russia’s voluntary sector, faced with growing government interference, needs to be more open about its aims and operations if it wants more public support. Opinion polls show a long-term decline in public trust in the Russian voluntary sector, which has become less open about its operations, in fear of media attacks. This […]

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Yavlinsky calls for returning Kudrin to government

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Interfax – December 13, 2014) Grigory Yavlinsky, a founder of the Yabloko party, calls for replacing the Russian government and appointing former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin a new prime minister or first deputy prime minister with a special mandate. “We believe the government needs to be changed – whether it’s going to be the entire government or its economic block […]

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Is Moscow Setting the Stage for Using Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine?

Nuclear, Missile Defense, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Iskander Missile with Launch file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 14, 2014) One of the most accurate leading indicators of what Moscow is planning to do in Ukraine are the charges it makes that the West is about to do the same thing there. That pattern, well-established over the last year, makes the latest such suggestion – that the US supposedly […]

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Russia Celebrates Constitution, But Few Russians Know What It Says

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Russian Constitutional Court file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 12, 2014) Russia celebrates Constitution Day on Friday, a poll shows a vast majority of citizens have no knowledge of what their country’s Constitution actually says, but four in ten still believe it protects their rights, a recent poll indicated. A total of 41 percent of respondents said they had never read the Constitution, […]

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Russia’s Cities Becoming Less Moscow- and Russia-Centric, New Studies Find

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 13, 2014) Two studies about how residents of Russia’s cities feel about where they live and identify themselves suggest that the residents of Russian cities away from the core of the country are ever less focused on Moscow as the center of their lives and identify instead either with their own […]

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Business New Europe: “Better late than never?”

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – December 12, 2014) There is an obvious solution to help deal with Russia’s economic slowdown that is being exacerbated by the tumbling oil prices: do those reforms that should have been done ten years ago. It’s kind of obvious. But also just as obvious is that a […]

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Business New Europe: Flippant claim that ‘Russia is Spain’ is wide of the mark

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Business New Europe – Henry Kirby in London – December 11, 2014) After months of downward pressure, the ruble went into near free-fall during the first week of December. From 36 to the dollar in early August, the Russian currency fell rapidly from 47 to 53 to the greenback in just a few days, amid rumours (later discredited) that the […]

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Business New Europe: Russia is running out of money – not…

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – December 11, 2014) There has been a spate of articles recently suggesting that Russia is on the edge of a complete economic meltdown. There was an article in the UK’s The Daily Telegraph suggesting that its economy has lost a third of its value in dollar terms […]

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Ukraine’s battle against corruption faces politicization and tiny salaries

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – December 11, 2014) Ukraine has declared war on corruption, but the politicisation of the anti-corruption campaign and tiny salaries could lead to collateral damage. On paper at least, anti-corruption in Ukraine is not afraid of big-ticket arrests: on December 10, Serhiy Kostyuk, head of Ukraine’s biggest gas producer, state-owned […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#256 table of contents with links :: Thursday 11 December 2014

Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#256 :: Thursday 11 December 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  Ukraine 1. Financial Times: IMF warns Ukraine bailout at risk of […]

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Growing pessimism over Russia-U.S. relations creates fears of Cold War 2.0

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama Seated Before Russian and U.S. Flags

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Ilyashenko, special to RBTH – December 11, 2014) Twenty-five years ago, at a meeting in Malta, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his American counterpart George Bush, Sr. proclaimed the end of the Cold War. Now, a quarter century later, Russian politicians and experts are raising the alarm that the world might soon […]

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Teaching orthodoxy in Russian schools

Education, Academia, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

(opendemocracy.net – Natalya Yakovleva – December 4, 2014) Natalya Yakovleva is a journalist in Novosibirsk. She writes for the Literary Gazette and the Teachers’ Gazette. Orthodox ideology is being rushed into the Russian school curriculum – in the interests of nationalism. It all happened very fast. In the middle of 2009 Dmitry Medvedev, the then president of Russia, said ‘Let […]

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Moscow Times: Life After Putin: Teaching Future Russia

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Education, Academia, Science, Technology, Engineering
Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – December 11, 2014) The professional future is bright in Russia, where space geologists and airship constructors will be among the most in-demand professionals by the 2020s, according to an atlas of Russia’s future job market recently published by Skolkovo’s Moscow School of Management. But whether Russia will be churning out droves of […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Medvedev urges Russia to address dependence on world oil prices

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Worker file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – December 11, 2014) In an address broadcast on Russia’s main TV channels, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said the country needs to wean itself off its dependence on oil prices. In order to accomplish this, Russia needs to develop innovative projects and use the sanctions imposed against it to […]

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Moscow Times: Medvedev: In 2014, Crimean Annexation, Sochi Olympics Outshone Grim Economic Situation

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sports, Olympics, World Cup, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – December 11, 2014) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev struck an optimistic note throughout a 1 1/2-hour news conference Wednesday, drawing attention to what he viewed as Russia’s crowning achievements of this year: the Sochi Olympic victory and the annexation of Crimea. Medvedev spoke about a wide array of issues, from the economy to […]

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Interfax: Majority of Russians deem incorporation of Crimea shortly after referendum right

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Interfax – December 10, 2014) Over half of Russians (52 percent) are confident that the Crimean independence referendum was an exclusive initiative of the Crimean administration, Levada Center told Interfax. A third (34 percent) suspect that “Russian authorities might have been behind the referendum.” Fourteen percent of 1,600 respondents polled in 130 populated localities on November 21-24 are undecided. However, […]

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RIA Novosti: Moscow open to dialogue with USA, but won’t give up interests – Russia’s Lavrov

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Sergei Lavrov file photo

(RIA Novosti – December 9, 2014) Russia is open to dialogue with Washington, but it will not give up its interests under any circumstances, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview with RIA Novosti (part of the state-owned International News Agency Rossiya Segodnya). “For our part, we are always open to a constructive and honest dialogue with […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#255 table of contents with links :: Wednesday 10 December 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#255 :: Wednesday 10 December 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  1. AFP: Truce holds in Ukraine but next steps uncertain. 2. […]

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Russian Ruble’s 800-Year History Haunts Current Plunge

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, History, Soviet Union
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – December 11, 2014) Sergei Sorokoumov has devoted the last quarter of a century to an attempt to raise Russian’s pride in the ruble, the country’s national currency since the 13th century. Recently Sorokoumov’s efforts seem to have become a thankless task. The Russian currency has lost over 40 percent against the U.S. […]

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Ruble Collapses, Russians Yawn

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – thebloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – December 9, 2014) With the ruble down 40 percent against the dollar so far this year, and down more than 14 percent in the last 30 days, one might have expected widespread economic panic among Russians. But there’s been nothing of the kind. It’s been business as usual in Moscow: no bank runs, […]

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Justice Ministry Adds Moscow School to List of ‘Foreign Agents’

Education, Academia, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 11, 2014) Russia’s Justice Ministry has added a Moscow school to the federal register of “foreign agents,” a move that the school’s founders decried as “baseless,” and vowed to fight in court. The Moscow School of Civic Education has become the 18th nongovernmental organization to wind up on the controversial list, which sees nonprofit […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#254 table of contents with links :: Tuesday 9 December 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#254 :: Tuesday 9 December 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  Ukraine 1. Russia Insider: Patrick Armstrong, Report Claims Rebels Get Few Weapons […]

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Interfax: Updated Russian military doctrine has no preemptive nuclear strike provision – source

Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense
Russia ICBM on Mobile Launcher

(Interfax – December 10, 2014) A new edition of the Russian military doctrine does not contain a preemptive nuclear strike provision but it clearly defines circumstances under which strategic nuclear forces can be used, a source involved in the drafting of the document told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday. “The updated version of the military doctrine will not have a provision regarding […]

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Reporting on Russian Television

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(openedemocracy.net – December 8, 2014 – Elisabeth Schimpfossl) Dr Elisabeth Schimpfossl is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies, University College London. Her research focuses on elites, transformation and media in post-Soviet Russia. The idea of censorship on Russian television misses the point. When it comes to reporting, loyalty takes precedence. Since the […]

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