Month: May 2015

Book Review: Rajan Menon and Eugene B. Rumer, ‘Conflict in Ukraine: The Unwinding of the Post-Cold War Order’

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

Truth may well be the first victim of war, and fair-minded and dispassionate accounts of events in Ukraine are rare. (opendemocracy.net – Richard Sakwa – May 8, 2015) Richard Sakwa is professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, England. Among his books are Putin: Russia’s Choice (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2007) and Russian Politics and Society (Routledge, […]

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Putin’s Tanks Draw Cheers in Russian City Jammed Between NATO Nations

Military, NATO
Kaliningrad Map, adapted and cropped from army.mil image with credit to Jim Kistler, USAWC

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Ragozin – May 11, 2015) Tanks and ballistic missiles lumbered past thousands of spectators gathered in Kaliningrad on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe, an historic triumph for Russia that the Kremlin has used to whip up a new nationalist fervor. “We need to show our enemies, who deem […]

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NEWSLINK Reuters: Russian soldiers quit over Ukraine

Military, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Some Russian soldiers are quitting the army because of the conflict in Ukraine, several soldiers and human rights activists have told Reuters. Their accounts call into question the Kremlin’s continued assertions that no Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine, and that any Russians fighting alongside rebels there are volunteers.

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NEWSLINK New York Times: Kerry Arrives in Russia for Talks With Vladimir Putin on Cooperation

Newslinks, Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
John Kerry file photo

Secretary of State John Kerry held more than four hours of talks on Tuesday with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in what both sides depicted as a frank and cordial meeting aimed at reaching a common strategy to end the Syria war and defuse the Ukraine crisis.

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NEWSLINK The Daily Signal: Two Weeks to Make a Soldier: A Ukrainian National Guard Unit Trains to ‘Fight to the Death’

Military, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

At its training camp on the outskirts of Kyiv this past weekend, the Ukrainian National Guard Azov Regiment held its Spartan Test—a grueling three-hour rite of passage meant to test the mental and physical strength of both new recruits and battle-hardened veterans.

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NEWSLINK Alaska Dispatch News: Russia and US must maintain Arctic relations in an interconnected world

Arctic, Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Arctic Map

Russia is in the news, again. NATO ministers continue to discuss how to upgrade their response capabilities to contain Russia, an increasingly unpredictable neighbor, and Pentagon officials advise Congress that Russia is a primary military threat. All the meanwhile, President Putin ramps up his military modernization effort. Could this finally be the end of strong Russia-U.S. cooperation in the one […]

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NEWSLINK IHS Jane’s 360: SACEUR, analysts see Russia renewing invasion of Ukraine in next two months

Military, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

A consensus is building among NATO officials and military analysts of the situation in Eastern Ukraine that Russia will renew its invasion of the region in the next two months. However, there is also general agreement that the attack would take only after the 9 May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, which President Vladimir Putin regards as reaffirming Russia’s continued […]

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NEWSLINK New York Times: Battle Tested, Ukraine Troops Now Get U.S. Basic Training

Military, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
U.S. Military Convoy Headed to Ukraine, On Highway Near Mountains or Cliffs

The exercise, one of the most fundamental in the military handbook, came off without a hitch. A soldier carrying a length of rope and a grappling hook ran to within 20 feet or so of a coil of concertina wire and stopped.

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Moscow Government Approves Plans for Russian Disneyland

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 12, 2015) Moscow’s urban planning commission has approved plans for a children’s amusement park along the lines of Disneyland to be built in the Nagatinskaya Poima park in southeastern Moscow, City Hall said in a statement. The amusement park will include an indoor theme park operated by Hollywood animation studio DreamWorks, another park operated […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#94 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Monday, May 11, 2015

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#94 :: Monday 11 May 2015 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part by a […]

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EU Says No Visa Liberalization For Ukraine And Georgia

Europe, EU, Georgia, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – May 8, 2015) The EU Commission has said neither Georgia nor Ukraine would obtain visa-free travel to the EU’s Schengen zone at the Riga Eastern Partnership Summit later this month. Speaking in Brussels on May 8 after the EU Commission published its annual visa report on both countries, the spokeswoman for home affairs, Natasha Bertaud, said […]

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NEWSLINK New York Times: In Talks With Merkel, Putin Calls for Improving Relations With Europe

Europe, EU, Germany, Newslinks
Map of Germany

President Vladimir V. Putin used a visit on Sunday by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to call for a return to normal relations with Europe, brushing aside the widespread boycott by Western leaders of the huge Victory Day parade on Red Square a day earlier.

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Nemtsov’s Report On Putin And Ukraine War Finally In Print, With A Little Help From His Friends

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(RFE/RL – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – May 10, 2015) On the evening of February 25, the Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov came to his friend, Ilya Yashin, to ask for help with his latest investigation: a sensitive report on Russian soldiers secretly fighting in Ukraine. Two days later Nemtsov, a relentless critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was brazenly shot dead near […]

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No decision made yet on Putin’s meeting with Kerry – Kremlin spokesman

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
John Kerry file photo

MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has not confirmed reports that President Vladimir Putin is to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Sochi on Tuesday. “We will make an announcement if such a meeting takes place,” Peskov said on Govorit Moskva radio on Monday. The radio station said citing Peskov that no decision has […]

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Building a fragile EM coalition

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Military, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – May 11, 2015) The May 9 victory parade on Red Square was a show of strength by Russia, which is locked in conflict with Ukraine and the West. But it was also a show of solidarity by some emerging markets that have sided, to a greater or lesser degree and with […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#93 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Sunday, May 10, 2015

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#93 :: Sunday 10 May 2015 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part by […]

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Interfax: Donetsk militias register 37 ceasefire breaches by Ukrainians, including artillery attacks

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

DONETSK. May 11 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian military have shelled the Donbas territory nearly 40 times in the past 24 times, the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Monday. “Over the past 24 hours we have registered 37 instances of ceasefire violation, including the use of artillery,” the ministry said in a statement, according to […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#92 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Friday, May 8, 2015

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#92 :: Friday 8 May 2015 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part by […]

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Russia’s Biggest Social Network VK Beats Television in Battle for Viewers

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – May 8, 2015) Russia’s leading social network VK has beaten the country’s biggest television channel in the battle for viewers’ attention, data from media research firm TNS Russia showed. VK, previously known as VKontakte, had 13.2 million daily users in March this year, while state-owned giant Channel One had an audience of […]

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Russia’s road to deoffshorisation and capital amnesty still ‘under construction’

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Hand Pulling Cash from Envelope

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Artem Toropov, senior associate in the tax practice at law firm Goltsblat BLP – May 7, 2015) More than a year has passed since the Russian “deoffshorisation” reform was switched into “active” mode by the Russian president. 2014 was dominated with work on the new legislation – but the result, to many, was quite […]

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Victory Day network session

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, History, Soviet Union
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – May 8, 2015) The crowds in Moscow will be out in force on May 9 to watch what is expected to be the largest ever Victory Day celebration, with the traditional parade of military hardware through Moscow’s Red Square. But in terms of geopolitics the real event […]

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Billionaire No More: Ukraine President’s Fortune Fades With War

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File photo of Barack Obama and Petro Poroshenko facing one another, with Obama gesturing

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kateryna Choursina, Volodymyr Verbyany and Alex Sazonov -May 7, 2015) At the November 2013 World Economic Forum in Kiev’s Intercontinental Hotel, billionaire Petro Poroshenko predicted a European Union trade pact would kick-start Ukraine’s economy and enrich his Roshen Confectionery Corp. by dramatically increasing EU-bound chocolate exports. Eighteen months later, Poroshenko — now Ukraine’s president — has […]

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NEWSLINK Brookings Institution: What’s next in eastern Ukraine? More of the same

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Concern is rising over the situation in eastern Ukraine, with reports of increased shelling across the line of contact and rising casualties, as well as of Russia arming and organizing separatist forces while assembling regular army units along the Ukraine-Russia border. Tension is up, but the most likely prospect is continuation of a no war/no peace situation … a frozen […]

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Donetsk and Luhansk Theaters to Tour Russia

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 7, 2015) Russia’s Ministry of Culture will pay theater, opera and ballet troupes from the separatist-controlled Lugansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine to tour Russia this summer and fall. The ministry will support tours by the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater, the Luhansk Music and Drama Theater, the Youth Theater of Donetsk, the […]

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Interfax: Ukrainian army shells DPR territory – militia

Military, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

DONETSK. May 8 (Interfax) – The Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has registered 44 instances of shelling by Ukrainian government forces in the region in the past 24 hours, the Donetsk news agency reported. “Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian side has shelled the territory of the DPR 44 times. The adversary continues to use heavy […]

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Punitive Tax Regime Is Crushing Ukraine’s Oil And Gas Sector

Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Gas Flame file photo

(Oilprice.com – Robert Bensh – May 6, 2015) Each country blessed with oil and gas discoveries initially tries to create a tax regime that maintains the balance between generating tax revenues from the extraction of these hydrocarbons while also encouraging investment. If the country gets too greedy and imposes an excessive tax burden, the inverse effect occurs – investors abandon […]

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Moscow Times: Russian Government Boasts Timely Completion of More than 80 Percent of Putin’s May 2012 Orders

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Dmitry Peskov file photo adapted from image at kremlin.ru/wikimedia commons

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – May 8, 2015) More than eighty percent of the orders President Vladimir Putin signed the day of his inauguration three years ago have been implemented on time, according to a statement published Thursday on the Russian government’s official website. The government claimed that it had fulfilled 81.5 percent of the 168 presidential […]

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Moscow Times: More Than 80% of Russians Favor State Censorship of Literature, Film, Art

Human Rights, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – May 8, 2015) Fourteen percent of Russians do not support state intervention when it comes to the content and dissemination of artistic creations, the survey also showed. A vast majority of Russians think the state should censor artistic creations believed to be vulgar, immoral or harmful to society, according to a survey […]

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Gorbachev: Some Western leaders’ refusal to attend WWII commemorations in Moscow signals disrespect toward those who defeated fascism

History, Soviet Union
File Photo of Parade in Red Square from 2005

(Interfax – May 7, 2015) Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev believes that the refusal of the leaders of some European countries and the United States to come to Moscow to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9 comes as a sign of disrespect toward the people of the former Soviet […]

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The Indelible Mark of World War II on Modern Russia

History, Soviet Union, Military
Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Crowd of Military Officers

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – May 7, 2015) Victory Day hits a raw nerve among Russians, likely owing to the fact that the vast majority of Russian families have been acutely impacted by World War II. President Vladimir Putin recently tapped into this widespread sentimentality with a rare act: he penned a family history, published in this […]

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Oil’s Rebound Is Here

Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Wells File Photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – May 6, 2015) As Brent crude oil reached more than $68 per barrel Wednesday, a high for 2015, analysts started to backtrack on earlier predictions of $40-$50 oil. The rebound, however, may not last: Speculators appear to have disrupted Saudi Arabia’s strategic game against U.S. shale oil producers. Predicting oil prices is a […]

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Is Gazprom a “buy”?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy
Gas Facility file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – May 7, 2015) [Chart here http://www.bne.eu/content/story/moscow-blog-gazprom-buy] With the RTS Index up 30% year-to-date, foreign investors are drifting back into Russian shares simply because they are so cheap. But is the bluest of Russian blue chips and long-time market proxy Gazprom a buy again? Russian investment bank Renaissance […]

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NGO: Russia Among Top 60 Best Countries to Be a Mother

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – May 6, 2015) Russia is one of the top 60 countries in the world in terms of conditions of motherhood, according to a ranking published earlier this week by international advocacy group Save the Children. Russia ranks 56th out of 179 countries in Save the Children’s 2015 Mothers’ Index Ranking, which is […]

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A Guide to Celebrating Victory Day in Moscow

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Parade in Red Square from 2005

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Gladkova – May 6, 2015) Victory Day is coming and the capital is scrambling to prepare for Saturday’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany. The day will be bursting with activity, from a massive military parade replete with shiny new tanks and military vehicles of yore in the […]

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NEWSWATCH Reuters: EU’s top diplomat says destabilized Russia in nobody’s interest

Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog
EU Map

Reuters covers the views of Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the EU Commission. A destabilized and isolated Russia is in nobody’s interests, and sanctions are only being kept in place because a truce agreement in the conflict in Ukraine is not being fully implemented, the European Union’s foreign policy […]

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NEWSWATCH New York Times: A Parade Hailing Russia’s WWII Dead and Marching Further From the West

History, Soviet Union, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Parade in Red Square from 2005

The New York Times covers Russia’s celebration of Victory Day amidst current international tensions. … Putin has recast what he calls the country’s most important holiday to celebrate the might of the Russian state, the days are over when … Western leaders joined Mr. Putin on the bleachers …. The nationalistic fervor surrounding the parade and the tensions over Ukraine mean that the […]

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Russian ombudsman checks reports of servicemen being coerced to fight in Ukraine

Human Rights, Military, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Interfax – Moscow, May 6, 2015) Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Ella Pamfilova has not confirmed reports of Russian servicemen’s presence on the territory of Ukraine. “Inquiries concerning each of the incidents mentioned in the press had been sent to military prosecutors of military districts and directly to the chief military prosecutor. It follows from the official replies received by the […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#91 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Thursday, May 7, 2015

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#91 :: Thursday 7 May 2015 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part by a […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#90 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Wednesday, May 6, 2015

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#90 :: Wednesday 6 May 2015 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in part by […]

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Media serfdom in Ukraine

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Maidan was meant to set Ukrainian media free, but the press remains dependent on the oligarchs. (opendemocracy.net – Otar Dovzhenko – May 6, 2015) Otar Dovzhenko lectures at the School of Journalism at Ukrainian Catholic University, L’viv and is the former editor of Telekritika, Ukraine’s leading platform for media commentary. He has been involved in monitoring Ukrainian media since 2005. On 25 […]

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Interfax: Some of gunmen who shot police officers dead in Kyiv served in volunteer battalions – Ukrainian interior minister

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. May 6 (Interfax) – Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said some men from the group that shot and killed police officers in a recent attack on a gas station in Kyiv are connected to volunteer battalions. Avakov said, responding to journalists’ questions in Kyiv on Wednesday: “Yes, some of these people served in volunteer battalions. The investigators will make […]

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Donetsk rebel leader says Ukraine to start “provocative actions” on 8 May

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Interfax – Donetsk, Ukraine, May 6, 2015) The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR], Oleksandr [Aleksandr] Zakharchenko, expects that provocative actions against the DPR by the Ukrainian side may begin on 8 May. “According to intelligence reports, provocative actions on the part of Ukraine will begin on 8 May. We have received intelligence reports that for this purpose, […]

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Once Known As Preeminent Soviet Scholar, Stephen Cohen Now Seen As Putin Apologist

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Carl Schreck – May 06, 2015 – links here rferl.org/content/stephen-cohen-us-scholar-controversial-putin-apologist/26997584.html) On a recent Friday evening, the prominent Russia historian Stephen Cohen took the mic before an audience of 3,000 in Toronto to debate Western policy toward Russia in light of the Ukraine conflict. Over the next 90 minutes, the man renowned for his pioneering scholarship on the […]

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Dividend season opens and Russian companies are paying

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – May 6, 2015) It’s reporting season and some Russian companies are paying handsome dividends to their shareholders. Almost twice as much as emerging-market peers, in fact, relative to their stock prices, after the sudden ruble rout of last year bolstered exporters’ cash piles. Russian stocks have been performing well off the […]

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Interfax: Obama expects relations with Russia to improve after source of tension eliminated – U.S. Ambassador

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
John Tefft file photo

MOSCOW. May 6 (Interfax) – U.S. President Barack Obama expects that relations with Russia will improve after the source of current tensions between the two countries is eliminated, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft said. “While President Obama is not able to attend this year’s commemoration [of the victory in WWII in Moscow on May 9], I know that he […]

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Russian Bank Lending Drops 60 Percent as Crisis Paralyses System

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 6, 2015) The number of loans issued in Russia in the first quarter of this year fell by 58 percent compared to the same period in 2014, as the devaluation of the ruble, Western sanctions and sky-high interest rates hit the banking system, a report showed Tuesday. The tide is now slowly beginning to turn […]

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