Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#222 :: Monday, 9 December 2013

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#222 :: 9 December 2013
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POLITICS

1. Bloomberg: Russia Backs Off Ukraine Union After Lenin Statue Falls.
2. ITAR-TASS: Amendments discussion underway as Russian Constitution gets ready to mark 20th anniversary.
3. ITAR-TASS: Over five years Russia reveals 242 thousand corruption crimes.
4. RIA Novosti: RIA Novosti to Be Liquidated in State-Owned Media Overhaul.
5. Reuters: Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media.
6. ITAR-TASS: Presidential address to Federation Assembly to be voiced at Kremlin’s St. George Hall.
7. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia sees decline in smokers. Higher taxes on tobacco products has forced more Russians to quit smoking.
8. Russia & India Report: Russia gets lucky in 2014 FIFA World Cup draw.
9. Moscow Times: What the Papers Say, Dec. 9, 2013.
10. Slon.ru: Experts Discuss Putin’s, Navalnyy’s Ratings in Presidential Preference Poll.
11. Moscow NTV: Russian state-controlled TV channel attacks prime minister.
12. Kremlin.ru: Russian Popular Front conference.
13. Interfax: Human Rights’ Council opposed to constitutional amendments, favors broad amnesty.
14 Interfax: Law regarding corruption could be amended – Ivanov.
15. RIA Novosti: Russia Mulls New Case Against Khodorkovsky – Paper.
16. Moscow Times: Victor Davidoff, Internet Censorship Is Getting Worse.
17. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Domestic Division, Not External Aggression, Threatens Russia Now, Tishkov Says.
18. Moscow Times: Suburbs Await Transformation Into Hubs in a New Polycentric Moscow.

ECONOMY

19. Wall Street Journal: Russia Embarking on Long-Delayed Reforms, Official Says. Unpopular Overhauls Coming as Economy Struggles With Long Period of Stagnation. (Shuvalov)
20. Moscow Times: Ministry Proposes Easing Corporate Governance Rules.
21. Russia Beyond the Headlines: The cost of doing business in Moscow. Foreign entrepreneurs talk about the pros and cons of working in Moscow.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

22. Reuters: Yanukovich backs Ukraine compromise talks as riot police take up positions.
23. Interfax: Ukrainian opposition figures comment on toppling of Lenin statue in Kiev.
24. Interfax: Putin, Yanukovych did not discuss Ukraine’s accession to Customs Union – Kremlin spokesman Peskov.
25. ITAR-TASS: West stakes Ukraine’s future on Klitschko.
26. ITAR-TASS: Ukraine’s confrontation between authorities and opposition is growing. Russian Press Review.
27. Business New Europe: Graham Stack, Ukraine president stuck for an exit as mass protests continue.
28. Eurasianet.org: Saakashvili Makes Appearance at Kyiv Protests.
29. The National Interest: John Herbst, Made in Ukraine: The Standoff in Kiev. A political crisis as complex as the country it splits.
30. Carnegie Moscow Center: Dmitri Trenin, Russia Needs To Stay Clear of Ukraine.
31. Geostrategic Forecasting Corp.: Gordon Hahn, Two Double Standards and the Splitting of Ukraine.
32. Wall Street Journal editorial: The Stakes in Ukraine. The U.S. should warn Putin not to stoke violence in Kiev.
33. Russia Direct: Russia’s foreign policy leaders prepare for a makeover. At the annual assembly of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, Russia’s expert community and policy makers considered foreign policy from an entirely new perspective: human capital.
34. ITAR-TASS: Russia charts the path to global confidence in nuclear Iran.
35. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Mandela and the Soviet Union: The struggle against apartheid. As the world mourns the death of the great statesman, RBTH looks back at the role Russia and the Soviet Union played in the struggle against apartheid.
36. Moscow Times: Russian Diplomats Accused of Healthcare Fraud to Leave U.S. in Near Future, Report Says.
37. New York Times: Michael Klare, Rushing for the Arctic’s Riches.

LONG ITEM

38. Government.ru: In Conversation with Dmitry Medvedev: Interview with five media outlets. (transcript concluded)