Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#120 :: Thursday 18 June 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#120
Thursday 19 June 2015

A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University.
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1. Robert Teets: Taking Exception To Sergeant Joe Friday’s Admonition-Give Me The Facts, Just The Facts.
2. The Guardian: Moscow 25 years on: do I still recognise the city? When former Moscow correspondent Mark Rice-Oxley first set foot in the city, the cars were all Zhigulis, no one smiled, and a trip to Pizza Hut was a big day out. A quarter of a century on, how much has life really changed here?
3. Kremlin.ru: Joint news conference with President of Finland Sauli Niinistö. (excerpt)
4. Business New Europe: bne:Chart – Russia and Ukraine ‘Despair Index’ scores rise after turbulent year.
5. Interfax: Over 40 per cent of Russians do not believe corruption could be defeated – poll.
6. Moscow Times: Russia’s St. Petersburg Forum Opens to New Economic Reality.
7. Wall Street Journal: Russia’s Struggling Economy Clouds St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Corporate executives head to President Vladimir’s Putin hometown for annual event.
8. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, St Petersburg Economic Forum opens under a cloud.
9. Sputnik: Russian Economy Able to Withstand Western Sanctions – Central Bank Head.
10. Moscow Times: Jan Kalicki, What Putin Should Say in St. Petersburg.
11. Moscow Times: Experts Downplay Trend of Russians Joining Islamic State.
12. Russia Direct: Sergey Markedonov, The side effects of globalization, or why Russian students join ISIS. With Russian and foreign students seeking to join ISIS, the Kremlin and the world should reassess their approaches to fighting international terrorism in the age of globalization.
13. Moscow Times: Majority See FIFA Scandal as Attack on Russia.
14. Russia Insider: How to Turn Something Sacred Into Something Sinister – BBC Style. The BBC transforms a monument to unity into a symbol of repression.
15. Business New Europe: Chris Weafer, BOOK REVIEW: Quiet days for books on Russia published in first half of 2015.
16. Russia Beyond the Headlines: U.S.-China military treaty may threaten Russian interests – experts.
17. Sputnik: One-Third of Ukrainian Military on Oligarch’s Payroll – US Legislator.
18. Washington Post editorial: Guarding against Putin’s long reach.
19. New York Times: Carol Giacomo, An Optimist’s View of Russia. (re Andrei Kozyrev)
20. TASS: Termination of NATO-Russia relations fraught with risk of sudden crisis – analysts. (Lukyanov and Arbatov)
21. Defense News: Alexei Arbatov, Protecting Nuclear Sanity.
22. www.rt.com: ‘US bipartisan war party expanding to Russia’s border.’ (interview with James Carden)
23. TASS: Former president urges Kiev to analyze Donbas-proposed changes to Ukraine constitution. (Leonid Kravchuk)
24. www.brianmefford.net: Brian Mefford, Who’s Strategic Vision for Ukraine?
25. The Huffington Post: Nancy Humphreys, Greece, the IMF, and Ukraine.
26. Fort Russ: “Yanukovych No. 2 will be the EU’s fault.” (Ukrainian writer Yuriy Andrukhovych)
27. The National Interest: Rajan Menon, Newsflash, America: Ukraine Cannot Afford a War with Russia. Arming Ukraine would only fan the flames of tension between the West and Russia, leading the United States into a conflict it doesn’t, and shouldn’t, want.

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

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