(The Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – June 26, 2014) As the world marks the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Thursday, millions of drug addicts in Russia have nowhere to go for treatment, and specialists are in despair over the lack of progress in the country’s rehabilitation system. The Federal Drug Control […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Alan Katz, Jesse Drucker, Irina Reznik – June 25, 2014) To see why U.S. economic sanctions against Russia are likely to have limited impact, follow the spending of a small Delaware-incorporated, Nasdaq-traded television company named CTC Media Inc. (CTCM) While CTC Media has a market capitalization of just $1.7 billion, it’s a good example of the […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kateryna Choursina, Patrick Donahue – June 26, 2014) Ukraine isn’t “too optimistic” it will soon clinch a peace deal with separatist rebels in the east, a minister said, as the U.S. and the European Union raised pressure on Russia to ease violence that’s left hundreds dead. With Ukraine’s government saying the pro-Russian militants have repeatedly flouted […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov – June 26, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity continued to rise near its 2008 peak this month amid the unrest in neighboring Ukraine, Moscow-based polling company Levada Center said in a statement. The Russian leader’s approval rating is 86 percent, up from 65 percent in January and compared with the highest-ever 88 percent […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – June 26, 2014) Russian ruble has made rapid gains in value against the dollar and euro following statements made by Vladimir Putin. The Russian president declared his support for a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis after a meeting in Vienna with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, and has also […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – June 26, 2014) Two main business lobbies in the U.S. plan to publicly challenge White House foreign policy regarding Russia by taking out advertisements in the nation’s top three newspapers to warn that imposing additional sanctions against Moscow will only harm U.S interests. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Sergii Leshchenko – June 25, 2014) Sergii Leshchenko is an investigative and political journalist. He is deputy-editor-in-chief of Ukrainska pravda, Ukraine’s leading independent online media. He was a 2012 Fellow of the John Smith Memorial Trust and a Reagan-Fascell Fellow from 2013-2014. All views expressed are made in a personal capacity. President Petro Poroshenko is not an ideal […]
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MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine and Moldova’s struggling economies could face multi-billion-dollar losses after signing association agreements with the European Union, Russian experts warn. “Countries that sign this association [deal] agree to fall in line with all EU directives, standards and technical regulations – and this is at their own expense. Even if the EU gives them certain […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – June 16, 2014) Eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatist rebels are deploying a small number of tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs), in a move that could escalate the conflict. But this might just be the start: at the heart of rebel-controlled territory lies one of Europe’s largest “tank graveyards” – […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Lyubinskaya, special to RBTH – June 25, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media, featuring analysis of the failure of the truce agreed in eastern Ukraine, the prospects for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s peace project, and Putin’s surprising request to Russia’s Federation Council to retract the permission it […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 26, 2014) Russian military morale is at a post-Soviet high, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. “The results of sociological studies show that in 2014, the level of troop morale has reached its highest point in the past 17 years,” Shoigu was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. The military’s burgeoning popularity is not […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Frolov, special to RBTH – June 24, 2014) Andrei Frolov is editor in chief of the magazine Eksport Vooruzheny (Arms Exports). Russian expert discusses the importance of nuclear energy in Russia Russia inherited its nuclear energy sector from the Soviet Union and can take pride in the fact that the world’s first […]
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MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) – The Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov believes that today there is a need to focus on the chance of prolonging the declared ceasefire in Ukraine instead of discussing Russia’s possible steps, should the bloodshed continue in Ukraine’s southeastern regions. “Now it is a bad time to discuss this [what Russia could do next if […]
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MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) – While accusing Russia of violating international law, the United States attempts to create some parallel law for itself and its allies accessible only to chosen ones, Russian State Duma international affairs committee head Alexei Pushkov said. “It appears to me that the attempt to accuse us of violating international law pursues two goals – to […]
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… 9. Financial Times: Russian stocks stage remarkable turnround.
10. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Russian stocks hit 5-month high as Putin rescinds right to use military force in Ukraine.
11. BBC: Steven Rosenberg, The Ukrainian refugees escaping to Russia.
12. Sean’s Russia Blog: Sean Guillory, Ukraine’s Refugees. …
[“No more little green men? Putin takes military option in Ukraine off table” – Christian Science Monitor – Fred Weir- June 24, 2014] The Christian Science Monitor covers Russia’s legislative move to formerly rescind an authorization for additional military intervention in Ukraine. Almost four months after Russia’s upper house of parliament granted Vladimir Putin blanket permission to use military force in Ukraine, […]
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[“Russian lawmakers revoke right to send troops into Ukraine” – Reuters – June 25, 2014] Reuters covers a vote by Russia’s Parliament to formerly rescind a past authorization of military intervention in Ukraine. The legislators acted in response to a directive from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The authorization of force could be reinstated in short order if need be. The Russian parliament […]
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[“Ukraine’s Ancient Hatreds” – The National Interest – Nikolas K. Gvosdev – June 25, 2014] The National Interest examines the Western response to the crisis in Ukraine, as well as various historical contexts for Russia, Ukraine and the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced a “triune people/one people” concept disputed by outsiders, even as it impacts Kremlin policy. In his public remarks, Putin […]
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[“How Obama Is Driving Russia and China Together” – The National Interest – Dimitri K. Simes – June 24, 2014] The National Interest examines President Barack Obama’s handling of the Ukraine crisis in the light of historical experience: President Barack Obama likes to say that America and the world have progressed beyond the unpleasantness of the nineteenth century and, for that matter, much of […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – RBS, Tim Ash, head of research – June 25, 2014) We assess positively the news that separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine have joined the ceasefire announced by Ukrainian President Poroshenko last week. We also observe growing signs that Russia is not interested in further escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, and is taking action […]
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MOSCOW, June 25 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev bears full responsibility for the crisis in southeastern Ukraine, and blaming Moscow for it is “knocking on the wrong door,” the speaker of the upper chamber of Russian parliament said Wednesday. Valentina Matvienko told reporters she was aware of recent media reports about the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails […]
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KIEV, June 25 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev is prepared to hold consultations with Moscow on Ukraine’s European integration bid, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday. Russia has expressed concern over Kiev’s intention to sign the economic part of a European Union association agreement, because it would bring about an uncontrollable flow of goods and Russia would need to protect […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 25, 2014) Russian stocks hit a five-month high on June 24 after President Vladimir Putin asked Russia’s upper house of parliament to repeal a law that granted him the right to use military force in Ukraine, as investors speculate the standoff with the West over Ukraine’s fate might […]
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… 3. Reuters: In parts of east Ukraine, a daily struggle to survive.
4. Interfax: Miners call for cessation of military conflict in Donbas.
5. Reuters: Fighting strains Ukraine ceasefire, Putin urges dialogue.
6. Wall Street Journal: Putin Calls for Ukraine to Hold Unconditional Talks With Rebels. …
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – June 23, 2014) When Russia annexed Crimea in March, it added 2.4 million people to the country’s population of 143.7 million, prompting several Western observers to put forward the theory that the Kremlin’s aim was to offset the effect of the country’s long-declining population. Yet last year, long before the events in […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 23, 2014) Public support for Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine is broad but not deep and is likely to dissipate quickly rather than become the basis by itself for any new imperial adventures, accordin to Lev Gudkov, the head of the independent Levada Analytic Center. In the course of a long […]
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(Interfax – June 23, 2014) Interfax Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yuschenko have written an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin urging to begin negotiating process. “We have signed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin that it is necessary to stop aggression. Ukraine is ready for negotiations,” first Ukrainian President Kravchuk told reporters […]
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MOSCOW, June 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s EU-bound gas flows through Ukraine comply with transit contraparameters, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Monday. “The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine is flowing according to contract parameters with a volume over the last 24 hours of around 205 million cubic meters,” Kupriyanov said. Earlier on Monday, reports appeared in the media that […]
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KYIV. June 22 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian law enforcement units unswervingly abide by the president-ordered unilateral ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, but members of illegal armed formations continue armed attacks defying the truce, the Ukrainian foreign and defense ministries said in a joint statement on Sunday evening. “Demonstrating the determination to protect citizens and to safeguard national security, Ukrainian President and […]
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KIEV, June 23 (RIA Novosti) – A detailed plan B elaborated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as an alternative to his peace plan for the conflict in the country’s east details the possible continuation of military action against independence supporters, Presidential Aide Yuriy Lutsenko said Monday. “Those who violate the truce will get an armed response. There is no doubt […]
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YEREVAN. June 23 (Interfax) – Possible connections between militiamen fighting in eastern Ukraine and members of the Russian political establishment may be explained with the latter’s origin from Soviet structures, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “As to the connection with the domestic political establishment: the whole establishment is originated from the single state, the Soviet Union,” he told a […]
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KYIV. June 23 (Interfax) – Over 1,000 miners from the mine Komsomolets Donbassa took part in a march marking the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War and called on the sides of the military conflict in Donbas to cease fire. “Over 000 miners working in the mine Komsomolets Donbassa, one of the largest mines in Ukraine, marched […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 23, 2014) The State Duma on Friday passed legislation allowing Russian banks to pass information on their U.S. clients to the U.S. tax service, as demanded by FATCA, a law that drags banks around the world into the U.S. fight against tax evasion. But lawmakers were not keen to bend over backwards for the […]
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(RFE/RL – Carl Schreck – June 23, 2014) A new Russian law criminalizing the failure to declare foreign passports has raised fears of a fresh Kremlin crackdown on opponents at home, but Russian expatriates technically excluded from the statute are now scrambling to determine whether they must comply as well. As it turns out, they may not be off the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – June 23, 2014) As we approach July 1, the day after which obscenities will officially be banned in Russian art, the Russian creative community is doing what it can to make sense of a concerted push on the part of the government to regulate the arts and artistic expression. By writing the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 22, 2014) With the occupation of Crimea and with the encouragement of the Kremlin, many Russians believe they are on their way to becoming a super power once again, but the most thoughtful among them recognize that Russia lacks two if not three of the elements a super power must have. […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, June 21, 2014) Terrorism, which is the most dangerous threat in the Middle Eastern region, could lead to a new wave of collapse of states, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced following his visit to Saudi Arabia. According to Lavrov, during his meetings with the leadership of the kingdom, the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Iraq, as […]
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MOSCOW, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine needs gas deliveries from Gazprom, while Russia is interested in reliable gas transit to Europe, making bilateral gas cooperation in the interests of both Moscow and Kiev, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Forbes magazine. “In general, the volume of gas that we deliver [to Ukraine] amounted to 25.6 […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 23, 2014) While a majority of Russians feel a sense of outrage toward transsexuals, most could not care less about nudists, a somewhat questionable poll concludes. The poll, published Monday by independent pollster Levada Center – presumably testing Russians’ attitudes to non-traditional behavior – showed roughly equal numbers of Russians feel indignation toward transsexuals […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List 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 Sunday – JRL 2014-#139 :: 22 June 2014 1. Mark Franchetti of the London Times interviewed on Ukrainian […]
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MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) – Most Russians know WWII foes of the former Soviet Union but do not hate them. Yet a half blames the enemies for the deaths of millions of people, Levada Center told Interfax. The top five WWII allies of the Soviet Union mentioned by respondents in 130 populated localities in 45 regions in late May include […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – June 20, 2014) In Soviet times you knew when something was about to be fixed when the ladies with the white scarves on the heads turned up with their toolboxes and buckets. One of the real successes of communism was to elevate the role of women in the work place. It was one of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 20, 2014) Eight of the world’s 3,215 most highly-cited researchers are scholars affiliated with Russian research organizations, according to a new ranking released by Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters’ list was compiled based on “highly cited papers” among journal articles and reviews indexed in its Web of Science Core Collection between 2002 and 2012. Three […]
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MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) – Greenpeace has rejected a claim made by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen that Russia funds European environmentalists opposing shale gas production in Europe. “Greenpeace sees this suggestion as absurd because the Organization and many other environmental groups are calling for fracking which used in exploiting shale formations, to be banned across the world,” Greenpeace […]
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ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow intends to refer the issue of unilateral economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West to the World Trade Organization, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday. “When the United States imposed on Russia sanctions that create negative consequences for foreign trade, we decided to challenge them in the World Trade Organization. […]
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MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama will have a phone conversation on issues related to the situation in Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria in the next few days, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters. “Putin and Obama plan to have a phone conversation in the next few days. It will focus […]
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MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) – Over 400,000 citizens of Ukraine who have left the regions of Ukraine where a military conflict is going on have arrived in Russia, Russian Federal Migration Service official Vladimir Rucheikov said. “Over 400,000 citizens of Ukraine have arrived in Russia since March. They are legalized under the law On Refugee Status on the territory of […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Kreindlin – June 20, 2014) Mikhail Kreindlin is an expert at Greenpeace Russia on specially protected areas. Russia has a vast number of nature reserves and national parks. But the government body supposed to be protecting them is in fact destroying many of them by allowing development and mining. In Russia, as in other countries, there are […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – James Ellingworth, special to RBTH – June 19, 2014) The recent clash between hockey greats Vladislav Tretiak and Viacheslav Fetisov for the presidency of the Russian Hockey Federation epitomized the ideological dilemma that has long plagued the nation’s team sports – which comes first, club or country? Thirty years after winning Olympic gold […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – June 20, 2014) The number of Russians who believe the situation in the restive North Caucasus region is stable and under control has more than doubled in the past year, a poll released Thursday has shown. The survey, conducted by independent pollster Levada Center, showed 44 percent of respondents described the overall […]
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