RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents with links :: JRL 2016-85 :: Thursday, 12 May 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#85
Thursday, 12 May 2016

A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University.
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RUSSIA

1. Russia Direct: Fyodor Lukyanov, US presidential election could change the current globalization model. The 2016 US presidential race is further proof that the current model of globalization is changing. For Russia and China, this means that neither Moscow nor Beijing can build their strategies based on integration into the American World.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Olga Vlasova, What to tell our children. The head of RBTH’s English desk tries to put into words what for her is important about the May 9 holiday, the legacy of World War II and what it means to future generations.
3. Washington Post: Ishaan Tharoor, Don’t forget how the Soviet Union saved the world from Hitler.
4. Politico.com: Mark Perry, The U.S. Army’s War Over Russia. Top brass profess to be really worried about Putin. But a growing group of dissenters say they’re overreacting to get a bigger share of the defense budget.
5. Russia Insider/Izvestia: Big Surprise – Survey Shows Putin Retaining Support of a Huge Majority. Vladimir Putin would receive 86% of the vote if the next presidential election were held today.
6. RFE/RL: ‘All Its Members Faced Jail’: Alekseyeva Recalls Birth Of Russia’s Oldest Rights Group.
7. TASS: Kremlin says it exerts no pressures on Russian tycoon’s RBC media holding.
8. Moscow Times: Russia Convenes Presidential Council to Boost Economy.
9. Wall Street Journal: Russian Fertilizer Producer Grows Rich on Weak Ruble. Demand for Phosagro’s products soars as farming booms after Moscow’s ban on Western products.
10. The Diplomat: Himani Pant, Russia’s Economy in 2016. Falling oil prices and sanctions drive home the need for structural economic reform in Russia.
11. Moscow Times: Russia Ratifies International Agreement on Financial Information Exchange.
12. Intellinews.com; EBRD’s new chief economist slams Russia reforms. (Sergei Guriev)
13. AP: Panama Files Show Russian Crackdown on Offshoring Is Failing.
14. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Nuclear security internationalized and strengthened, diplomats say. New document takes effect that will reduce the risk of a terrorist attack involving nuclear material.
15. TASS: Putin: Russia-ASEAN summit to help solve regional security problems.
16. Reuters: U.S. Activates Romanian Missile Defense Site, Angering Russia.
17. Interfax: Target for U.S. missile shield in Europe still important issue, Russia sees it as threat – Kremlin spokesman.
18. www.rt.com: ‘Certainly it’s a threat’: Moscow rejects NATO claims ABM site safe for Russia.
19. Sputnik: Russia Could Drop START Treaty Due to New Air Defense Systems in Europe.
20. Russia Insider/Svobodnaya Pressa: For Decades, Russian Fighters Have Played Cat & Mouse with US Spy Planes. The Russian air force has honed its skill at catching US spy planes over many decades – but the Americans keep probing Russia’s defenses.
21. Russia Direct: Why Russians approved Vladimir Putin’s gambit in Syria. RD Interview: Russia Direct talked to Alexey Levinson, social research director at Levada Center, to understand how Russians reacted to the Kremlin’s military campaign in Syria against ISIS.
22. www.truth-out.org: Gareth Porter, Obama Broke Pledge to Demand Syrian Opposition’s Separation From Nusra Front.
23. Russia Direct: Richard Weitz, Moscow’s plan to fight global terrorism still includes the West. At the recent Moscow Conference on International Security, participants analyzed how the success of Russia’s military intervention in Syria could become the basis for new types of counter-terrorism initiatives.
24. Russia Insider/Vzglyad: ‘We Can Do it Again!’ – The Story Behind a Slogan Now Spreading in Russia. The slogan is now appearing on bumperstickers – with imagery that leaves no doubt how Russians feel about being a target of the West.
25. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, WHITE HORSES, RED LINES – MARSHAL GEORGY ZHUKOV’S GUIDE TO SURPRISING AND DEFEATING RUSSIA’S ENEMY.
26. Russia in Global Affairs: Andrej Krickovic and Yuval Weber, To Harass and Wait Out. Sources of American Conduct Towards Russia.

UKRAINE

27. www.rt.com: Outrage as Ukrainian witch-hunt site leaks personal info of ‘terrorist-collaborating journalists’
28. AFP: Ukraine jails reporter who campaigned against army draft.
29. Reuters: New Panama Leaks Show Offshore Firm Linked to Associate of Ukraine’s Poroshenko.
30. Reuters: Ukrainian MPs Clear Way for Poroshenko Ally to Become Top Prosecutor.
31. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Balcerowicz says privatisation is key to Ukraine reforms.
32. The New Statesman (UK): Mohammad Zahoor, The spirit of Ukraine’s Euromaidan Revolution has been betrayed. Instead of able, technocratic leaders with strong ties to the West, we see a less reformist, less competent cabinet.
33. TASS: Analyst: Sooner or later Kiev will have to speak with leaders of self-proclaimed republics.
34. Interfax: Renaming of cities by Ukraine for de-communization purposes complicates negotiation process – Pushilin.
35. Interfax: Putin: We will break any blockade.
36. Reuters: Putin Says Crimea Now Free of Reliance on Kiev for Its Power.
37. Counterpunch.org: Ulrich Heyden, Odessa: The Courage to Mourn.
38. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine’s Free Trade Deal Was Just a Start.
39. www.opendemocracy.org: Ian Bateson, Turning our backs on Ukraine. Two years after the tumultuous events of 2014, Ukraine is falling out of international media – with consequences for Ukraine’s democracy.
40. www.opendemocracy.net: Yury Drakakhrust, Whose side is Belarus on anyway? Belarusians generally feel closer to Russia than Ukraine, but refuse to get involved in the conflict between them. It is, they insist, “not our war”.

 

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

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