Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#147 :: 13 August 2013
Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#147 :: 13 August 2013
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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POLITICS
1. RIA Novosti: Russia’s Courts, Judges Struggle to Win Public Trust - Poll.
2. Interfax: Quarter of Russians allege violations of their rights in past 2 years – poll.
3. Moscow Times: Vladimir Ryzhkov, Why the Regions Hate Moscow.
4. Novaya Gazeta: Russian Commentator Favors Rousseau-Style Social Contract Between State and People. (Andrey Kolesnikov)
5. Moscow News: Kristen Blyth, Abortion: A matter of life and death. Russian abortion rates, still relatively high, are falling steadily.
6. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Aug. 13, 2013.
7. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Moscow mayoral hopeful Navalny faces fresh charges.
8. ITAR-TASS: Future of opposition figurehead Navalny in focus at Moscow’s mayoral election.
9. Novaya Gazeta: Navalnyy Answers Questions on Moscow Mayoral Election Platform, Plans.
10. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Sobyanin’s Campaign Chief Details Program’s Priorities.
11. Moscow Times: Sobyanin Daughter’s Apartment Triggers Controversy.
12. www.russiatoday.com: Russian NGO questions ‘Foreign Agents’ law in Constitutional Court.
13. New York Times: Russia Steps Up Raids Against Migrants.
14. Moscow Times: Nikolai Petrov, Migration Service Boosts Russia’s Police State.
15. The Atlantic: Michael Weiss, The Rise and Probable Fall of Putin’s Enforcer. The man in charge of destroying the Russian opposition has as many enemies within the Kremlin as without. (re Alexander Bastrykin)
16. Moscow Times: Seliger Urges Patriotism, Not Politics.
17. AP: Russian lawmaker is Putin’s conservative champion. (Yelena Mizulina)
18. ITAR-TASS: LGBT problems unlikely to interfere with Sochi Olympics, but some others may crop up.
19. Moscow News: Natalia Antonova, Slain priest Father Pavel was role model.
ECONOMY
20. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Central Bank: no rouble strengthening should be expected until yearend.
21. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Doing Business: Moscow works on self-improvement. Over the 11 years during which the World Bank has compiled its Doing Business ratings, Russia has never been named among the 100 countries with favorable conditions for small and medium-sized businesses. Federal agencies and the Moscow government are now determined to change this.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
22. Valdai Discussion Club: Eduard Ponarin and Boris Sokolov, Ressentiment and the evolution of anti-Americanism in post-Soviet Russia.
23. Russia Direct: Natalia Burlinova, The Kremlin’s favorite buzzword is still ‘soft power.’ After the war with Georgia in 2008 exposed weaknesses in Moscow’s ability to wage an “information war,” Russia is stepping up its efforts to promote its image abroad.
24. Kommersant: Russian Diplomatic Sources Cited on Obama’s Announcement of ‘Pause’ in Relations.
25. Interfax: Cooling-off won’t stop Russia-U.S. cooperation – expert. (Igor Morozov)
26. Interfax: Domestic affairs mold Obama’s Russia policy – Russian experts.
27. Interfax: Pushkov sees rudiments of Cold War in Obama’s policy.
28. Gazeta.ru: Moscow Analyst Views Factors Holding Back Development of Russia-US Relations. (Georgiy Bovt)
29. Moscow News: Mark Galeotti, Obama’s Unpalatable Fudge.
30. Interfax: U.S. provides list of 60,000 children previously adopted in Russia – Astakhov.
31. RIA Novosti: Putin to Bolster Ties With Azerbaijan During One-Day Visit.
32. Gazeta.ru: Russian Editorial Sees Little Result from Victory in 2008 Georgian War.
33. Harriman Magazine (Columbia University): Masha Udensiva-Brenner, Great Games, Local Rules, and the Shifting Dynamics of a Multipolar World: An Interview with Alexander Cooley.