(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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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 23, 2014) Could you be happy living somewhere where temperatures drop below 50 degrees Celsius in the nine-month-long winters? It seems hard to imagine, but the residents of Siberia’s Yakutia in the heart of the Asian part of Russia – the coldest place in the world – seem […]
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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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 20, 2014) Half of all Russians consider television to be the most reliable source of information for domestic and international news coverage, a recent study of the Russian media environment has shown. The study published Tuesday by independent pollster Levada Center found that 50 percent of Russians – and 65 percent of Muscovites – […]
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Subject: Danyliw Seminar on Ukraine 2014–Call for Papers: Ukraine 2014: Maidan, Insurrection(s), Geopolitics Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 From: Dominique Arel <darel@uottawa.ca> Dear David: could you post this announcement on JRL? Thanks, Dominique —– Ukraine 2014: Maidan, Insurrection(s), Geopolitics 10th Annual Danyliw Research Seminar on Contemporary Ukraine Chair of Ukrainian Studies, University of Ottawa, 23-25 October 2014 http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/sites/default/files/public/ukraine/fra/documents/danyliw2014-callforpapers.pdf CALL FOR […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Nick Kochan in London – June 20,2014) Ukraine’s security crisis is hitting bond investors in some of the country’s largest companies. A combination of the deteriorating economic situation, falling currency, increased Russian import duties on Ukrainian goods and rising gas prices has meant big local firms are struggling to meet coupon payments and are […]
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(RFE/RL – Carl Schreck – June 20, 2014) One day after then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych unexpectedly scuttled plans to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union at a Vilnius summit, his envoy in Berlin took to German radio to explain Kyiv’s decision. But Pavlo Klimkin also seized the moment to express his personal frustration with the move before quickly softening […]
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ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Many legal disputes are expected to arise between Russian and Ukrainian companies, but arbitration processes are better than tyranny and the use of force, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said during a speech at the International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg Friday. “In the near future, there will be disputes between Russian and […]
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From: Stephen D. Shenfield (sshenfield@verizon.net) On Maidan: Democratic Movement or Nationalist Mobilization? Date: June 19, 2014 Introduction It is conventional wisdom in the West to describe the ‘Maidan’ that brought to power the current regime in Kiev as an anti-authoritarian mass movement guided by democratic ‘European’ values [1]. While not denying the presence of such themes in the Maidan, I […]
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… 14. Kyiv Post: Kyiv city prosecutor, three deputies suspended under Right Sector’s pressure.
15. Wall Street Journal: Pro-Russia Militia in Ukraine Seeks Urgent Help from Moscow. The Kremlin Hasn’t Responded to the Request That Comes as Ukrainian Forces Retake Borders Areas.
16. Moscow Times: What’s Next As Kiev Crunches Rebels? ….
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – June 18, 2014) United Launch Alliance, or ULA, the leviathan of the U.S. Space launch industry, has answered a congressional call to end the U.S.’s dependence on Russian space technology for launches of military and intelligence satellites by signing development contracts with multiple domestic firms to develop a next-generation engine by 2019, the […]
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(RFE/RL – Claire Bigg – June 17, 2014) Russia has halted gas supplies to Ukraine — a major escalation of a dispute in which Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom is demanding that Kyiv settle its huge gas debt. But in many ways, what many have dubbed the third “gas war” between the two countries is different than previous disputes in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – June 18, 2014) In the wake of Russia’s decision to switch Ukraine to prepayment for gas starting Monday, the European Union is planning a new round of negotiations as the danger of supply disruptions to Europe heightens. European officials say, however, that the bloc is currently far better prepared to cope with […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Zhanna Byezpyatchuk, Robert Coalson – June 18, 2014) KYIV — Every move that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko makes is being examined as if under an electron microscope. And the reception of his first crucial appointment — naming media mogul Boris Lozhkin as his chief of staff on June 10 — has been, at best, mixed. Lozhkin’s supporters stress his management […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Peter Szopo of Erste Asset Management – June 18, 2014) [Charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/comment-russian-equities-next-leg-faces-hurdles] The latest Russian stock rally was strong but short. It started in the last week of April and may have ended already in mid-June, as the situation in Ukraine began deteriorating once more. The main RTS index rose by 23% […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 18, 2014) Responding to suggestions that the possibilities for the promotion of an “enlightened” Russian nationalism” have been undermined by Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine, Aleksandr Khramov says that the real problems lie with Russian liberals who behave in ways that alienate the population and make cooperation with nationalists almost impossible. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – June 18, 2014) Politics took front stage at the flagship conference of the Association of European Business, or AEB, on Tuesday, where foreign companies with committed interests in Russia grappled with the economic fallout of the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. Business as something relatively immune to political vacillations is a thing of […]
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(RIA Novosti – June 17, 2014) Head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Aleksey Pushkov believes that it is time for Russia to admit a total divergence of opinions with the USA about the meaning of human rights, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 17 June. “It is time to record our complete dissociation from the USA […]
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(Interfax – June 17, 2014) First deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergey Smirnov, has expressed hope that the events in Ukraine will not disrupt cooperation between the Russian and US security services, privately-owned news agency Interfax reported on 17 June. “We have always been cooperating, though sometimes, when some events are taking place, cooperation calms down. We […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH- June 18, 2014) Russia is reorganizing the system for electing local government bodies and redistributing powers between federal and municipal authorities. However, the reforms are the latest in a long line of attempts to make regional government more effective, and some experts are sceptical. A reform is under way in […]
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MOSCOW, June 18 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow only intends to resume trilateral gas talks after Ukraine repays its debt for Russian gas supplies, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday. “First of all, we expect payments to be made on the debt for November-December and April-May deliveries. Only after this would we consider having talks, if they are needed,” Novak told […]
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WASHINGTON, June 18 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – The recent attack on the Russian Embassy in Kiev casts doubt on President Poroshenko’s ability to have a say in the government, Martin Sieff, an Irish-American veteran journalist and author believes. “It [the attack] will generate further tensions between the current government in Kiev and Russia. Besides, it throws further doubt on […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – June 18, 2014) As Ukrainian separatists concede imminent defeat unless Russian tanks roll in, it is time for Kiev to consider plans for reconciliation with the rebel regions, Russian and Ukrainian analysts said. Local elites that tacitly endorsed the separatists at first in hopes that they could be used as a bargaining […]
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KYIV. June 18 (Interfax) – Ukrainian law enforcement units will encircle Slovyansk to liquidate the armed opposition and regain full control over the state border in eastern regions, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said. “We are taking resolute steps and conducting successful operations towards the restoration [of control] over the state border,” the president told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday. “We […]
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(Interfax – June 18, 2014) Accidents on Ukraine’s gas transportation system will continue because not enough is being spent on maintenance, Gazprom Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov told journalists, commenting on yesterday’s blast and fire on the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline in Ukraine’s Poltava region. “The gas transportation system, ours and Ukraine’s, was created as a unified gas supply system. We have […]
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KIEV, June 18 (RIA Novosti) – President Petro Poroshenko has suggested dismissing acting Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia, the Ukrainian parliament said Wednesday. The president has also nominated Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Pavlo Klimkin to take over the post of foreign minister. On Saturday, Deshchytsia shouted offensive remarks directed toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. The foreign minister was spotted chanting abusive […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Lyubinskaya, special to RBTH – June 17, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media on the latest gas crisis between Moscow and Kiev, which culminated yesterday with Russia cutting off supplies to Ukraine after talks had once again reached a dead end. Kommersant The gas issue was the […]
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… 7. Carnegie Moscow Center: Balázs Jarábik, Poroshenko`s Team: Managers of the Nation?
8. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russia cuts gas to Ukraine. But will Moscow take the bigger loss?
9. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Exactly what is a fair price for Ukraine to pay for Russian gas?
10. Financial Times: Q&A: the Gazprom dispute. …
(opendemocracy.net – Neil Melvin – June 16, 2014) Neil Melvin is director of the Armed Conflict and Conflict Management Programme at SIPRI In recent months, attention has overwhelmingly been focused on Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. But there is a wider and more disturbing process of militarisation underway throughout the Eurasian region. Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the deployment […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – June 16, 2014) The escalating conflict in Ukraine marks an unfortunate tendency in the world of international relations: The people responsible for defusing the crisis are losing their ability to be diplomatic. The latest gaffe came June 14, when Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia tried to calm a mob that had attacked the […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – KYIV June 17, 2014) Not long ago, Aleksandr Borodai was a little-known political consultant with nationalist leanings. Back in 1993, he was among those defending hard-liners barricaded inside the Russian White House in their showdown with President Boris Yeltsin. He wrote regularly for the ultranationalist newspaper “Zavtra” and in 2011 co-founded the “patriotic” online television channel Den-TV. […]
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MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) – Over a half of Russians (57%) believes Russia needs political opposition, Levada Center told Interfax. Yet their number has reduced significantly since 2012 (72%), the sociologists said. Twenty-three percent of respondents say Russia does not need political opposition and 20% are undecided. The need for opposition was mostly expressed by men (62% vs. 53% of […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.ru – Teneo Intelligence – June 17, 2014) Following the failure of negotiations on natural gas pricing and debt between Russia and Ukraine last weekend, Russian company Gazprom reduced supply volumes to Ukraine, the main transit country for gas delivered to Gazprom’s EU customers. However, Gazprom continues to deliver contracted amounts to the EU for now, […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 16, 2014) [Charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/exactly-what-fair-price-ukraine-pay-russian-gas] Russia cut Ukraine off from gas deliveries on June 16 after the emergency talks at the weekend to strike a new price for gas failed. From now on Russia won’t deliver any gas unless Ukraine pays for it in advance. The row has […]
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KYIV. June 16 (Interfax) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced the authorities’ intention to regain control of the Ukrainian-Russian border this week. “We are going to take decisive action to renew security on our national border this week. I hope we will fully succeed in doing so,” Poroshenko told a National Security and Defense Council meeting on Monday. The […]
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BELGRADE, June 17 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev has completely refused to implement the road map elaborated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the West must influence the Ukrainian authorities to resolve the situation in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. “Unfortunately, the Ukrainian authorities are so far refusing to support the road […]
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MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) – State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov suspects the U.S. has pushed Kyiv into refusing to pay for Russian gas. “Attacks on the Russian Embassy, yesterday’s attempt to attack the [Russian] Consulate in Odesa, the affront put upon the Russian president, the ongoing arrests of Russian journalists and the refusal to pay for gas, […]
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