“… Putin has become closer than most to the men of Russia’s Federal Protective Service (fso). Since 2016, four fso officers from his personal guard […]
Headlines
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Warns of Repeat of 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis” – Reuters
“… [regarding] U.S. deployment of land-based missile systems near Russia’s borders …. ‘If things get as far as an actual deployment on the ground of […]
RUSSIALINK: “The Kremlin’s Statecraft and Russia’s Freeze-Thaw Cycle”
(The Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov – June 20, 2019) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large […]
RUSSIALINK: “Russians Are Losing Interest in Foreign Policy, Poll Says” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 21, 2019) Less than half of Russians pay attention to foreign policy issues, according to a new poll by […]
RUSSIALINK: “Almost 3/4 of Russians trust Putin, 2/3 approved of him as president – poll” – Interfax
MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is trusted by a majority of citizens (72.3%), according to the findings of a VCIOM poll […]
RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin (transcript continued)” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – June 20, 2019 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60795) Pavel Zarubin: Mr President, the producers are telling me we are ready to connect to the village of […]
RUSSIALINK: “Most Russians Say Soviet Union ‘Took Care of Ordinary People’ – Poll” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 24, 2019) A majority of Russians believe that the Soviet system took care of the common man and woman, […]
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2019-#99 :: Monday 23 June 2019
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click […]
RUSSIALINK: “The Key Quotes of Putin’s Annual Question and Answer Session” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 20, 2019 – themoscowtimes.com/2019/06/20/highlights-putins-annual-question-answer-session-a66089) Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual question and answer session broadcast live on Thursday […]
Putin’s ‘Direct Line’ Underscored Yawning Gulf between Kremlin and the Population, Analysts Say
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 21, 2019) Analyst after analyst say that the 81 questions Russians posed to Vladimir Putin during […]
RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Answers to journalists’ questions following Direct Line” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – June 20, 2019 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60797) Following Direct Line with Vladimir Putin, the President answered a number of questions from media representatives. Question: What […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s 2019 ‘Direct Line,’ in a nutshell; Russia’s president spoke on national TV for four hours, but you can read this summary in five minutes” – Meduza/ Summary by Mikhail Zelensky, Translation by Kevin Rothrock
“National projects: The country needs to revitalize the economy, but first we need to figure out where to find the money for this development work. […]
RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT & VIDEO: “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin [partial transcript]” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – June 20, 2019) [English: en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60795 – Russian with video: kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60795] The annual special Direct Line with Vladimir Putin was broadcast live by Channel […]
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2019-#98 :: Sunday, 23 June 2019
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click […]
Putin’s Annual Marathon Phone-In Will Focus His Attention Homeward; Protests, pensions and poverty will overshadow geopolitics during Putin’s annual live call-in show Thursday.
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Pjotr Sauer – June 19, 2019) Civil unrest and falling living standards are likely to dominate Vladimir Putin’s annual televised […]
[NEW RESOURCE: U.S.-Russia Relations: Quest for Stability:] “Whiskey and Vodka: Distilling U.S.-Russia Relations” – Deana Arsenian/ Carnegie Corporation of New York International Peace and Security News
(Carnegie Corporation of New York International Peace and Security News – Deana Arsenian – June 19, 2019) Subject: Whiskey and Vodka: Distilling U.S.-Russia Relations Date: […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian internet giant Yandex takes rare stand against state snooping” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir
“The primacy of Russia’s security state is beginning to crimp the global growth of the country’s information technology sector. That could foretell hard choices for […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “White House’s Top Russia Adviser Fiona Hill to Leave Position; National Security Council’s non-proliferation director to succeed her” – Wall Street Journal/ Vivian Salama
“… top [Trump] Russia adviser [Fiona Hill] is leaving … in August … [to] be succeeded by … current … National Security Council … nonproliferation […]
Kremlin’s Reaction to Protests Depends on How Well Informed Putin is – and That Varies Widely, Aides Say
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 19, 2019) Changes in the relationship between the Putin regime and the Russian population is leading […]
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2019-#97 :: Thursday, 20 June 2019
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click […]
U.S.-Russian Relations, U.S.-Ukrainian Relations
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Warns of Repeat of 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis” – Reuters
“… [regarding] U.S. deployment of land-based missile systems near Russia’s borders …. ‘If things get as far as an actual deployment on the ground of […]
Russia & Ukraine
VIDEO: Ukraine’s President Promises NATO Referendum As Part Of Path To West
(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – BRUSSELS, June 5, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/ukraine-president-promises-nato-referendum-as-part-of-path-to-west/29982943.html) Ukrainian President […]
Public Opinion Paradoxes? Russians Are Increasingly Dubious About the Costs of Putin’s Foreign Policies
(PONARS Eurasia – Harley Balzer – May 20, 2019) Harley Balzer is Professor Emeritus of Government and International Affairs, and founding Director, Center for Eurasian, […]
RUSSIALINK: “Zelensky’s party seeking one-party majority in future Rada – election campaign head” – Interfax
KYIV. May 27 (Interfax) – The Servant of the People party has set itself the task of obtaining a one-party majority in the future Verkhovna […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine oligarch urges Volodymyr Zelensky to default on debt; Concern grows over Igor Kolomoisky’s influence on the novice president” – Financial Times/ Max Seddon
“… Zelensky should … reject[] the [IMF] austerity programme and default[] on … external debt, according to his contentious oligarch supporter[] Igor Kolomoisky … [a […]
JRL RUSSIALINK: “Zelensky should prove readiness to settle Donbas conflict by complying with Minsk agreements – Slutsky” – Interfax
MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax) – Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky has said he is counting on the new Ukrainian parliament’s ability […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “President Zelenskiy’s inauguration speech (Complete English Translation)” – Kyiv Post
“[note from JRL web editor: first full paragraph from source’s version of transcript follows:] Dear Ukrainians, After (my) victory at this election, my six-year-old son […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s parliamentary coalition collapses, making snap elections impossible” – bne Intellinews
“The ruling coalition in the Ukrainian parliament … Verkhovna Rada[] collapsed … May 17 … [with] the withdrawal of the People’s Front faction, headed by […]
Zelensky’s Victory and Poroshenko’s Defeat Offer Three Unwelcome Lessons for Ukraine, Tsipko Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 15, 2019) Aleksandr Tsipko, one of the most senior and thoughtful Soviet-Russian commentators, argues that the […]
Expectations for Kyiv-Moscow Relations After Ukraine’s Presidential Election
(PONARS Eurasia – Emmanuel Dreyfus – May 13, 2019 – ponarseurasia.org/memo/expectations-kyiv-moscow-relations-after-ukraines-presidential-election) Emmanuel Dreyfus is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian […]
Fighting to be seen: how Ukrainian and Russian professional women are securing their place in public
In Ukraine and Russia, civil society and professional associations are helping women experts to raise their profile in the public arena. (opendemocracy.net – Olena Strelnyk […]
Key to Putin’s Passport Offers to Ukrainians? Russia’s Shrinking Labor Force
(Russia Matters – Simon Saradzhyan – April 30, 2019 – russiamatters.org/blog/key-putins-passport-offers-ukrainians-russias-shrinking-labor-force) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent decree to make it easier for residents of some […]
Ukraine’s New Language Law ‘Best Gift to Putin’ Since Russian Invasion Began, Pastukhov Says
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 29, 2019) Not because of its goal but because of its methods, Kyiv’s new language law […]
Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
JRL NEWSWATCH: “The new musketeers; The improbable careers of Vladimir Putin’s bodyguards; Proximity is power” – The Economist
“… Putin has become closer than most to the men of Russia’s Federal Protective Service (fso). Since 2016, four fso officers from his personal guard […]
Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s 2019 ‘Direct Line,’ in a nutshell; Russia’s president spoke on national TV for four hours, but you can read this summary in five minutes” – Meduza/ Summary by Mikhail Zelensky, Translation by Kevin Rothrock
“National projects: The country needs to revitalize the economy, but first we need to figure out where to find the money for this development work. […]
Oil, Gas, Energy
JRL NEWSWATCH: “In a Blow to Maduro, Russia Withdraws Key Defense Support to Venezuela” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove,Alan Cullison, Maolis Castro
Russia has been one of Maduro’s major supporters in its standoff with the U.S. “Russia has withdrawn key defense advisers from Venezuela, an embarrassment for […]
Nuclear, Missile Defense
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Warns of Repeat of 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis” – Reuters
“… [regarding] U.S. deployment of land-based missile systems near Russia’s borders …. ‘If things get as far as an actual deployment on the ground of […]
Human Rights
Reports of Putin Fathering Twins Test Free Speech in Russia
(Voice of America – voanews.com – Jamie Dettmer – May 29, 2019) Normally the delivery of twins is a cause for celebration – and when […]
Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
RUSSIALINK: “Serebrennikov’s house arrest prolonged by another 3 months” – Interfax
MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) – The Meshchansky Court of Moscow has extended the house arrest of the Gogol Center’s artistic director Kirill Serebrennikov, who has […]
Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus
Left behind? Russian life in Chechnya; After years of violence, displacement and an authoritarian peace, what is life like for ethnic Russians in the most mono-ethnic and mono-faith area of Russia? (excerpt)
(Ekaterina Neroznikova – opendemocracy.net – March 6, 2019) Ekaterina Neroznikova is a reporter and columnist who writes about the North Caucasus. She writes for a […]
Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
RUSSIALINK: “Michael Calvey Case Revisited: A Corporate Hit, a Bargaining Chip” – Kennan Institute/ Pavel Koshkin
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Pavel Koshkin – wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/michael-calvey-case-revisited-corporate-hit-bargaining-chip) Pavel Koshkin is a research fellow of the Institute of U.S. and Canadian Studies of the […]
Media, Social Media, Internet
Putin’s Annual Marathon Phone-In Will Focus His Attention Homeward; Protests, pensions and poverty will overshadow geopolitics during Putin’s annual live call-in show Thursday.
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Pjotr Sauer – June 19, 2019) Civil unrest and falling living standards are likely to dominate Vladimir Putin’s annual televised […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian internet giant Yandex takes rare stand against state snooping” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir
“The primacy of Russia’s security state is beginning to crimp the global growth of the country’s information technology sector. That could foretell hard choices for […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian technology: can the Kremlin control the internet? Moscow is developing a ‘sovereign’ web that critics say will enhance official power to silence dissent” – Financial Times/ Max Seddon, Henry Foy
“… Activists fear Ingushetia’s blackouts could be repeated across Russia thanks to a law signed by … Putin in May. * * * … Half […]
JRL NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “Generation Putin; Russia’s youth flex their political power” – PRI/ Indra Ekmanis/ Producer Daniel Ofman
“… For more than 33 million Russians under age 20, the leadership of Putin is the only type of government they’ve ever known. Putin succeeded […]
75 Percent of Residents of Major Russian Cities Use Internet Every Day; Only 70 Percent Watch TV that Often
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 29, 2019) In the first quarter, Mediascope found, 75 percent of residents of major Russian cities […]
Fred Weir: “[Re NYT ‘Potential Clash Over Secrets Looms Between Justice Dept. and C.I.A.’]” – facebook/fred.weir
(Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor Correspondent – Facebook post – May 30, 2019 – facebook.com/fred.weir/posts/10218476254873823) “Here is one of those stories, in this case a […]
Reports of Putin Fathering Twins Test Free Speech in Russia
(Voice of America – voanews.com – Jamie Dettmer – May 29, 2019) Normally the delivery of twins is a cause for celebration – and when […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “American Hustle; What Mueller Found – and Didn’t Find – About Trump and Russia” – Foreign Affairs/ Stephen Kotkin
“… Russian intelligence organizations … could manage entirely on their own to hack e-mail accounts, line up cutouts such as WikiLeaks to disseminate damaging material, […]
Fighting to be seen: how Ukrainian and Russian professional women are securing their place in public
In Ukraine and Russia, civil society and professional associations are helping women experts to raise their profile in the public arena. (opendemocracy.net – Olena Strelnyk […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “A Great Firewall of Russia? Kremlin puts key bricks into place.” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir
“Russians have enjoyed a relatively freewheeling internet, but that is likely to change with a new surveillance law. How will the Russian public respond to […]
Europe, EU
RUSSIALINK: “Putin’s visit to Rome, meeting with Pope Francis being prepared – Peskov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Rome and the Vatican, where a […]
Health, Alcohol, Smoking, AIDS, Epidemics
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Health-Care Cuts Spark Protests in Russian Heartland” – Bloomberg/ Henry Meyer, Ilya Arkhipov
“The country has 100 billionaires, and yet more than a third of Russians can’t afford to buy two pairs of shoes a year.” “… Concern […]
Assassinations
RUSSIALINK: “Sergei and Yulia Skripal are alive, but not available for contact – relative” – Interfax
YAROSLAVL. May 18 (Interfax) – Former Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, who were poisoned in April 2018 in […]
NEWSLINK: “Russia spread ‘disinformation’ on Skripal attack; Report says state media spread seven different conspiracy theories about the attack” – Financial Times/ Solape Alatise, David Bond
“Russian state media published 138 contradictory accounts of the nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal last year …”
John Helmer: “Book announcement: The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia”
Subject: Book announcement Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2018 From: John Helmer The Man Who Knows Too MuchAbout Russia By John Helmer THE GENUINE GOLDEN […]
NEWSLINK: “Skripal Suspect Boshirov Identified as GRU Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga” – Bellingcat
“… Bellingcat has been able to confirm the actual identity of one of the two officers. The suspect using the cover identity of ‘Ruslan Boshirov’ […]
Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Theater, Music
Landing At Pushkin: Putin Decree Assigns Russian Airports The Names Of Cultural Figures
(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – May 31, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/landing-at-pushkin-putin-decree-assigns-russian-airports-the-names-of-cultural-figures/29974519.html) It’s already pretty […]
Religion
RUSSIALINK: “Putin’s visit to Rome, meeting with Pope Francis being prepared – Peskov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Rome and the Vatican, where a […]
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