Russian Options Narrow as Putin Looks to Exporters’ Windfall

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas, Andrey Biryukov – September 22, 2015) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promises made as recently as last year may be the latest casualty of the collapse in oil prices. Putin instructed the government on Tuesday to study the possibility of steering into the budget some of the gains by exporters from ruble devaluation, without losing […]

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RBTH: Russia’s opposition denies waning influence as protests shrink

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

In the wake of the low turnout to a Sept. 20 protest in Moscow, sources polled by RBTH say that the protest did not appear convincing and conclude that for the time being the opposition does not have very bright prospects. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH – September 22, 2015) Despite claims by leading liberal […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#185 :: Wednesday 23 September 2015

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#185 Wednesday – 23 September 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 […]

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Interfax: Moscow concerned by plans to modernize U.S. nuclear weapons in Germany

foreign-ministry-200

(Interfax – September 22, 2015) Moscow is troubled by plans to modernize U.S. nuclear weapons in Germany, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said. “Such plans on the part of the U.S. cause our concern,” Zakharova said in an interview with Germany’s ZDF television station. The text of the interview was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on […]

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After the Boom: Moscow Malls Struggle With Fewer Customers

File Photo of Cash Register with Drawer Open and Hands of Cashier

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 22, 2015) Twenty-eight percent fewer customers are walking through the doors of the average Moscow shopping center than two years ago, according to data from market researchers Watcom cited by the Kommersant newspaper. The slump in visitor numbers comes after years of expanding consumer spending in Russia as an oil boom fueled an emerging […]

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Russian Senator Introduces Bill Criminalizing Pro-Stalin Propoganda

File Photo of Joseph Stalin and Sergei Kirov as Part of Group of Five, Next to Bust of Lenin, with Faces of Other Attendees Partially Blurred

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – September 22, 2015) A high-ranking Russian senator has sought to combat the increasing promotion of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the country by introducing a bill that would criminalize attempts to justify the dictator’s totalitarian regime and political purges, state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday. The bill introduced in the State Duma […]

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A Loyal Governor Feels Putin’s Wrath

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – September 21, 2015) Russia has never seen a corruption case like this. The successful governor of the Komi Republic, who was faultlessly loyal to President Vladimir Putin, has been accused of leading a criminal organization that allegedly included a number of his region’s top officials. As cheap oil forces Russians to tighten their […]

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Why Russia Is Expanding Its Naval Base in Syria

File Photo of Russian naval vessel on Arctic Ocean

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – September 22, 2015) The Russian military is expanding its tiny naval facility at Tartus on the Syrian coast to handle bigger warships and transport vessels amid a general buildup of Russian forces in territory controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday, citing military sources. The news broke as […]

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Poll: Most Russians do not want to live in Moscow

Russia Regions Map

According to a poll conducted by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), only 13 percent of Russians would like their children to live in Moscow. The most popular option among those polled (23 percent) would be to live in a small town. According to another poll, the Siberian city of Tyumen rates highly among Russian urban areas. (Russia Beyond […]

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Russia to Conduct ‘Micro-Census’ in October

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 22, 2015) Russia is to conduct a “micro-census” next month involving 2.5 million people that will have a broader scope than an ordinary census, the State Statistics Service, or Rosstat, said in a statement. The population survey will take place in all regions of Russia between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, according to Rosstat. […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#184 :: Tuesday 22 September 2015

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#184 Tuesday – 22 September 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 […]

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NEWSWATCH Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Weighs Talks With Russia on Military Activity in Syria. Pentagon leaders grilled over strategy to deal with regime of Bashar al-Assad.”

Syria Map

The Wall Street Journal reports on U.S. military and foreign policy responses to stepped-up Russian activity in Syria, including Congressional criticism of the Obama administration. The Obama administration is considering discussions with Russia on military activities Syria in what would mark a shift in approach as U.S. policy comes under growing criticism at home. * * * In a scorching […]

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Russia refuses to accept ‘restructuring’ of Ukrainian debt

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

The Kremlin is refusing to accept proposals by Kiev to restructure $3 billion worth of bonds and demands full payment on the debt. Experts point out that this is an economic as well as a political issue and it could become a bargaining chip in the ongoing negotiations over a bilateral gas deal. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – […]

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‘Team Georgia’ graftbusters open container of worms in Odesa clean-up

Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Odesa – September 21, 2015) Odesa region governor Mikheil Saakashvili wants to crack down on corruption and the shadow economy in Odesa’s ports, and with the appointment to the post of regional prosecutor of Davit Sakvarelidze he now has the power to do this. After intense lobbying in Kyiv, the former […]

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Interfax: Half of Russians back independence of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transdniestria

Georgia Beach in Abkhazia Region

(Interfax – September 21, 2015) Half of Russians deem Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be independent states and think that these republics and Transdniestria should have formal independent status, the Levada Center has told Interfax. According to the poll of 800 respondents held in 134 populated localities in 46 regions on August 21-24, practically half (47 percent) of respondents see […]

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Russia to Ban Genetically Modified Organisms in Food Production

File Photo of U.S. Dairy Cows

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 21, 2015) The Russian government will ban production of goods using genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying Friday. “The question is complicated, but the decision was made: We are not going to produce any food products using genetically modified organisms,” Dvorkovich said at an agricultural forum, the […]

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Moscow makes the case for school reform

File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

Five years into a process to consolidate and redistribute funding to schools, results are being seen, despite protests from parents and experts. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Stroganov, special to RBTH – September 21, 2015) When news came in fall 2012 that School 122 in central Moscow would be merged with another school, parents were up in […]

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Patron Saint Of Russian Journalism Despairs Over Putin’s Television

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RFE/RL – Roman Super, Robert Coalson – MOSCOW – September 20, 2015) If Russian journalism has a patron saint, his name is Yasen Zasursky. The ailing 85-year-old headed the Moscow State University (MGU) journalism department for more than 40 years before becoming its president emeritus in 2007. The roster of respected journalists who received their diplomas from him is astounding: […]

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The Interpreter Report Spurs Fervent Discussion in Washington, D.C. [re: Ukraine & Russia]

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org) On September 17, staff members of IMR’s The Interpreter project led an impassioned discussion about Western policy toward Russia and Ukraine at the presentation of their new report, “An Invasion by Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine,” in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. [Report here http://www.imrussia.org/en/news/2414-imr-releases-the-interpreter-report-an-invasion-by-any-other-name-the-kremlins-dirty-war-in-ukraine] The Interpreter editor-in-chief Michael Weiss and […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#183 :: Monday 21 September 2015

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#183 Monday – 21 September 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 […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Victoria Nuland at Panel Discussion “Ukraine’s East and Crimea: Solving the Unsolvable”

File Photo of Victoria Nuland Testifying

(Embassy of the United States Kyiv – September 12, 2015) Remarks by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland at a Panel Discussion “Ukraine’s East and Crimea: Solving the Unsolvable” 12th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting Kyiv, Ukraine MODERATOR:  Victoria Nuland, if I may just turn to you. Obviously, you work for the State Department.  You […]

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Putin Tightens Reins on Ukraine Rebels, Putting Conflict on Ice

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov, Stepan Kravchenko – September 17, 2015) Ukrainian separatist leaders say their hopes of full integration with Russia or greater independence are fading as the Kremlin tightens the reins on their rebellion. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears unwilling to risk broadening his conflict with the U.S. and European Union over Ukraine, senior separatist officials said […]

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Ukraine Bond Deal at Risk Again as Rebel Investors Demand Change

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Natasha Doff, Marton Eder – September 17, 2015) A group of investors in Ukraine’s shortest-dated bonds stepped up pressure on Franklin Templeton to adjust the terms of an $18 billion restructuring agreement they argue is biased against them, saying they have the power to block the deal. Holders of the $500 million Eurobond due on Sept. […]

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UN: War in Donbass takes 8,000 lives

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Interfax – September 18, 2015) At least 8,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution, has said. Eight thousand people have died, and according to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, most of them have been civilians. Artillery shelling incidents are observed on both sides, […]

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Kazakh, Uzbek leaders reignite talk of succession

Map of CIS Central Asia and Environs

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Naubet Bisenov in Almaty and Olim Abdullayev in Tashkent – September 17, 2015) The issue of succession has become topical again in Central Asia’s largest countries – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – after the Kazakh leader appointed his daughter as deputy prime minister, while the Uzbek president was reported to have openly nominated his second […]

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Interfax: Moscow can neither confirm nor deny US special forces “on ground” in Syria

Syria Map

(Interfax – September 18, 2015) The Russian Foreign Ministry has not been able to either confirm or deny information that US special forces are present in Syria but it condemns coalition actions that have not been agreed with Damascus. “I cannot either confirm or deny this information but I can indeed say that all actions by the so-called coalition have […]

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Impasse Over U.S.-Russia Nuclear Treaty Hardens As Washington Threatens ‘Countermeasures’

File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015) Russia risks provoking “military and economic countermeasures” if it continues to stonewall over a U.S. accusation that it violated a bedrock of nuclear arms control, the United States’ lead arms-control negotiator says. The comments by Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, highlight the seriousness […]

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Snowman warms to Russia as Western stars seek new home

Gérard Depardieu file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Nick Allen in Warsaw – September 18, 2015) If you can right hook or roundhouse with the best of them, or rattle off 100 uses for a giant nose, then the door to Russia and the Kremlin may be wide open to you. What is it with international martial arts, boxing and wrestling stars […]

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News of Closure of American Center in Moscow Rattles Muscovites

Artist's Rendition of U.S. Embassy, Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry in the Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova, Anna Dolgov – September 18, 2015) News of the possible shutting down of an American culture center sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow after 22 years of operation rattled Muscovites on Wednesday. Ambassador John Tefft was the first to break the news in a statement published on the embassy’s website, warning that […]

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Unhappy with one in a 100, Russia goes for 5

Moscow State University file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Fedorov, RBTH – September 18, 2015) Project 5-100, launched by presidential decree two years ago, sets the ambitious goal of getting five Russian universities in the world’s top 100 by 2020. Since 2013, Russia has invested millions of dollars in an attempt to drive up the position of its universities in international […]

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Deutsche Bank confirms its retreat from Russia

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Jason Corcoran in Moscow – September 18, 2015) Deutsche Bank, a lender whose ties with Russia span 134 years, will exit its investment banking business in Moscow by the end of year following allegations its bankers laundered money on behalf of its clients, it was confirmed on September 18. The German bank’s corporate finance […]

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Russian Consumer Rot Worsens as Wages Decline More Than Forecast

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova – September 17, 2015) A slump in Russian consumption showed no letup last month while a drop in investment stretched into the longest in two decades, highlighting the toll on the economy from lower oil prices and the latest wave of ruble depreciation. Real wages declined 9.8 percent from a year earlier after a […]

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Russians’ Incomes Fall at Fastest Pace in 8 Months

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 18, 2015) Russians’ wages fell in August at their fastest pace since the start of the year, according to official data published Thursday that also showed a continuing slump in capital investment, industrial output and retail spending. Russia’s economy has been shaken by a collapse in the price of oil since summer 2014 and […]

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Putin sees non-parliamentary parties taking part in 2016 Duma polls

Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Interfax – September 17, 2015) The regional elections that took place on 13 September in Russia were a fair and competitive fight, and many non-parliamentary parties will take part in the 2016 State Duma election, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, as reported by Russian news agencies on 17 September. “The election campaign took place in conditions of an open […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#182 :: Friday 18 September 2015

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#182 Friday – 18 September 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 […]

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Ukraine and the postcolonial condition; What does the debate over Ukraine’s postcolonial status reveal about the future of the country’s domestic and international politics?

Balaklava harbour, the cattle pier, Crimea, Ukraine, 1855; adapted from image at loc.gov; Fenton, Roger, 1819-1869, photographer;

(opendemocracy.net – Richard Sakwa – September 18, 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, 4th edition, 2008), Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands (IB Tauris, 1st edition, 2014) and Putin Redux (Routledge, 2nd edition, […]

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Russian Authorities Close Down American Center in Moscow

Artist's Rendition of U.S. Embassy, Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry in the Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – September 17, 2015) The Russian government has shut down the U.S. Embassy’s American Center in Moscow after 22 years in operation, Ambassador John Tefft said, warning the Kremlin is eroding ties that were preserved even during the Cold War. “The U.S. Embassy in Moscow deeply regrets the Russian government’s unilateral decision to […]

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Russia’s HIV Patients Struggle to Get Treatment

Microscopic Image of T-Cells Infected by HIV

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – September 17, 2015) When Russian health care officials announced last week they would start replacing foreign HIV medication with drugs produced in Russia, patients’ rights advocates were quick to point out that HIV patients have complained that domestic drugs are ineffective and have undesirable side effects – but patients themselves say that […]

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American Head of Russia’s Silicon Valley University Quits

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – September 16, 2015) After four years at the helm of one of Russia’s most high-profile applied research universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Edward Crawley will step down and return to the United States, according to a letter obtained by The Moscow Times on Tuesday. Crawley, a member of several senior […]

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