Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#169 :: 17 September 2013

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#169 : 17 September 2013
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POLITICS

1. RIA Novosti: Moscow’s Grasp of the Regions: For Development or Power? Experts Argue.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Valdai Club opens 10th session. Intellectuals, politicians and journalists gathered in central Russia for four days of discussion about the country’s future.
3. ITAR-TASS: Government wants to narrow wage gap but does not know how.
4. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Is Russian as difficult to learn as they say? Renowned polyglot, interpreter, psycholinguist and TV host Dmitry Petrov talks about the incentives for learning the Russian language.
5. Russia Direct: Why US and Russia don’t always understand each other.Inside the high-stakes world of U.S.-Russian diplomacy, where even veteran interpreters admit that it can sometimes be hard to get the right point across to the other side.
6. RIA Novosti: Natalia Antonova, Nerds Gone Wild: Argument Over Philosopher Kant Ends in Shooting.
7. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say Sept. 17, 2013.
8. AFP: Russia’s Putin to abandon annual phone-in.
9. RIA Novosti: Moscow Mayor Touts ‘Fair’ Election, Denies Presidential Ambitions.
10. ITAR-TASS: Opposition figurehead Navalny ready to lead party of his supporters.
11. Nezavisimaya Gazeta editorial: New Political Reality for Ruling Party — How Threat of Low Turnout May Change United Russia.
12. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Yevgeniy Gontmakher, Aleksey Navalnyy’s Obscure Future — He Has a Chance of Becoming Both a Prisoner and a Civilized Politician and a Cheap Populist.
13. Argumenty Nedeli: Andrey Uglanov, On the Role of the Pike in the History of Russian Liberalism.
14. AFP: Tycoon demands two party shake-up of Russian politics. (Mikhail Prokhorov)
15. RIA Novosti: Russian Prosecutors Probe Opposition Figure for ‘Extremism.’ (Boris Nemtsov)
16. Izvestia: Russian Investigation Committee Spokesman Calls For Collective Response to Society’s Problems. (Vladimir Markin)
17. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Vladimir Putin, the Richest Man on Earth.
18. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Russian Academy of Sciences reform sets scientists and lawmakers at odds.
19. RIA Novosti: RIA Novosti launches history of post-soviet media project.

ECONOMY

20. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Russian government cutting budget spending.
21. Interfax: Capital outflow from Russia not yet slowing, ruble not to weaken substantially – Klepach.
22. Moscow Times: Wage Growth Stagnant on High Inflation, Economic Slowdown.
23. ITAR-TASS: Ice-class tanker to bring cargoes from Baltic Sea to South Korea by Northern Sea Route for first time.
24. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Business looks to tech to salvage U.S.-Russia relationship. The reset may be over, but business leaders hope that trade ties do not have to be completely dependent on the whims of Washington and Moscow.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

25. RIA Novosti: Russians Feeling Increasingly Negative Toward US – Poll.
26. Reuters: Special Report: Syria – A chemical crime, a complex reaction.
27. Moscow Times: U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria Gets Off to Wobbly Start.
28. Reuters: Russia says no proof Assad was behind chemical attack.
29. New York Times: Veteran Diplomat Fond of Cigars, Whiskey and Outfoxing U.S.. (Sergey Lavrov)
30. Interfax: Lavrov: U.S. contacted Assad govt about safety of chemical stockpiles.
31. BBC Monitoring: Lavrov describes work leading to Russian-US agreement on Syria’s chemical arms.
32. BBC Monitoring: Russia resisting pressure for early UN role in Syria chemical disarmament. (Lavrov)
33. Nezavisimaya Gazeta editorial: Light at the End of the Syrian Tunnel. Moscow’s Initiative Improves the Chances of a Political Resolution of the Conflict in Syria.
34. Interfax: Analysts: deal with U.S. on Syrian arms ‘diplomatic victory’ for Russia.
35. Interfax: Pushkov worries U.S. may interpret accords on Syria in its own way.
36. Interfax: Russian Expert Advocates Destroying Syria’s Chemical Weapons ‘On Site’
37. Carnegie Moscow Center: Akio Kawato, What Has and Has Not Changed After the U.S.-Russia Agreement on Syria.
38. Vedomosti: Benefits of Russia Ceasing To Live as ‘Small’ Country, Overcoming ‘Peripheral Thinking.’ (Mariya Gaydar)
39. Kommersant: Russians Should Heed Milosevic, Assad Parallels in Syria Plan Promotion. (Sergey Sysoyev)
40. Moscow Times: Alexander Golts, After Russia’s Victory, Now the Hard Part.
41. Center for Strategic and International Studies: Andrew Kuchins, Putin is Saving Face in Syria Also.
42. Carnegie Moscow Center: Lilia Shevtsova, The Obama-Putin Doctrine.
43. RIA Novosti: Russia Reopens Military Base to Control Key Part of Arctic -­ Putin.
44. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russian navy returns to Arctic. Permanently.
45. www.russiatoday.com: In Snowden’s footsteps: NSA leaker’s new life in Russia.
46. New York Times: A Bitter ‘Fertilizer War’ Gripping Belarus and Russia Is Helping U.S. Farmers.
47. Asia Times: Brendan P O’Reilly, SCO glimpses a new Eurasia in Bishkek.