(Moscow Times – moscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – July 8, 2014) Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet Union’s last foreign minister who later served as Georgian president, died Monday at the age of 86, sparking a collective assessment of the mixed legacy that he left to both Russia and his native Georgia. Shevardnadze’s death following a long illness was confirmed by his […]
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BRUSSELS. July 8 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian people have opted to join Europe but is confronted with serious challenges, first of all connected with Russia, said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman. “Russia’s aggression – not only military – is unprecedented. Add to this information, economic and energy aggression which aims to ruin Ukraine,” he said at a high-level meeting […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 7, 2014) The confrontation in southeast Ukraine appears to be nearing its denouement. Last weekend government troops seized the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk as well as several nearby towns. Observers believe that the authorities in Kiev are now likely to ignore calls for a ceasefire and push on […]
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MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – The group of NATO ships in the Black Sea has grown to nine vessels, setting a record for recent decades, a Russian military source told RIA Novosti Tuesday. “American cruiser Vella Gulf arrived in Burgas early Tuesday, and French frigate Surcouf, which returned to the Black Sea on July 4, unmoored from the port […]
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MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – The consequences for the Russian financial system if the crisis in Ukraine further escalates will be limited, according to a review of financial stability conducted by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) for the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014. “The possible direct consequences for the Russian financial system if […]
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(RIA Novosti – July 7, 2014) Russia doesn’t view NATO as an adversary, Secretary-General Rasmussen is wrong, the Russian mission to NATO has said in response to an interview Anders Fogh Rasmussen gave to Euronews. RIA Novosti news agency quoted the mission saying via Twitter: “The NATO secretary-general’s statement that in Russian military documents ‘the alliance is viewed as an […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, July 7, 2014) Remarks by the new Ukrainian defence minister, Valeriy Heletey, about an impending “victory parade in Ukrainian Sevastopol [the biggest city in Russian-annexed Crimea]” suggest regression [Russian: degradatsiya] in the Ukrainian military leadership, a senior source in the Russian military department [Defence Ministry] said. “Such words by what is already a fourth appointee to […]
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MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) – Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko has accused the Ukrainian authorities of unleashing an information campaign against Russia and stated the appearance of political prisoners in Ukraine. “Ukrainian residents are being zombied by claims that this is the fight for a just cause, the fight against Russia which has waged a war and some Hollywood videos […]
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… 10. Kyiv Post: Defense minister says anti-terrorist operation to continue until Ukraine’s east is reclaimed.
11. New York Times: Ukraine Military Finds Its Footing Against Pro-Russian Rebels.
12. Wall Street Journal: Pro-Russia Rebels Prepare Last Stand in East Ukraine. Separatist Leaders Say Evacuation From Slovyansk Was Strategic. …
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Carl Schreck – July 5, 2014) In Moscow they have called him a regime-change expert, a “diplomatic diversionist” dispatched by Washington to foment unrest in Russia’s neighboring states. And now he appears to be headed to Russia, where Kremlin surrogates warn he may try to do the same. Meet John Tefft, the man who has apparently been tapped to manage […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Daisy Sindelar – July 6, 2014) Russia has never hidden how it feels about neighbors forging closer ties with the European Union. So it was no surprise when Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said there would be “grave consequences” for Ukraine when it signed a landmark deal on closer economic ties with Brussels on June 27. Georgia and Moldova signed […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Pavel Chikov – July 3, 2014) Pavel Chikov is chair of AGORA, an association of human rights organisations based in Kazan. Agora, founded in 2005, provides legal advocacy for victims of suspected human rights abuses, in particular for journalists, political activists and NGOs. Since 1999 Chikov has been a leading human rights lawyer and head of a number […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 2, 2014) About 28 percent of Russians, or almost a third of the populace, likely have never surfed the web in their lives, according to a new poll. In the poll published Monday by the independent Levada Center, 28 percent of respondents said they never went online and that they had no Internet access. […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, July 6, 2014) The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is a criminal organization operating under full American control, Russian [presidential adviser,] economist, politician and RAN [Russian Academy of Sciences] member Sergey Glazyev has told RIA Novosti commenting of the opening of a criminal case against him. Earlier, there were media reports that the SBU had opened […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 5, 2014) Ukraine’s move Friday toward attempting to sell nearly 50 percent in its gas pipeline system to EU and U.S. investors does not mean that Western buyers will rush to take up the offer, as the system’s value depends on a steady supply of Russian gas, energy analysts told The […]
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PBS interviews former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul about unfolding events in Ukraine and the U.S. response. They spoke with McFaul at a conference in Colorado. Click here for transcript. Said McFaul: The biggest, obvious point, you know, fork in the road for Ukraine is to end the violence. If Poroshenko or some configuration of international leaders helped end […]
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Subject: Fake RAND memo Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2014 From: Hiday, Jeffrey <jhiday@rand.org> David, Saw that you carried a report on the supposed RAND Ukraine memo. [JRL #148]. We produced no such memo or study. I’ve alerted RT et al to that effect. Thanks. Jeff Jeffrey Hiday Director, Office of Media Relations RAND Corporation
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… 10. The Voice of America: Q&A With Masha Gessen: Russia in ‘Final’ Phase of Putin’s Rule.
11. Euromaidan Press: Ukraine’s possible backstabbers in Europe. …
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 4, 2014) That Putin has intervened in Ukraine at least in part to overcome the political challenges he faced in 2011-2012 and that he has made Russian more authoritarian in the process is largely common ground. But a new book gives remarkable details about these links and these trends and suggests […]
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(Paul Goble – Staunton, July 5, 2014) “Putin’s Russia has already long been a Reich” much like Hitler’s Germany, but ordinary Russians now, like ordinary Germans 75 years ago, have not taken note of the fact because so far the state’s repressive attentions have not been directed primarily at them, according to Vitaly Portnikov. Portnikov, a Ukrainian commentator who earlier […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ian Wishart, Elizabeth Konstantinova – July 3, 2014) Joining the European Union was meant to give Bulgaria a fresh start. Try telling that to Anna Dimitrova. “Bulgaria didn’t gain from the EU as much as it could have, because it’s mismanaged by corrupt politicians,” said Dimitrova, a law student, in central Sofia. “Our politicians are not […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Viktor Kuzmin, special to RBTH – July 3, 2014) Tourist operators in Russia have expressed alarm at a substantial drop in the number of foreign visitors coming to the country in 2014. Key figures in the tourist industry speculate that the fall in tourist numbers may be a result of the Ukrainian crisis, […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, July 3, 2014) The US has turned the tool of sanctions into a new kind of offensive weapons. Russia will not get involved in this kind of arms race but has the right to seek ways to protect itself, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. “It seems that the Washington administration has come to […]
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MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – US exports to Russia rose 21 percent and reached a record high of $1.25 billion in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an arm of the US Department of Commerce. During the same month, American exports to the EU and China increased by only 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. US imports […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 4, 2014) President Vladimir Putin signaled a switch Thursday from the government’s previous youth policy of aggressive political groups toward a more traditional approach to instilling patriotism. “We need to give young people more knowledge about Russia’s historical, cultural and natural riches back in school,” Putin said. “This is, perhaps, the […]
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(The Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 4, 2014) EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger on Thursday asserted European companies’ right to sell Russian gas back to Ukraine, flying in the face of warnings from Russian energy giant Gazprom as tensions continue to build over energy policy. Energy companies in the EU have an “absolute right to dispose of gas bought from […]
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MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday congratulated his US counterpart Barack Obama on Independence Day and said Russia and the US share the responsibility of protecting global security and stability, and should cooperate to the benefit of the world. “Russia and the United States, being the powers with special responsibility to ensure global stability […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Lyubinskaya, special to RBTH – July 3, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media, featuring news of the revival of negotiations between EU ministers and parties to the conflict in Ukraine, reports on the resumption of intense fighting in Donetsk, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, and analysis of the possibility […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Glenn Kates – July 3, 2014) Angry about continued protests outside Ukraine’s parliament building and an apparent attack on a female journalist, a Facebook user vents his anger on his personal page. “The real Ukrainian warriors [the troops fighting against separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions] will return from the front for just a minute and beat you so […]
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KIEV, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – At least two residents of Luhansk have been killed and eight others injured after the Ukrainian Army shelled a residential area of the city, local authorities reported Friday. Pro-Kiev forces shelled residential buildings on Thursday, according to the statement. The injured people were hospitalized. A local oncology center and a school were also damaged […]
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MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – Advisors from the United States are actively working in Ukraine and developing Kiev’s strategy, Russian Deputy Security Council Secretary Evgeny Lukyanov told RIA Novosti Wednesday. “We could say without a doubt that we’re not just talking about American mercenaries, but also intensive activities on Ukrainian territory by the so-called advisors from Washington. I’m referring […]
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KYIV. July 3 (Interfax) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said during a telephone conversation with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden that he was ready to start profound political talks on settling the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions without any additional conditions. The parties have discussed further possible international efforts to support Ukraine’s position, Poroshenko’s press office said on […]
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LUHANSK. July 4 (Interfax) – Snipers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have opened fire on a road leading to the Izvarne border crossing point on the Ukrainian-Russian border, militiamen of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) have said. “Ukrainian snipers are targeting the drivers of cars heading to the Izvarne checkpoint located on the Ukrainian-Russian border,” a local militia spokesman told […]
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KIEV, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a parliament session Friday threatened to change the format of the country’s parliament, government and coalition, if the majority continues not to support the legislative initiatives of the Cabinet of Ministers. “I believe that it is very difficult for the government and parliament to work in this type […]
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… 49. The Aspen Institute: Michael McFaul Dissects US-Russian Relations.
50. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Putin’s Authoritarianism Now Self-Re-Enforcing, New Book Concludes.
51. Wall Street Journal: Five Best: Simon Sebag Montefiore on Russia in fiction.
52. The Paris Review: Diana Bruk, Thawing Out. Why are there so few courses in Soviet literature at American universities? …
[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 Thursday – JRL 2014-#146 :: 3 July 2014 1. Interfax-Ukraine: NSDC: Government forces continue to free towns and capture […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 3, 2014) Leading Russian search engine Yandex will not have to register with the government as a media outlet, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday, setting a precedent that suggests search engines’ news aggregating sites may be safe from a wave of heightened regulation of the Internet. “Based on the results of our inspection, […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headliines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 2, 2014) A law making it illegal to use swearwords in television, movies, literature, media reporting, concerts, and theatrical productions entered into force on July 1. Violators will face stiff fines. Prominent figures have expressed their dismay over the ban, arguing that it will limit cultural expression. Russia’s […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitry Agnin, special to RBTH – July 2, 2014) Prospects for peace in Ukraine have receded again after President Petro Poroshenko called an end to the ceasefire in the east of the country. Continuing hostilities, ongoing attempts to negotiate a political settlement and a growing stream of displaced citizens mean that the outcome […]
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(Interfax – July 2, 2014) The president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Vladimir Fortov, is set to develop the Academy’s cooperation with American scientists regardless of the political situation. “I will do whatever I can to develop our contacts, despite the winds blowing in one direction or another,” Fortov told a press conference on Wednesday. The RAS chief […]
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(RIA Novosti – July 2, 2014) Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yevgeniy Lukyanov has commented on the Ukrainian conflict, sanctions imposed against Russia after it was joined by Crimea and the Russia-West relations in an interview with Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, published on the agency’s website on 2 July. [1] Ukraine Commenting on the recent developments […]
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(RIA Novosti – July 2, 2014) The USA is not interested in the EU participating more actively in settling the Ukrainian crisis and for this reason, among other things, is pushing Europe towards sanctions against Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin said in an interview to state-controlled rolling news channel Rossiya 24 broadcast on 2 July; his remarks were […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jennifer Monaghan – July 3, 2014) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has lashed out at a U.S. State Department spokeswoman for suggesting some of the supposed refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine for Russia could be going to visit their grandmothers. Spokeswoman Marie Helf on Tuesday played down a report by the UN’s Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, […]
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(Interfax – July 2, 2014) The Basmannyy court of Moscow on 2 July issued a warrant for the arrest of a Ukrainian billionaire and Dnipropetrovsk Region governor, Ihor Kolomoyskyy, at the request of the Investigations Committee of Russia, Interfax news agency reported the same day. Kolomoyskyy, who resides in Ukraine, is accused of committing four serious crimes. The spokesman of […]
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(Interfax – July 3, 2014) Proposed constitutional amendments stipulate that Ukrainian will remain the sole state language in Ukraine, the country’s President Petro Poroshenko said in parliament on Thursday. “We have delivered on our promise to give additional powers in language issues to local authorities. Article 10 of the Constitution remains unchanged – Ukrainian is the one-and-only state language in […]
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MOSCOW. July 3 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry insists that the Ukrainian authorities immediately stop the bombardment of civilian sites in the southeast, which is claiming civilian lives. “We once again demand that the Ukrainian authorities stop shooting on civilian sites and save human lives,” the ministry said in a commentary posted on Thursday. The ministry is hopeful that […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – July 3, 2014) [Video here bne.eu/content/fierce-fighting-east-ukraine-outlines-peace-plan-agreed-berlin] The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France agreed on a plan to resume the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine at a meeting in Berlin on July 2. Fierce fighting raged while the talks were going on, with the death toll rising fast. […]
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MOSCOW, July 3 (RIA Novosti) – The destruction of an orphanage by the Ukrainian Army in Slaviansk is a serious violation of international law, signaling that the punitive operation should be ended, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov said Thursday. “This is a very powerful signal that the violence, bloodshed […]
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(Interfax – July 2, 2014) The situation in southeastern Ukraine was exacerbated after the resumption of the army operation, Donetsk Mayor Alexander Lukyanchenko said. “Tensions persist in the city. The situation worsened after the ceasefire had been called off. DPR supporters seized the regional department of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry yesterday. Several blocks adjacent to the building were cordoned off […]
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KYIV. July 3 (Interfax) – Only one in ten reservists in Kyiv has been mobilized voluntarily, said Volodymyr Kidon, the Ukrainian capital’s military commissar. Speaking at a Kyiv Council session on Thursday, Kidon said that a total of 1,558 conscripts and 342 officers have been mobilized, but only 10% of them “were called up on a voluntary basis.” These conscripts […]
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