Month: November 2015
NEWSLINK New York Times: “Ukraine Pins Hopes for Change on Fresh-Faced Police Recruits”
NEWSLINK Reuters/John Lloyd: “The Continuing Soviet collapse”
NEWSLINK Defensenews.com: “Russia’s ’16 Defense Spending To Remain Essentially Flat”
NEWSLINK Washington Post: “Russian and Egyptian officials are not to be trusted over airline crash”
TRANSCRIPT: Russian Propaganda: Ways and Means – Leon Aron Senate Testimony
Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation On “Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Propaganda that Threatens Europe” Russian Propaganda: Ways and Means Leon Aron, Ph.D. Resident Scholar and Director of Russian Studies American Enterprise Institute November 3, 2015 The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) […]
» Read moreIf the Russian Elite is to Preserve Itself, It Must Change,’ Gudkov Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 5, 2015) Many commentators are speculating on whether Russia’s elite groups, now threatened by Vladimir Putin’s policies, will find a way to remove him from office and install someone more to their liking. Andrey Piontkovsky has focused particular attention on this issue (nv.ua/opinion/piontkovskiy/putin-protiv-rossijskih-elit-78063.html). But this is only part of a larger […]
» Read morePutin’s Dilemma: How To Respond If A Bomb Caused Sinai Air Crash
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Steve Gutterman – November 5, 2015) Mounting evidence that an onboard bomb brought down the Russian jet that crashed on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people, poses a tough new dilemma for President Vladimir Putin: how to respond. If the theory of a terrorist attack is borne out, it will look like exactly what Islamic State […]
» Read moreA-321 crash – Comment on HMG decision
Subject: A-321 crash – Comment on HMG decision. Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2015 From: Andrei Liakhov <gaffriloff@yahoo.co.uk> A-321 crash – Comment on HMG decision. My money is on a technical defect. It is either a computer glitch which the crew tried to correct and swang the aircraft into critical G or the tail was weakened in a previous incident and […]
» Read moreMore Russians Attending Pro-Putin Rallies
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – November 6, 2015) The number of Russians attending pro-government rallies has increased tenfold since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, a study found, while enthusiasm for opposition meetings has grown only slightly. A survey by the social research center at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration […]
» Read moreNew Editor-in-Chief Appointed to The Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 6, 2015) Liberal Russian journalist Mikhail Fishman was appointed editor-in-chief of English-language paper The Moscow Times on Thursday, the newspaper’s owner Demyan Kudryavtsev said. “He is a decent, well-known and well-connected person,” Kudryavtsev, who bought the paper earlier this year, said in e-mailed comments to The Moscow Times. The appointment of Fishman comes less […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#216 :: Friday 6 November 2015
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#216 Friday 6 November 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 […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Politico.eu: “Growing up in the shadow of ‘Brother Putin.’ He dominates Russian consciousness like no other, especially among children”
NEWSLINK The Guardian: “Russia’s last independent English newspaper ends daily edition”
NEWSLINK Wall Street Journal: “U.S., Allies to Boost Aid to Syria Rebels. Shipments of arms, supplies are aimed at pressuring Assad while countering Russia, Iran”
NEWSLINK The National Interest/John Richard Cookson: “Reviving Détente?”
Interfax: Russia does not see Ukraine as enemy despite Kyiv’s new military doctrine – Russian Security Council
MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) – Russia does not see Ukraine as an adversary despite a new military doctrine approved by Kyiv. “For its part, Russia does not consider Ukraine an enemy,” Mikhail Popov, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, told reporters on Thursday. “While calling our country an enemy, the Ukrainian government continues buying from what it calls its […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Christian Science Monitor: “As US, UK point at ‘bomb’ in Sinai plane crash, Russia takes cooler approach”
NEWSLINK Reuters: “Russia’s Putin suspends all flights to Egypt on security advice”
NEWSLINK The Economist: “Russia’s Sergei Shoigu. Master of emergencies. The trusty defence minister is the only person to serve in every government since the fall of the Soviet Union. He could be the next president.”
Vladimir Putin again tops list of world’s most powerful people
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – YANA LUBNINA, SPECIAL TO RBTH- November 5, 2015) Vladimir Putin has been named the most powerful man in the world once again. The president of Russia took first place in Forbes’ annual ranking for the third year in a row. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama took second and third […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Reuters: “Ukraine must reform to get EU visa-free travel, says Juncker”
NEWSLINK Politico.eu: “Ukraine’s most popular politician. Mikhail Saakashvili wants to be the “standard-bearer for reforms” – and possibly the next prime minister”
NEWSLINK AP: “Ukraine’s rebel center in limbo as fighting dies down.”
NEWSLINK AFP: “Ukraine rebels complete small arms withdrawal”
NEWSLINK New York Times: “The Displaced: Oleg; At 11, he is living in the ruins of his former life”
NEWSLINK Defenseone.com: “Obama Should Have Given Weapons to Ukraine, Says Former Pentagon Russia Official” [Evelyn Farkas]
NEWSLINK New York Times/Masha Gessen: “Putin’s Forever Wars”
NEWSLINK AFP: “Money, patriotism drive Russians to join Syria mission”
NEWSLINK Reuters: “Russia lays foundations for carbon regulation amid calls for action”
Putin Thinks He’s ‘Vladimir the Great,’ Condoleezza Rice Says
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Sangwon Yoon – November 5, 2015) As U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice knew Vladimir Putin up close. One thing he liked to remind her during her time in the Bush administration was how Russia had “only been great when it has been led by great men, like Alexander II and Peter the Great.” Hearing him […]
» Read moreConfession of a Russian internet provider: A firsthand account of how the internet is monitored, regulated and blocked in the Russian Federation
(opendemocracy.net – Dmitry Okrest – November 5, 2015) Dmitry Okrest is a former staff writer with The New Times and currently works as an independent journalist. The internet is no longer free in Russia-that’s according to Freedom Net, a report recently published by Freedom House. Freedom of expression on the internet has been under threat for some time in the […]
» Read moreMost Russians Won’t Make It to Their 71st Birthday, OECD Report Shows
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 5, 2015) High alcohol and tobacco consumption mean most Russians will never reach the age of 71, with the average life expectancy in Russia lagging almost 10 years behind the average in developed countries – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report published Wednesday. The average life expectancy in Russia […]
» Read morePutin’s Fortress Russia Takes Its Toll
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – November 5, 2015) It’s difficult to quantify the damage Western economic sanctions have done to Russia. The country’s slump is almost exclusively due to a drop in oil prices, which has led to a sharp currency devaluation and a jump in interest rates. Yet the sanctions have fueled the Kremlin’s paranoia, lending Russia’s […]
» Read moreNew Museum Stakes Claim to Russia’s Gulag Legacy
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – November 5, 2015) [Photos here http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/new-museum-stakes-claim-to-russias-gulag-legacy/542211.html] Russia’s largest museum devoted to the horrors of the Soviet gulag has opened, even as many Muscovites remain unwilling to talk about political repression. Moscow’s new Gulag Museum opened Friday even as the country remains polarized by the legacy of its brutal system of Soviet-era prison […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#215 :: Thursday 5 November 2015
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#215 Thursday 5 November 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 […]
» Read moreWill extremists unite to fight against Russia and the West?
The al-Qaeda leader has urged Islamist groups to overcome internal divisions and join forces to oppose the West, Russia, Syria and Iran. However, it raises the question of whether extremists can forget their differences and act as a united front. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXEY TIMOFEYCHEV, RBTH – November 3, 2015) The call to unite Islamist forces […]
» Read moreUkraine Failing to Probe Pro-Russia Protester Deaths, Panel Says
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska, Kateryna Choursina – November 4, 2015) Ukrainian authorities are failing to adequately investigate 48 deaths, including of 42 pro-Russian protesters, in the Black Sea port of Odessa in May 2014, according to an international panel set up by the Council of Europe. The demonstrators clashed with football fans and participants in a pro-government rally […]
» Read moreMoscow creates vast new bank from Post Office
Russia’s postal service joined forces with VTB Bank to establish Post Bank, a new retail lender with three times as many retail branches as the current leader, Sberbank. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Kira Egorova – November 4, 2015) Russia’s government approved the establishment of a massive new bank based on the country’s postal service, a move that […]
» Read moreFive Questions: The Arrest Of Ukrainian Oligarch Hennadiy Korban
(RFE/RL – Anna Shamanska – November 3, 2015) The arrest of a close associate of one of Ukraine’s most powerful oligarchs has pundits and the public wondering whether President Petro Poroshenko is finally cracking down on corruption or merely trying to silence political opponents. Hennadiy Korban, the head of the anti-Poroshenko UKROP party, was initially arrested at his home on […]
» Read moreInterfax: DPR to launch combat actions if Ukraine breaches truce – Zakharchenko
DEBALTSEVE. (Donetsk region). Nov 4 (Interfax) – The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) will launch combat actions at a place they will find necessary, if Ukraine breaches the truce, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said. “The ceasefire is notional, yesterday I heard and saw how the silence regime is being implemented and watched the gunfire on Pesky and the frontline positions […]
» Read moreRussian Propaganda: ‘The Weaponization of Information’
(Voice of America – Molly McKitterick – November 3, 2015) When a Russian news outlet edited the U.S. ambassador into a picture of an opposition rally, the U.S. Embassy countered by editing the ambassador into a series of improbable photos – for instance, on the moon and at an ice hockey rink. The idea was to show that the original […]
» Read moreNew Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia
Subject: New Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2015 From: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace <chogan@carnegieendowment.org> Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Chicago Council on Global Affairs Launch Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Former Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Senator to Co-Chair Bipartisan Effort WASHINGTON-The Carnegie […]
» Read moreExiled Kremlin Critic Becomes EBRD Chief Economist
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 4, 2015) Sergei Guriev, a former adviser to the Russian government who fled the country two years ago, has been appointed chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the bank said in a statement Tuesday. Guriev is to take up his post in summer 2016. He will become the first […]
» Read moreAirbnb Sees Rapid Growth in Russia Amid Recession
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 4, 2015) The online lodging service Airbnb has seen rapid growth in Russia as the country’s economic recession forces more Russians to look for ways to supplement their incomes, the Bloomberg news agency reported Tuesday. The Russian business of San Francisco-based Airbnb has doubled during the past year, propelling Moscow into the world’s top […]
» Read moreIntegration still a challenge in Russia
Russian society has yet to accept that mass migration is a fact, which makes it harder for those moving to the country to integrate into society, according to an expert on xenophobia. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ilya Krol – November 2, 2015) The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is one of the leading nonprofit organizations in […]
» Read moreA ‘new’ National Holiday serves to unite 11 time zones
In a country where more than 130 languages are spoken, the idea of unity is a necessary theme to explore. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mikhail Shvydkoi – November 4, 2015) Mikhail Shvydkoi was the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation (2000-2004). On Nov. 4, Russian citizens will celebrate National Unity Day. This is a relatively new […]
» Read morePutin says external pressure gives Russia chance to develop
(Interfax – November 3, 2015) Russia has a unique opportunity to develop because external forces are trying to hinder it, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. He was speaking at a meeting with representatives of scientific, cultural, public and religious organizations in Dagestan on 3 November, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported. “Life has worked out such that for us, […]
» Read moreOne in Three Russians Exempt From Military Service for Medical Reasons
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eva Hartog – November 3, 2015) Roughly one third of this year’s potential conscripts have been exempted from serving in the Russian military for medical reasons, the head of the Defense Ministry’s main military medical directorate, Alexander Fisun, told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper on Tuesday. This year, about 30 percent of conscripts were turned down […]
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