(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH -September 1, 2014) The Russian Economic Development Ministry has considerably revised its forecast for economic development parameters for 2015-2017 for the worse. These include a drop in oil and gas production and lower oil prices. Experts predict that the forecast may be further revised, either up or down, as early […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 4, 2014) On the same day that President Barack Obama used the most “forceful language against Russia” of any US leader since Ronald Reagan and made “the ultimate commitment” to defend NATO allies in Eastern Europe, Sergey Karaganov said that the confrontation between Russia and the West will go on for […]
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MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) – The leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics in eastern Ukraine said in a joint statement Thursday they were ready to order ceasefire on Friday afternoon if a peace plan is signed during negotiations in Minsk. “We are ready to order ceasefire at 3:00 p.m. Moscow time [11:00 GMT] if an agreement […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – September 4, 2014) Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko called for a “permanent ceasefire” on September 3, following a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising hopes that peace was around the corner in Ukraine. Those hopes were dented later the same day when the Ukrainian presidential website where the announcement had first appeared revised the […]
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MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow is ready to explain and clarify the provisions of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s seven-point plan on Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. “We, as a country that in cooperation with OSCE officials has been trying to launch a substantive and meaningful dialogue between Kiev and southeastern Ukraine, have put forward a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 4, 2014) More than 70 percent of Russians would ban imports of booze and cigarettes from Western countries in retaliation for sanctions, but few would give up foreign cars or pay an additional tax on vacations abroad, a recent poll indicated. Other popular measures included blacklisting foreign hotels (supported by 77 percent) and banning […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#195 :: Friday 5 September 2014 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 1. The Times (UK): Neo-Nazis give Kiev a last line of defence […]
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(Interfax – September 3, 2014) Putin’s plan to settle the situation in Ukraine is only a proposal on priority measures, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov has said, Russian privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 3 September. “This is not an exhaustive plan. It is a proposal on priority measures and everything else is an issue for further talks,” Peskov told […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 4, 2014) A new survey released by the independent Levada Center on Wednesday revealed a tendency among Russians to characterize Ukrainians by negative personality traits, and their Russians compatriots by favorable ones. Forty-seven percent of respondents to the poll, which was conducted between Aug. 22 and 25, said Russians were generally willing to offer […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 4, 2014) The majority of Russia’s urban population is breathing highly polluted air, including at least 14 million people in 38 cities where pollutant concentrations are 10 times above acceptable levels, according to a recent report by the national weather and environment service. Moscow was among cities that rated high on air pollution, mostly […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Luke Johnson – September 03, 2014) Kyiv appears to have taken a page from Stalin’s book in a bid to root out pro-Russian spies looking to weaken Ukraine’s defenses from within. Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey has announced the creation of a Special Service, similar to a counterintelligence organization that existed during Josef Stalin’s rule, to deal with subversive […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 4, 2014) Members of the Islamic State, a violent group of extremists presently terrorizing Iraq and Syria, have released a video threatening President Vladimir Putin and vowing to wage war in Russia’s restive North Caucasus. Message to Putin A video released by Al Arabiya and reportedly filmed in a seized airport in […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#194 :: Thursday 4 September 2014 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 Ukraine & Russia 1. Moscow Times: Poll: Most Russians Would Sacrifice Booze […]
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… 31. Wall Street Journal editorial: Deterring a European War. Putin wants to break NATO, and his next move may be against the Baltic states. 32. New York Times editorial: NATO’s Urgent Challenges. 33. NATO: NATO and Russia: a new strategic reality. Remarks by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at the conference on “NATO after the Wales Summit” ….
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(Interfax – Moscow, September 2, 2014) The Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitriy Peskov, has said that at the end of its contract with American company Ketchum, the Kremlin will have to decide on the future of their cooperation. “Communication services are largely useless now,” the Russian president’s press secretary said in an interview with [Russian-language] Forbes magazine (http://tinyurl.com/p9xko9j). “At a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – September 3, 2014) On the last day of summer, a Russian Orthodox priest imposed against his parishioners who had fought in Ukraine’s “fratricidal war” a 20-year ban on receiving communion. Those deemed to have only promoted the conflict raging in Ukraine’s east, either verbally or in writing, will be hit with an […]
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(NATO – nato.int – September 2, 2014) “NATO and Russia: a new strategic reality” Remarks by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at the conference on “NATO after the Wales Summit”, Cardiff University Thank you, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, for that kind introduction. I’m grateful for the invitation to be here on the eve of the NATO Summit. We’ve been preparing […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – September 2, 2014) With Russia’s political opposition either sidelined or splintered over Russian policy in Ukraine, dissenting cultural figures have become the new focus of pro-Kremlin witch hunts, with state media treating them as a political force and accusing them of treachery. The practice has echoes of Soviet times, when cultural figures […]
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DONETSK. Sept 3 (Interfax) – Oleh Tsaryov, the chairman of the common legislature of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), is skeptical about the Ukrainian presidential press service’s declaration on reaching agreements on a ceasefire in Donbas. “This is not the first time that the Ukrainian authorities declare halting of combat activities. The previous such […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – September 3, 2014) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko permanent ceasefire in eastern Ukraine firing a conversation this morning with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Poroshenko made the announcement on Twitter account. “Mutual understanding was achieved concerning the steps which will enable the establishment of peace,” a statement said after Poroshenko and Putin spoke by phone. The […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu/RIA Novosti – September 3, 2014) The European Commission suggests limiting Russian state-owned companies’ access to European capital markets, as it prepares to possibly impose new tougher sanctions on Russia at a meeting on Friday, September 5. According to agency statements, the new economic sanctions against Russia, proposed by the European commission, include limiting the access […]
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(Interfax – September 3, 2014) Rossiya Segodnya news agency photographer Andrei Stenin died on the Snizhne-Dmytrivka road in southeastern Ukraine in the Ukrainian army’s attack on a refugee convoy, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax. “Detectives have discovered circumstances of the journalist’s death : A. Stenin was on a field trip to Snizhne, Ukraine, on August 5,” the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – David Miller, RBTH – September 3, 2014) Relations between the U.S. and Russia deteriorated in 2014 at a rate few would have predicted, as divisions over civil unrest in Ukraine escalated into tit-for-tat rounds of economic sanctions. But is it a new Cold War? Political observers – and politicians – are divided on […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gevorg Mirzayan, special to RBTH – September 3, 2014) NATO will hold its first summit since the start of the conflict in Ukraine on September 4-5. According to information leaked to the media, the alliance is planning to adopt several measures aimed at deterring Russia from military action against European nations. Analysts polled by RBTH […]
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(RIA Novosti – September 2, 2014) Russian politicians and pundits have expressed support for the announcement that Russia will update its military doctrine. The deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, Mikhail Popov, said today in an interview with RIA Novosti news agency that Russia will make changes to its current military doctrine before the end of 2014 to account […]
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WASHINGTON, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – The new US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft has been sworn into office in Washington, the US Embassy in Moscow reported on Twitter. “Congratulations! Today John Kerry has sworn new US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft into office,” the Tweet on Tuesday said. The date of the diplomat’s arrival to Moscow has not been […]
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MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine plans to build a wall along its border with Russia in six months, the Kiev government said in its National Renewal plan released Wednesday. “The Wall Project to build and equip a reinforced barrier between Ukraine and Russia [should be completed] within six months,” the plan says. Earlier the same day, Ukrainian Prime […]
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MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) – Russian volunteers fighting in Ukraine have gone there by the call of their heart to help their brothers and to defend people’s right to a decent life, Russian veterans’ organizations stated. “Russian volunteers are fighting for a just cause, they are defending their friends, the ideals of justice and freedom, the right of people to […]
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ULAN-BATOR. Sept 3 (Interfax) – Both conflict parties should agree and carry out a set of actions in order to stop the bloodshed and stabilize the situation in south-eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “The first thing is to stop active offensive operations by the armed forces and armed formations of militia of south-eastern Ukraine in the direction of […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#192 ::Tuesday 2 September 2014 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 1. Paul Grenier: A Remarkable Interview: Ukraine General Regarding the East Ukraine […]
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Subject: The Ukraine, the West and Russia Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 From: “Dr. Christian Wipperfürth” <cwipperfuerth@email.de> (Associate Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations, dgap.org/en/user/16515/christian-wipperfuerth) The Ukraine, the West and Russia The “United Nations” have announced that far more than 2000 people have been killed in the east Ukraine between April and mid August 2014. The UN described their estimate […]
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(Interfax – August 31, 2014) The Kremlin’s press spokesman has clarified remarks made by President Vladimir Putin about “statehood” for the separatist parts of southeast Ukraine. Dmitriy Peskov “explained that when he was talking about the need for Kiev to start talks with the militias in Novorossiya, Vladimir Putin was talking not about the region’s status but an inclusive dialogue […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris – September 2, 2014) September 1 saw more sabre rattling in Berlin and Brussels with more demands that “Russia must be made to pay,” while in the Belarusian capital Ukrainian rebel leaders made a few key concessions necessary for an eventual peace. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was strident in her comments that […]
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Subject: A Remarkable Interview: Ukraine General Regarding the East Ukraine Separatists, “I don’t consider them enemies” Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 From: Paul Grenier <psgrenier@gmail.com> A Remarkable Interview: Ukraine General Regarding the East Ukraine Separatists, “I don’t consider them enemies” Paul Grenier The war in Ukraine, like virtually every war, depends for its continuation on demonization of the enemy. A […]
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(Interfax – August 28, 2014) Question: Ambassador Grushko, it is clear from statements by NATO leaders what kinds of decisions on Russia and in response to events in Ukraine may come at the alliance’s forthcoming summit. If the proposals announced to date are adopted in Wales, will it start a new Cold War between Russia and NATO? Will the “divorce” […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – August 29, 2014) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has declared that Russia has invaded his country. The EU and the U.S., however, are in no rush to provide military help to Ukraine, limiting themselves to sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow has dismissed the latest Western accusations and satellite images released […]
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(Interfax – August 29, 2014) An overwhelming majority of Russians – 94 percent – are following the events in Ukraine, and television remains the primary source of information for 93 percent of them, the Levada Center sociological service told Interfax with reference to a nationwide public opinion poll it conducted on August 22-25. About a quarter of respondents – 25 […]
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MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) – Self-defense forces in southeastern Ukraine are using the captured Soviet equipment that they got at the abandoned warehouses and captured Ukrainian forces’ equipment depots, while they do not receive anything from Russia, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Saturday in an interview with Slovak television. “When the USSR collapsed, the Ukrainian territory was […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Volnovakha, Ukraine – September 2, 2014) As Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promises dismissals among top security officials following battlefield defeats, investigators identified two top-ranking sets of brothers that they fear may be sabotaging Ukraine’s “anti-terrorist operation” against pro-Russian separatists. Poroshenko promised far-reaching personnel changes on September 1 at the very top […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – September 2, 2014) The secrecy shrouding a group of Russian paratroopers allegedly deployed to Ukraine has caused an outcry among the liberal media and immeasurable worry to troops’ relatives – but it appears that Russian authorities are legally entitled to remain tight-lipped. Not even in the case of “cargo 200” – as […]
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MOSCOW. Sept 2 (Interfax) – The proposal by the Ukrainian government to revoke the non-aligned status of the country shows the attempts of supporters of forceful conflict resolution in south-eastern Ukraine to disrupt the search for ways for political settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday. “I would draw your attention to […]
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(Interfax – September 2, 2014) The Russian Foreign Ministry has dubbed provocative the recent statement by Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey who announced “the end of the operation aimed to free eastern Ukraine from terrorists” and the beginning of “a great patriotic war, which will have tens of thousands of casualties.” “The appeal of V. Heletey to prepare for another […]
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