“… ‘It’s not just the Russian government we have to be fearful of when it comes to England fans. It is also the Russian mafia who we know exploit sex, and use the internet and dating, to offer women in order to blackmail customers.’ …”
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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-#86 :: Monday, 14 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George […]
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[note from JRL web editor: warning, contains mild profanity] “… Sir Andrew Wood, a retired British diplomat … told me he knew a former MI6 officer … Christopher Steele …. * * * I agreed to receive a copy of … ‘the dossier.’ …. The allegations were disturbing … I had no idea which if any were true. I could not […]
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“Living in New York City, retired from academia, and unencumbered by the Washington consensus on Russia, Professor Stephen Cohen does not keep a low profile. In recent years, he has been one of America’s most vocal ‘dissidents’ when it comes to the nation’s Russia policies. On Wednesday, May 9, Cohen visited the Harriman Institute at Columbia University to debate Stanford […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 11, 2018) More than three-quarters of Russians surveyed by the state-run VTsIOM pollster said they do not foresee a repeat of the peaceful revolution witnessed in Armenia in the past month as being possible in their country. Protest leader Nikol Pashinyan was voted in as Armenia’s prime minister by the country’s parliament on Tuesday […]
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“Michael McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a Hoover fellow at Stanford University, was the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. He is the author, most recently, of ‘From Cold War to Hot Peace.’ …”
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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-#85 Friday, 11 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
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(Oilprice.com – Tsvetana Paraskova – May 9, 2018) Russia is mulling over ways to ‘get free’ of the U.S. dollar burden in oil trade as part of a plan to boost its national economic sovereignty, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “Oil is traded in dollars on the exchange,” TASS news agency quoted Putin as saying. “Certainly, we are thinking about […]
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(Oilprice.com – Tsvetana Paraskova – May 8, 2018) The West-Russia relations have reached a new low since the Cold War amid the spy poisoning scandal in the UK, allegations of Russian meddling in elections, and fresh U.S. sanctions on Russia. Yet European countries continue to buy increased amounts of Russian gas, and Russia’s state-held gas giant Gazprom is boosting production […]
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Subject: re Gessen’s article Date: Thu, 10 May 2018 From: Jerry Hough <jhough1935@gmail.com> [Jerry Hough is James B. Duke Professor of Political Science at Duke University. Author of How the Soviet Union is Governed; Soviet Leadership in Transition; The Struggle for the Third World; Soviet Debate and American Options; Democratization and Revolution in the USSR 1985-1991; and The Logic of […]
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Subject: re Gessen’s article Date: Wed, 9 May 2018 From: Mary Dejevsky <marydejevsky@gmail.com> [Mary Dejevsky is a writer and broadcaster. She is a former foreign correspondent in Moscow, Paris and Washington, and a special correspondent in China and many parts of Europe.] Who makes US Russia policy and why is it in such a mess is the question Keith Gessen […]
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Subject: Re: Keith Gessen’s “The Quiet Americans Behind the U.S.-Russia Imbroglio” Date: Wed, 9 May 2018 From: Stephen Blank <traininblank@aol.com> [Stephen Blank is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.] [nytimes.com/2018/05/08/magazine/the-quiet-americans-behind-the-us-russia-imbroglio.html] Having read Gessen’s article, I must say that it is tendentious, simplistic and unconvincing. He only solicited the view of a few people who appear to share […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Izabella Tabarovsky, Senior Associate, Manager for Regional Engagement at The Kennan Institute – May 9, 2018) [Text with links kennan-russiafile.org/2018/05/09/russias-strange-obsession-with-sobibor/] A new Russian movie, Sobibór, is making its way into Russian theaters and European capitals. The big-budget, highly promoted film tells the story of a prisoner escape from the Nazi death camp Sobibór in October […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 10, 2018) Russia has blacklisted NGOs at a progressively slower rate since an infamous foreign agent law was signed in 2012, the Justice Ministry has said in an annual report. President Vladimir Putin observed last year that the sharp decline in “foreign agents” resulted from organizations turning down foreign funding. The law has been […]
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MOSCOW. May 10 (Interfax) – The bill proposed by a number of Russian State Duma deputies that would make encouraging minors to participate in unsanctioned rallies an administrative offence is controversial and potentially unconstitutional, Nikolai Svanidze, a member of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council and the head of its commission on civil freedoms, told Interfax on Thursday. “It’s a […]
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“… to implement [Putin’s] plans the government would need to spend an additional Rbs8,000bn over six years, said … Medvedev …. close to 9 per cent of Russia’s 2017 gross domestic product, and almost half of total federal expenditure budgeted for this year. … In many areas, the country is so far from … Putin’s 2024 goals that his plans […]
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(Kremlin.ru – May 9, 2018) Vladimir Putin attended a military parade marking the 73rd anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. . Watching the parade together with the Russian President were Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. Reviewing the troops was Defense Minister, Army General Sergei Shoigu; Commander-in-Chief […]
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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-#84 Thursday, 10 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
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[DJ: More comments on Keith Gessen’s “The Quiet Americans Behind the U.S.-Russia Imbroglio.” With Richard Hofer, James Carden, Nicolai Petrov, and Hank Gaffney.] Subject: Re: 2018-#82-Johnson’s Russia List Date: Tue, 8 May 2018 From: Richard Hofer <richofer@yahoo.com> Richard Hofer Central Asia Consultancy Ltd Canada Very thoughtful of course and quite alarming. One must have a sense of sympathy for those […]
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Subject: Comment on Keith Gessen’s “The Russia Hands” Date: Tue, 8 May 2018 From: William Hill <williamhhill@gmail.com> [William Hill is Professor of National Security Strategy, National War College, Washington D.C. and a retired Foreign Service officer. Was head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova] Thanks for flagging this piece early in the week. I suppose I would have found it […]
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“THE NEW U.S.-RUSSIAN COLD WAR-WHO IS TO BLAME? Columbia University, Harriman Institute/NYU Jordan Center Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 5:00pm – 7:00pm Teatro, Italian Academy (2nd Floor, 1161 Amsterdam Ave) [harriman.columbia.edu/event/new-us-russian-cold-war] … Registration is SOLD OUT. … “ Live stream: harriman.columbia.edu/event/new-us-russian-cold-war It can also be accessed directly through YouTube, here: youtube.com/watch?v=jUWAsTij9yg “Please join The Harriman Institute and New York University’s […]
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(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – May 9, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-marks-end-of-world-war-ii-with-military-parade-on-red-square/29216745.html) Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued veiled criticism of the United States in a speech before a Red Square parade marking the anniversary of Germany’s defeat in World War II, listing “pretentions to exceptionalism” as a factor that drove Nazi aggression and […]
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“… [At his inauguration] Putin surprised many … declaring … a relentless focus on domestic development … partially paid for by sharp cuts in defense spending. … [a] projected surge in spending on roads, education, and health care …. A key source of that funding will be [taken from] the military budget … growing by around 10 percent annually for […]
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“Soviet-era jokes are fashionable once again in Russia. … a man walks into the headquarters of … the FSB … and says, ‘My pet parrot is missing.’ An agent responds, ‘Why are you wasting my time? Complain to the police or animal control!’ Man adds hastily, ‘Sorry, I told them already. I’m informing you because, if they find my parrot, […]
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“Army wife Angela Ricketts was soaking in a bubble bath in her Colorado home, leafing through a memoir, when a message appeared on her iPhone from hackers threatening to slaughter her family. … the women were targeted not by jihadists but by … [a] Russian hacking group ….”
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“The United States still doesn’t know — and may never know — the extent of Russian interference in state election systems in 2016, according to bipartisan findings released Tuesday by the Senate intelligence committee. … The committee found that in at least six states ‘Russian-affiliated cyber actors’ conducted ‘malicious access attempts on voting-related websites’ that went beyond routine scanning previously […]
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“… The U.S. is supporting its ally Ukraine in a war against Russian-backed militants. The rebels have seized swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine since 2014, in a conflict that’s killed 10,000 people by some counts. … Ukraine says thousands of Russians are fighting in the east, alongside the rebels. Moscow has repeatedly denied it’s involved in the conflict ….”
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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-#83 Wednesday, 9 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
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“The strangest Russian political scandal so far this year – a year that hasn’t lacked for them – revolves around a Belarusian escort named Anastasia Vashukevich, who goes by the name Nastya Rybka. Rybka, whose pseudonym means “little fish,” is a prolific Instagrammer, a teacher of “sex workshops” and the author of a how-to book, “Who Wants to Seduce a […]
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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-#82 Tuesday, 8 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
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“The U.S. Navy has reactivated a fleet responsible for overseeing the East Coast and North Atlantic — an escalation of the Pentagon’s focus on a resurgent Russia and its expanding military presence. …”
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“… Soon after the inauguration … the Kremlin issued a statement saying that Putin had nominated … Medvedev to be prime minister in his new term. … a loyal Putin lieutenant [who] has held the job since 2012. … By choosing Medvedev … a safe pair of hands whose chief quality is loyalty to his boss, Putin indicated he favored […]
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“Up to 2,000 people were briefly arrested during a series of protests across Russia on May 5 just a few days before … Putin’s upcoming inauguration. … [with the] slogan was ‘He’s not my tsar.’ The biggest, and what turned out to be the most violent protest, was organised for the heart of Moscow on Pushkin Square by anti-corruption blogger […]
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“… Putin said that while Russia would continue to uphold its interests on the international stage, his priority now lay in internal development. …”
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 7, 2018) Russians are most unhappy with President Vladimir Putin over the unequal distribution of wealth in the country, according to the latest independent Levada Center poll. Putin, 65, officially assumes office for his fourth term Monday and reportedly plans to kick-start economic growth with a $162 billion increase in spending on healthcare, education […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 7, 2018) Vladimir Putin was sworn in for his fourth term as Russian president on Monday at a lavish ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace after winning more than 70 percent of the presidential vote in presidential elections in March. We asked several Russian political analysts to predict what to expect from his next […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Emil Sanamyan – May 5, 2018) Based in Washington DC, Emil Sanamyan writes mostly about the South Caucasus region and its adjacent states. Recently, he has been editing the Focus on Karabakh page at the USC’s Institute of Armenian Studies and blogging about Armenian politics at Eurasianet.org. [Complete text: opendemocracy.net/od-russia/emil-sanamyan/saint-nick-of-armenia-how-nikol-pashinyan-rescued-armenia-and-made-it-merry] Four months ago, Armenian parliamentary deputy Nikol Pashinyan, […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 3, 2018) Polls show that countries around the world not only have stopped loving or even respecting Russia and Putin but are increasingly ill-disposed to both, Liliya Shevtsova says, a trend that limits Russia’s options however much some in Moscow think they can ignore the attitudes of others or can compel them […]
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“… Putin, already the longest serving leader of Russia since Stalin, launched a fourth presidential term on Monday in which he has promised to improve Russian lives at home while showing no sign of backing down in his confrontation with the West ….” Click here for: “Putin launches another term as Russia’s president. It might even be his last.” – […]
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“… Russia ‘maintained strong growth underpinned by solid productivity, with a sustainable growth trend estimated at 2-2.5 percent,’ … [but] the rebound obscures … ‘one of the few countries in the world with negative population growth, which reduces their overall growth potential.’ The population shrinkage – by some measures at around 0.4 percent – dampens productivity, making growth above 2 […]
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(Michael McFaul – @McFaul – Twitter – May 5, 2018) Putin is disappointed in what Trump has delivered to Russia directly, but very satisfied with the damage he has done to American unity domestically and American leadership abroad. For more, listen in: NPR Politics @nprpolitics “The disarray inside the United States, that’s a giant victory for Vladimir Putin,” ex-Ambassador Michael […]
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(Kremlin.ru – May 6, 2018) Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Government members late in the evening of May 6. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Medvedev, friends, colleagues, I would like to start by thanking you for our joint work and delivering on the objectives Russia has had before it. The past six years were very busy, packed with […]
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(Kremlin.ru – May 7, 2018) Vladimir Putin has been inaugurated as President of Russia in a ceremony that took place at the Grand Kremlin Palace. The ceremony opened as the National Flag, the President’s Standard, the Russian Constitution and the President’s Badge were brought into St Andrew’s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. According to Article 82 of the Russian […]
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“The United States’ latest round of sanctions has hit Russia hard. In the future, the Russian state will have to share the emerging risks and minimize socioeconomic consequences for the impacted regions and industries. This will lead to a new wave of property redistribution based upon state – not economic – interests. …”
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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-#81 Monday, 7 May 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
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“Russian government ‘is on the brink’ of increasing retirement age in Russia … Medvedev [said] … The current retirement age of 55/60 years was set in USSR … in [the] 1930’s when average life expectancy was 40 … Medvedev argued … * * * The pension fund deficit currently amount[s] to RUB3.35 trillion ($53bn). In 2015 age pensioners amounted to […]
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“… Putin is expected to announce a new government. And a bombshell is in the making. The new cabinet is bound to be a Stavka: that is, a war cabinet. …”
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“If … Putin fulfills … goals … set for his new six-year term as president, Russia in 2024 will be far advanced in new technologies and artificial intelligence, many of its notoriously poor roads will be improved, and its people will be living significantly longer. There’s wide doubt about how much of that he’ll achieve, if any of it. Analysts […]
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(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – PRAGUE, May 4, 2018 – also appeared at https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-general-surprised-by-lack-of-visible-russian-interference-in-armenia-s-crisis/29208187.html) “A NATO general says he’s surprised that Russia is not more openly involved in Armenia’s recent tumultuous events that led to longtime leader Serzh Sarkisian being pushed from power. General Petr Pavel, the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, told RFE/RL on […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 4, 2018) Almost 90 percent of the tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches have been sold, chairman of the tournament’s organizing committee Alexey Sorokin said Thursday. Sorokin was speaking at a meeting hosted in Sochi by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the state of preparation for the World Cup, business daily Vedomosti […]
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