Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#119 :: 1 July 2013

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#119 :: 1 July 2013
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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POLITICS

1. Interfax: Putin, Medvedev, Shoigu most popular politicians in H1 2013 – Levada Center.
2. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Over half of Russians support the restoration of capital punishment.
3. RFE/RL: Robert Coalson, The Big Chill: Critics Say Kremlin Waging A War On Ideas.
4. www.russiatoday.com: Scientists, Communists blast planned Academy of Sciences reform as fraud.
5. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, July 1, 2013.
6. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Government Has ‘Systemic Problem’ – Ministers Seen Having ‘Responsibility Without Power’. (Mikhail Rostovskiy)
7. Politkom.ru: Political Motives Seen Behind Putin’s Proposed Judicial Reform, Economic Amnesty. (Tatyana Stanovaya)
8. Moscow Times: Putin Signs ‘Blasphemy’ and ‘Gay Propaganda’ Bills.
9. Interfax: Gerard Depardieu: Russian needs a leader like Putin.
10. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Pressure ratchets up on major Russian NGO. The Movement For Human Rights is among dozens of organizations teetering on the brink of a shutdown for protesting new legislation on NGOs and the first one that authorities have evicted by force.
11. BBC Monitoring: TV accuses Russian opposition politician of being in the pay of the West. (Ilya Yashin)
12. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: One Russian in Eight No Longer Views Chechnya as Part of Russia, Poll Finds.
13. Interfax: Open part’ of Russian military development plan published on official website.
14. Louis Sell: Re: Moscow October 1993.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines: On being chosen: the great writer Ludmila Ulitskaya speaks up. Widely regarded as Russia’s most celebrated contemporary writer, Ulitskaya talks to RBTH about her recent novels, “Daniel Stein, Translator,” the East and West of the Russian soul, her life’s work and greatest objection to Soviet rule.

ECONOMY

16. ITAR-TASS: Russian prime minister signs roadmap to improve investment climate in Russia.
17. Kommersant: New Russian Central Bank Head Nabiullina on Bank’s Future Direction, Fiscal Policy.
18. Russia Beyond the Headlines: WTO entry disappoints, but Russia stays attractive. By comparison with other European countries, Russia remains attractive as a business and investment destination.
19. Interfax: Turkey could become biggest Russian gas importer before long – Miller.
20. Russia Direct: US-Russia trade: Making up for lost time. (Interview with Russia Direct, Edward Verona, president and CEO of the US-Russia Business Council)
21. Quartz: Steve LeVine, Russia won the long battle of pipeline politics, but now what does it do?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

22. Russia Direct: Alec Luhn, U.S.-Russian relations can’t get any worse­or can they?
23. www.russiatoday.com: Putin: Snowden can stay in Russia if he stops damaging USA.
24. RIA Novosti: Russian Officials Back Snowden, Issue ‘Not on’ Kremlin Agenda.
25. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Snowden may stay longer in Russia.
26. RIA Novosti: Fyodor Lukyanov, Agreeing to Disagree on Snowden.
27. Russia Direct: Alexei Mukhin, Spy games surrounding Snowden.
28. NBCNews.com: Our unlikely man in Moscow takes on Putin over human rights, spying and Snowden. (re Michael McFaul)
29. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia Just Evacuated Its Syrian Naval Base And Pulled Out All Of Its Troops.
30. BBC Monitoring: Russia ‘decades behind’ the West in military technology – deputy PM. (Dmitry Rogozin)
31. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia, China Seen Central Asia Rivals After US, NATO Afghanistan Pullout. (Vladimir Mukhin)
32. BBC Monitoring: Russian TV reports from the South Ossetia-Georgia border.
33. Interfax: Over half of Georgians dub Russia as enemy, 30% call it friend – poll.

LONG ITEM

34. The New Times: Moscow Weekly Interviews Former Yukos CEO Khodorkovskiy in Prison Camp on His 50th Birthday.