Month: May 2018

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Transformed Gas Markets Fuel U.S.-Russian Rivalry, But Europe Plays Key Role Too [Excerpt]” – Russia Matters/Morena Skalamera

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Gas Flame file photo

[Full text: russiamatters.org/analysis/transformed-gas-markets-fuel-us-russian-rivalry-europe-plays-key-role-too; This article first appeared on the Russia Matters website, russiamatters.org, with the title “Transformed Gas Markets Fuel U.S.-Russian Rivalry, But Europe Plays Key Role Too”] “This month, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressuring Germany to drop its support for a major new Russian gas pipeline if Europe wants to avoid […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “World Cup to Have Little Impact on Russia’s Economy: Moody’s” – Reuters

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Sports, Olympics, World Cup
File Image of Soccer Ball, Field, Stadium with Lights, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“The 2018 soccer World Cup will have little lasting impact on the Russian economy … Moody’s Investors Service said …. Russia will host [the tournament] … in 11 cities … having spent billions of dollars on preparations. … Moody’s finding is at variance with an assessment … by former deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich …. [S]ectors expected to benefit most […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Whatever It Was, We Didn’t Do It” – New York Times Editorial

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and River

“… Russia’s reaction to all accusations of foul play [has been consistent], whether … [to] well-documented charges by the Netherlands, Australia and other nations that [Russia] was responsible for downing a Malaysian jetliner over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 … the British accusation that Russia was most likely behind the poisoning of a double agent and his daughter in England […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Moscow City Court upholds Navalny spokesman Yarmysh’s sentence” – Interfax

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) – The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld the sentence of Kira Yarmysh, the press secretary of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, to 25 days in jail for violating the rules governing the organization of a protest in central Moscow on May 5, an Interfax correspondent has reported. “The appeal is declined. The decision made by the […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-98 :: Thursday, 31 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#98 :: Thursday, 31 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “It’s Time To Admit The Russia Investigation Was Illegitimate From The Start” – The Federalist/Margot Cleveland

JRL NewsBlog, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Department of Justice Headquarters Building file photo, adapted from image at justice.gov

“… DOJ intentionally failed to inform the [FISA] court that the [DNC] … paid for the Christopher Steele dossier. That unverified and mainly false dossier formed a significant part of the government’s application for a wiretap …. I … spent nearly 25 years reviewing challenges to warrants based on claims of withheld (or false) evidence. … unlike the typical criminal […]

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U.S. Ambassador To Russia Expresses ‘Frustration’ With State Of Relations

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of John Huntsman, Men in Military Uniforms and Others, adapted from image at army.mil

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Moscow – May 24, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-u-s-ambassador-huntsman-interview-frustration-sanctions/29249157.html) U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Jon Huntsman says he has experienced “frustration” due to the reluctance of some Russian officials to meet with him because of the state of affairs between the two countries. “Our relationship is not in a good […]

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NEWSLINK: “Who Killed the Kiev Protesters? A 3-D Model Holds the Clues. A team of civilian investigators used cellphone videos, autopsy reports and surveillance footage to reconstruct a virtual crime scene.” – New York Times Magazine/Mattathias Schwartz

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Human Rights, Military, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… Most of the deaths occurred within half an hour along a few hundred feet of streetscape. The scene unfolded before dozens of cameramen, smartphones and security cameras. But these recorded fragments from the day were overshadowed by a fight over what they really showed: The claims of grief-stricken activists, who blamed the Ukrainian paramilitary for shooting the protesters, collided […]

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NEWSLINK: “Babchenko’s Death and Russia’s Dark Power; Russia has adopted a policy of blessing freelance murders carried out in its name” – Moscow Times/Mark Galeotti

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“Editor’s note: Since the publication of this article, Arkady Babchenko has appeared at a press conference in Kiev, and said his ‘murder’ was part of a sting operation. … Another dead critic of the Kremlin. Another round of knee-jerk accusations and denials. Another funeral.  Does the Putin regime murder its enemies as a matter of policy, does it simply create […]

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NEWSLINK: “How Putin’s Russia Became Mafia Heaven; Inside the long, strange story of organized crime taking over the former Soviet Union-and how Russia tamed it only to unleash it on the West. [re: Mark Galeotti]” – ViceCom/Seth Ferranti

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“…  Putin is engaged in this kind of political war with the West—he’s effectively trying to weaponize Russian organized crime against the west. We have seen Russian-based organized crime groups being used to kill enemies of his, to gather intelligence, to move spies across boarders, and raise money for Putin by supporting particular groups or media outlets that he likes […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-97 :: Wednesday, 30 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#97 :: Wednesday, 30 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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Russia Just Won Big In The European Gas War

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Gas Facility file photo

(Oilprice.com – Tim Daiss – May 28, 2018) There’s been a lot of talk on both sides of the Atlantic about the U.S. pivot and efforts at locking in natural as market share in Europe. Much of this comes amid President Donald Trump’s so-called American energy independence push as well as both U.S. and several EU members thrust to wean […]

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Kudrin isn’t Quite the Independent-Minded Liberal Many Think, Pavlova Says

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 24, 2018) Many have welcomed the appointment of former finance minister Aleksey Kudrin to head the Audit Chamber as the welcome addition to the Russian cabinet of a liberal reformer, but Irina Pavlova argues that this image, one cultivated by the Putin regime itself, does not fully correspond to reality. On […]

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JRL NEWSLINK: “F.B.I.’s Urgent Request: Reboot Your Router to Stop Russia-Linked Malware” – New York Times/Louis Lucero II

Cybersecurity, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

“Hoping to thwart a sophisticated malware system linked to Russia that has infected hundreds of thousands of internet routers, the F.B.I. has made an urgent request to anybody with one of the devices: Turn it off, and then turn it back on. The malware is capable of blocking web traffic, collecting information that passes through home and office routers, and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “In Russia, Scant Traces And Negative Memories Of A Century-Old U.S. Intervention” – National Public Radio (NPR)/Lucian Kim

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
U.S. Troops Marching on Vladivostok Street ca. 1918, Followed by Other Allied Troops, adapted from image at almc.army.mil

[Transcript, photos, original audio: npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/05/28/608455970/in-russia-scant-traces-and-negative-memories-of-a-century-old-u-s-intervention]  “… civil war was raging across Russia … [between] the Bolsheviks … [and] the ‘Whites’ – supporters of the deposed czar, republicans, social democrats, Cossacks. … the Bolsheviks withdrew Russia from [World War I] in March 1918. … More than 8,000 U.S. troops started landing in Vladivostok in August 1918 to guard Allied military stocks … […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russian govt proposes barring foreign-agent NGOs from anti-corruption examinations – bill” – Interfax

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Russian State Duma Building file photo

MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) – The Russian government has proposed a number of measures to bar foreign-agent NGOs and certain categories of Russian citizens from participating in anti-corruption examinations; a relevant bill was submitted to the State Duma on Tuesday. The bill, which has been published in the State Duma’s database, “would prohibit citizens with outstanding or unexpunged convictions or […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “St. Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary session; Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the 22nd St Petersburg International Economic Forum [Excerpts]” – KremlinRu

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas
File Photo of St. Petersburg Economy Forum Outdoor Banners and Building Facade

(Kremlin.ru – May 25, 2018 – http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/57556) Foreign heads of state and government, heads of major Russian and international companies and banks, leading experts and politicians from around the world were invited to the forum. Honorary SPIEF guests include French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. The plenary session participants also include IMF Managing Director Christine […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-96 :: Tuesday, 29 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#96 :: Tuesday, 29 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Meet the Ministry of Enlightenment; Reformists and traditionalists are at war over Russian schools; Is teaching a ‘divine calling’ to support the state, or is about preparing students for the future?” – The Economist

Education, Academia, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

“… Russia has a strong crop of teachers … [and] a talented and well-educated population. Over 55% of working-age adults have degrees. Student performance in international tests has been rising steadily; Russia now scores around the average for OECD countries. Yet years of under-financing-the government spends just 3.6% of GDP on education – and an archaic curriculum have left the […]

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‘This Is Only The Beginning’: What’s Next For Russia’s Brash (Former) Mayor Of Yekaterinburg?

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Yekaterinburg file photo

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Carl Schreck – May 22, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/this-is-only-the-beginning-what-s-next-for-russia-s-brash-(former)-mayor-of-yekaterinburg-/29243624.html) In a political system tightly controlled by the Kremlin, Yevgeny Roizman was an outlier: a brash, independent mayor of a major Russian city who openly criticized President Vladimir Putin and offered support for opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Now, Roizman […]

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NEWSLINK: “Why It’s Ridiculous To Say FBI Spying Meant To Protect The Trump Campaign; The decision to use Stefan Halper as an informant instead of a messenger cannot possibly be considered a favor to the Trump campaign. It’s as insulting as it is ridiculous to assert.” – The Federalist/Jason Beale

Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
FBI Headquarters File Photo

“Jason Beale (a pseudonym) is a retired U.S. Army interrogator and strategic debriefer with 30 years experience in military and intelligence interrogation and human intelligence collection operations. …”  

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RUSSIALINK: “State Duma ready to heed opinion of businessmen opposed to penalizing compliance with U.S. sanctions in Russia – MP Zhukov” – Interfax

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian State Duma Building file photo

ST. PETERSBURG. May 25 (Interfax) – The Russian State Duma stands ready to heed the opinion of the business community that has voiced opposition to a bill that would make it a crime to comply with Western sanctions in Russian territory, the lower chamber’s First Deputy Chairman Alexander Zhukov said. “Yes, they have objections, especially as far as the first […]

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NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Ambassador Skips Encounter With Sanctioned Russian Tycoon” – Reuters

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of John Huntsman, Men in Military Uniforms and Others, adapted from image at army.mil

“U.S. ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. stayed away from an event on Friday that would have required him to be in the same room as Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian metals tycoon subject to U.S. sanctions. Huntsman had initially been scheduled to be part of a panel discussion on U.S.-Russian business ties as part of the St Petersburg investment forum, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Endgame in Syria Has Arrived; It’s not an Assad victory – it’s a frozen conflict” – Foreign Policy Magazine/Jonathan Spyer

JRL NewsBlog, Middle East, North Africa, Military, Syria
Syria Map

“Syria increasingly seems to be moving toward de facto partition accompanied by ongoing low-level military conflict and a functional, but sluggish politics – a so-called frozen conflict. This may have been the goal all along for … Putin, who has initiated and managed such conflicts elsewhere, including in Georgia and Ukraine. * * *  Russia has … preserved the integrity […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Political Dispersion: Russia’s New Cabinet” – Carnegie Moscow/Tatyana Stanovaya

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Aerial View, adapted from .gov source

“The political and administrative dispersion of governance is under way in Russia: regulatory functions are being scattered among government and near-government players, which will inevitably result in the formation of first moderate and then increasingly pronounced polycentricity within the state. Initiative will eventually stop being punishable. …”

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “CCW Russia Brief Issue 2: Playing it Safe: Continuity Through the ‘New’ May Decrees and ‘New’ Government” – Oxford University/Changing Character of War Centre (CCW)/Richard Connolly

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

“Russia’s recovery from the recession of 2015-16 suffered an unexpected setback at the end of 2017. After registering modest but uninterrupted growth from the end of 2016 to the middle of last year, and despite rising oil prices, seasonally adjusted GDP fell in the final quarter of 2017, according to Rosstat data, due to an unexpected decline in fixed investment […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Military: More Bark Than Bite; Russia remains a long way from possessing the ability to overwhelm larger, better equipped peer competitors” – The National Interest/Richard Connolly, Mathieu Boulegue

Budget, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Close-Up of Line of Russian Soldiers in Dress Uniforms for Parade, adapted from image at georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov with credit to Eric Draper

“… on the one hand, senior Russian officials, including the president, are publicly declaring the existence of a range of advanced new weapons systems, while on the other hand, spending plans suggest that the defense burden should decline into the early 2020s. … While official rhetoric in relation to military modernization – and in particular to the development of new […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-95 :: Friday, 25 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#95 :: Friday, 25 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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RUSSIALINK: “American Businesses in Russia Are Struggling After U.S. Sanctions, Survey Says” – Moscow Times

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Cash, Calculator, Pen

U.S. sanctions have created new difficulties for American businesses working in Russia, a recent survey of companies has said. Last month, the United States sanctioned several Russian companies and businessmen for alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and other “malign activities.” Russia vowed to inflict “precise and painful” damage to the U.S. in response, this week passing a bill […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s finance minister promises no new taxes, but hints at ‘adjustments'” – Meduza

Budget, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Anton Siluanov file photo

“… Siluanov says Russia has no plans to change its tax system in the next six years, but there will be ‘adjustments.’ … the government is once again considering measures to simplify the tax code, in order to encourage more businesspeople to stop working in the economy’s ‘gray sector’ …. Russian media has repeatedly said the government is discussing major […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Navalny foundation lawyer Zhdanov detained for organizing unpermitted rally on May 5” – Interfax

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) – Ivan Zhdanov, a lawyer working for Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, has been detained for organizing an unauthorized opposition rally on May 5, Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny’s headquarters, said. “Ivan Zhdanov was just detained while leaving the office. The very same Article 20.2 [of the Russian Administrative Offense Code], they found another ‘organizer of […]

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‘New’ Medvedev Cabinet Shows Russia Becoming an Obscurantist Autocracy, Golts Says

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin with Heads Bowed Over Microphone

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 21, 2018) The “new” Medvedev cabinet Vladimir Putin has approved both by its large number of holdovers and by a smaller number of new people represents a significant move toward the establishment of an obscurantist autocracy with few chances of any technological breakthrough, according to Aleksandr Golts. The first “signal” the […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-94 :: Thursday, 24 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#94 :: Thursday, 24 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “SUNY New Paltz graduates told to help preserve democracy, beware of fake news [Excerpt]” – Daily Freeman (Kingston, New York)/William J. Kemble

JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

“Graduates of the Class of 2018 at SUNY New Paltz … were encouraged to preserve democracy by not buying into fake news coming from an apparent Russian propaganda campaign. James Ottaway Jr., president of Ottaway Newspapers, raised the urgency during his commencement address, saying there is a responsibility for people to avoid taking a shallow approach when reviewing information that […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-93 :: Wednesday, 23 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#93 :: Wednesday, 23 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Russian government gets a new programme and people” – bne Intellinews/Ben Aris

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

“… Russia’s petro-driven economic model was already clearly broken in 2013 when GDP growth dropped to zero at a time when oil prices were still over $100 per barrel. … the geopolitical showdown over first the fate of Ukraine and then the tussle in Syria meant that Putin postponed more prosperity as he redirected every spare penny into modernising Russia’s […]

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Ira Straus: “Correction to my note on Pipes”

In Memoriam, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

Subject: Correction to my note on Pipes Date: Tue, 22 May 2018 From: Ira Straus <irastraus@aol.com> I’d like to clarify that my note was not meant to be a comprehensive appraisal of Richard Pipes and his work, and all the good and bad points I might find in it. I do note with concern that I’ve been taken to task […]

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NEWSLINK: “The Battle Against Kremlin Propaganda Network RT” – Daily Beast/Jamie Ross

Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Newslinks, Russia & the West
File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

“The Kremlin-funded news channel RT is facing an existential threat in one of its most important target markets. An onslaught of 10 simultaneous investigations into alleged breaches of impartiality laws leave it in serious danger of losing its broadcasting license in the United Kingdom. After years of broadcasting a pro-Russian take on the day’s news to a small but loyal band […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Nationalist Radicalization Trends in Post-Euromaidan Ukraine [Excerpt]” – PONARS Eurasia/Volodymyr Ishchenko

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

Volodymyr Ishchenko is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. (PONARS Policy Memo) Ukraine today faces a vicious circle of nationalist radicalization involving mutual reinforcement between far-right groups and the dominant oligarchic pyramids. This has significantly contributed to a post-Euromaidan domestic politics that is not unifying the country but creating divisiveness and damaging Ukrainian relations […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Russia Flexes Its Soft Power Muscles; Extending output cuts deepens its role in global affairs” – Bloomberg/Julian Lee

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Middle East, North Africa, Oil, Gas, Energy, Saudi Arabia
File Photo of King Salman of Saudi Arabia Seated Next to Saudi Flag and Gesturing, adapted from image at defense.gov

“Oil has … [surpassed] $80 a barrel for the first time since November 2014. OPEC’s inventory target for output cuts has been met. … even though [Russian] oil companies want to turn on the taps and its finance ministry may be worried about prices rising too far, Russia won’t [end] its output deal with the group … when … participants […]

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RUSSIALINK: “About half of Russians confident Russia has status of great power – poll” – Interfax

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Soldiers Marching

MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) – About half of Russian citizens are confident that Russia maintains the status of a great power; about a quarter of those polled identified the army as one of the key factors of power, while 17% of respondents named the president’s activities, according to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center’s (VCIOM) poll, the results of which […]

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Gilbert Doctorow: “From a chance meeting in Widener to today [re: Richard Pipes]”

History, Soviet Union, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Library at Harvard University with Banners and Persons Walking on Quad, from image at state.gov

Subject: Fw: from a chance meeting in Widener to today (re Richard Pipes) Date: Sat, 19 May 2018 From: Gilbert Doctorow <gdoctorow@yahoo.com> Since you carried the obits of Richard Pipes yesterday, my exchange with Francis Boyle may be of interest to you. No one, NO ONE has raised the issues about Pipes as an historian of Russia that flagged. They […]

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NEWSLINK: “Putin Hazed Me: How I Was Stalked, Harassed and Surveilled by Kremlin Stooges; In my first year in Moscow, I witnessed the unraveling of the U.S.-Russia Reset firsthand” – Politico/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… it became clear that my family and I were being followed. I had been in Moscow as ambassador then for less than a year. As I wrote to the head of our security team on October 7, ‘My guards informed me that I was followed today while attending my son’s soccer game. And they then kept with us as […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-92 :: Tuesday, 22 May 2018

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#92 :: Tuesday, 22 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Kennan Cable No. 33: A Russian Pivot to Asia? Russian Trade with Asia from 2006 to 2016 [Excerpt]” – Kennan Institute/Michael Corbin

China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Asia Map

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Michael Corbin – May 18, 2018) Michael Corbin has nearly twenty years of experience in the international financial services and trade arena, the majority with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Finance and Insurance Industries. On August 22, 2012, the Russian Federation officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) after almost 18 years of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Keeping the ‘New Cold War’ Cold: Nuclear Deterrence With U.S. and Russian Nuclear Force Modernization [Excerpt]” – PONARS Eurasia/Keith Darden

JRL NewsBlog, Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Stealth Bomber in Flight

(PONARS Eurasia – Keith Darden – May 2018) Keith Darden is Associate Professor in the School of International Service at American University. (PONARS Policy Memo) After two decades of dramatic reduction and deliberate neglect, the nuclear arsenals that were at the center of security relations between the Cold War superpowers are reaching the ends of their operational lives. Rather than […]

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Is Russia About To Abandon The OPEC Deal?

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

(Oilprice.com – Irina Slav – May 17, 2018) OPEC and Russia are meeting in a little more than a month to discuss the progress of their oil production deal and what’s next. On the face of things, there will be no surprises: every country taking part in the deal is still committed to the cuts until the end of the […]

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Edward Lozansky: “Trump-Putin Petition”

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

Subject: Trump-Putin petition Date: Thu, 17 May 2018 14:20:17 -0400 From: Edward Lozansky <lozansky@gmail.com> A group of activists will post a petition on the White House website to call for the urgent Trump – Putin summit “to find the way out of the most dangerous security crisis facing both nations and the world.” Petition urges President Trump to follow in […]

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RUSSIALINK: “U.S. launches Ukrainian-made Antares rocket with cargo resupply ship to ISS” – Interfax

Science, Technology, Engineering, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
International Space Station file photo

KYIV. May 21 (Interfax) – A medium-size Antares rocket developed and built in Ukraine has been successfully launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from a space center in the United States under a NASA contract. “The Orbital ATK Antares rocket with Cygnus spacecraft lifted off Monday, May 21, at 4:44 a.m. EDT on a contracted cargo resupply mission to […]

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Russians Don’t Want Leaders Who Resemble Intellectuals, Sociologist Says

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and River

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 20, 2018) Vladimir Putin’s driving a truck across the Kerch Bridge, Aleksey Roshchin says, highlighted both the secret of the Kremlin leader’s popularity and the failure of his opponents to understand that reality, a failure that precludes their ability to cut into his support let alone challenge his leadership. “For the […]

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