“Russia’s drive to fill state coffers to give itself a $200 billion buffer against threats like new U.S. sanctions … will come at the expense of economic growth. … With oil prices high, Russia has been steadily siphoning revenues from its major export into the National Wealth Fund (NWF). It has also raised oil industry taxes, hiked value-added tax and […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – ANASTASIA MANUILOVA – October 30, 2018) Think back to the most high-profile human rights cases in Russia in recent years – Oleg Sentsov, Ildar Dadin, Oyub Titiyev – and they almost always concern men. Away from the public eye, however, it is usually women who are working to defend and free them. Although women are […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 30, 2018) Vladimir Putin met with members of the Central Election Commission, heads of regional electoral commissions and former CEC chairpersons in the Kremlin’s St Catherine Hall. The meeting was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Russia’s electoral system. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues, friends. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Constitution […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 31, 2018) Vladimir Putin addressed the 6th World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad. During his address, the President announced the approval of the State Migration Policy Concept of the Russian Federation for 2019-2025. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends, I am delighted to welcome the participants of the 6th World Congress of Compatriots. It is […]
» Read more
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#191 :: Wednesday, 31 October 2018 A project sponsored through […]
» Read more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 29, 2018) Today, Russians of good will paused to remember those who had suffered and died in Stalin’s GULAG. This commemoration took many forms but one of the most significant risks being lost: a new map of “The GULAG in Moscow” shows that Stalin’s camps and torture places were not somewhere […]
» Read more
(PONARS Eurasia – Lauren McCarthy, Noah Buckley – October 29, 2018) Lauren A. McCarthy is Associate Professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Noah Buckley is Postdoctoral Associate at New York University Abu Dhabi. [Full text: ponarseurasia.org/memo/do-russians-trust-their-police-reform-must-start-at-top] (PONARS Policy Memo) Despite some recent, seemingly half-hearted efforts, the police remain one of Russia’s most unreformed bureaucracies and Russians’ trust in police has […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 26, 2018) Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations held at the administration centre of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra. The meeting participants discussed current issues related to Russia’s state ethnic policy, the influence of geographic and demographic development on interethnic relations, and additional measures to protect the native languages of the peoples […]
» Read more
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#190 :: Tuesday, 30 October 2018 A project sponsored through […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Abigail Stowe-Thurston, Matt Korda and Hans M. Kristensen – October 25, 2018) Abigail Stowe-Thurston is a research assistant for the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists. Previously, she was a fellow at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), where she lobbied on nuclear weapons policy and Pentagon spending. Matt Korda is […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The level of xenophobic tendencies in Russia is higher than it was at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union but has declined since 2013 and about 8-15% of Russia’s adult population is xenophobic, Lev Gudkov, the head of the Levada Center, said. “The level of diffuse, massive xenophobia has increased considerably over […]
» Read more
“… [In the recorded speech] Yeltsin … assails the slow pace of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms … unabashedly criticiz[ing] … party elite. … Yeltsin’s expressive face and exaggerated hand gestures hint at the magnitude of the speech that, many believe, marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin … [became] the first democratically elected president of […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Andrew C. Kuchins – October 26, 2018 – russiamatters.org/blog/valdai-highlights-putins-hard-questions-us-global-role) Andrew C. Kuchins is a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies. In contrast to some recent Valdai meetings, Russian President Vladimir Putin evinced no visible anger toward the United States or the West at this year’s gathering of academics […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 29, 2018) Moody’s Investors Service thinks it’s likely that the U.S. will sanction Russia’s sovereign debt. But it might just upgrade the country to investment grade anyway. “Those sanctions are likely to come because they would target what the administration has in mind: trying to impose pain on Russia,” Moody’s analyst Kristin Lindow said […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The primary objective of the upcoming meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, is to “compare notes” on issues related to strategic stability, especially in the context of the United States’ intention to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “The […]
» Read more
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#189 :: Monday, 29 October 2018 A project sponsored through […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – October 23, 2018 – russiamatters.org/analysis/withdrawing-inf-treaty-consequences-and-costs) The opinions of Belfer Center experts, as reprinted below, were originally published by Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. We have supplemented these with opinions from three highly regarded Moscow-based experts, translated from various Russian-language sources (last three entries). Nobuyasu Abe Senior Fellow, Belfer Center’s […]
» Read more
“Over 30 years ago, President Ronald Reagan and I signed in Washington the United States-Soviet Treaty on the elimination of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles. For the first time in history, two classes of nuclear weapons were to be eliminated and destroyed. …”
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 26, 2018) Forty-two percent of Russians say they don’t see a political party that adequately represents their interests, according to a new study published by a Russian university. The ratings of the ruling United Russia party have fallen to 10-year lows as public anger simmers over an unpopular pension reform signed into law earlier […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 26, 2018) President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that establishes a foundation to help preserve Russia’s native languages, the Kremlin announced on Friday. The measure comes in the wake of worries in Russia’s republics that their native languages are under threat. In June, the State Duma signed a bill into law that restricts […]
» Read more
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#188 :: Friday, 26 October 2018 A project sponsored through […]
» Read more
(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Dmitry Lyubimov, Tony Wesolowsky – Oct. 22, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/let-them-east-cheese-russian-plant-thrives-amid-sanctions-/29557433.html) Sergei Chernych proudly points to the gleaming Western-made stainless-steel machinery at his cheese factory in Mari El, a small republic in Russia’s Volga region. Production at the plant in Sernur, some 90 kilometers east of the […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 25, 2018) President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has fallen to 66 percent, its lowest level since 2013, according to a recent poll published by the independent Levada Center. Putin’s popularity has been hurt by controversial legislation he signed earlier this month to raise the pension eligibility age to 65 for men and 60 for […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russia will have to “make a breakthrough” in its development, and the implementation of the national projects envisioned by President Vladimir Putin’s May Decrees must be put under “substantive control,” Putin said on Wednesday. “We needed a detailed plan of such a breakthrough, a resolute progress on each track, and considerable and serious work was […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) – The Russian assessment is that the United States will officially announce its withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in a month or so, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “Regarding the withdrawal from the INF Treaty, which has not yet been officially announced, but the intention was, and regarding talks in Moscow, including […]
» Read more
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#187 :: Thursday, 25 October 2018 A project sponsored through […]
» Read more
“… NATO’s largest exercise since the Cold War. … [involves] 50,000 troops …. [m]oving forces from 30 countries to Norway for … Trident Juncture …. [T]en thousand vehicles, 250 aircraft and 65 ships were dispatched …. * * * NATO and the [EU] … [have] agreed to deepen cooperation … including [with] mobility. The EU … spends billions … annually […]
» Read more
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-#186 Wednesday, 24 October 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 24, 2018) From his new perch atop a government agency that monitors the budget, one of the few people President Vladimir Putin has publicly called a friend has some blunt words about what’s in store for Russia’s economy. Alexei Kudrin, the head of the Audit Chamber since May, warned in an interview that a […]
» Read more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 23, 2018) Russia is now living through a period of reaction, Sergey Karaganov says; but its anti-Western roots lie not in the elites but in the population. “Russia’s authoritarianism was not imposed from above but is the result of our history which has formed our genetic code.” “Without the centralization of […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 23, 2018) The President spoke at a plenary session of the All-Russia Non-Governmental Organisation of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORA Russia’s Small Business as a National Project annual forum. Before the session, Vladimir Putin visited the technical workshops of Moscow’s Technograd recreational and educational complex, which opened at VDNKh in September. This complex is aimed at educating […]
» Read more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 21, 2018) The Moscow Patriarchate’s “categorical” unwillingness to reach any compromise with its opponents may make some Russians happy, the editors of Nezavisimaya gazeta say; but its approach under Patriarch Kirill not only violates Christian principles but undermines the possibility of maintaining Russian influence in churches abroad. Kirill and his church […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nicolai N. Petro – Oct. 19, 2018) Nicolai N. Petro is a professor of political science and the Silvia-Chandley Professor of Peace Studies and Nonviolence at the University of Rhode Island. He writes frequently about church-state relations in Ukraine and Russia. His latest book, “Ukraine in Crisis,” was published by Routledge in 2017. [Text with […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 23, 2018) [Video of meeting youtube.com/watch?v=lSR_5qwjgbE] Vladimir Putin received in the Kremlin Assistant to the President of the United States of America for National Security Affairs John Bolton. Taking part in the meeting from the Russian side were Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. Earlier today, Russian Defence Minister […]
» Read more
[Video of meeting youtube.com/watch?v=lSR_5qwjgbE] MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) – At a meeting with United States National Security Advisor John Bolton Russian President Vladimir Putin has upheld Russia’s desire to seek common ground in the relations with the U.S., while Bolton said that Washington pursues the same goal in the relations with Moscow. “Despite different approaches one can and needs to […]
» Read more
A report will reveal there are an estimated 200 intelligence officers in Britain The figures from the Henry Jackson Society report will be published next week Author of report Andrew Foxall said capital ‘ill-equipped’ to deal with espionage Click here for: “Russia has ‘more than five times as many spies in Britain now than it did during the Cold War” […]
» Read more
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-#185 Tuesday, 23 October 2018 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) – The Moscow government has formally granted Memorial’s request to hold a ceremony commemorating victims of political repression at the traditional venue near the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka Square on October 29, Yelena Romanova from the city administration’s regional security department said. “There was an interagency meeting today to discuss the provision of public peace and […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 18, 2018) [en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/58848 includes full video with English translation] Fyodor Lukyanov: Andrei Sushentsov, welcome. Andrei Sushentsov: I am Andrei Sushentsov from the School of International Studies at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). There have been media reports on a number of countries developing biological weapons agents, and the issue of the presence of the United […]
» Read more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 20, 2018) At the Valdai Club this week, Vladimir Putin said Moscow would not use a preventive nuclear strike but would “launch on warning” of such an attack on Russia, a position that is not new as such but that given the Kremlin leader’s constant talk about nuclear weapons recently, is […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – October 18, 2018 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/58848 Includes full video with English translation) Fyodor Lukyanov: To use the wind metaphor – let the east wind blow some more. Let us hear from our colleague from Japan. What do you think he will ask, Mr President? Vladimir Putin: I have no idea. Fyodor Lukyanov: Neither do I. Vladimir Putin: Is it […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry sees Washington’s attempts to tie the issue of preserving the New START Treaty to the situation surrounding the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty as a mistaken approach. “The Americans themselves both at the level of the executive branch of government and the level of the Congress have tied the prospect […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax) – Russia has never considered the Russia-U.S. Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) an anachronism, although it acknowledges that there are issues associated with the development of missile systems in other countries, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said “No. Without a doubt, issues remain with this treaty because – and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has […]
» Read more
