Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#141 :: Friday 24 July 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#141
Friday 24 July 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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RUSSIA

1. Daily Times (Pakistan): Original Americans came from Siberia 23,000 years ago.
2. Moscow Times: Fyodor Lukyanov, Rethinking Global Diplomacy.
3. RFE/RL: Medvedev Upbeat About Russian Economy, Ties With Europe.
4. Government.ru: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Slovenian radio and television company RTV Slovenija.
5. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, People power, Russia style: Small-town lessons about Russian democracy. Residents of Baltiysk rejected an entire slate of district council candidates from Putin’s United Russia party, instead voting in independents. But while the election demonstrated that democracy still exists in Russia, it also showed its limitations.
6. www.opendemocracy.net: Ulrik Zimmer, Russia’s ‘derby grrls’ are upending gender politics. As the Russian state continues its conservative turn, could this fringe sport push back against the country’s gender politics?
7. TASS: Twenty-two million Russians stay beyond poverty line.
8. http://emergingequity.org: Russia Overtakes U.S. And China In Manufacturing Competitiveness Amid Cheaper Oil, Ruble: BCG.
9. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, The EU’s Worsening Crisis and Russia.
10. Sputnik: Kremlin to Seize Foreign Assets in Response to Frozen Russian Capital.
11. Fort Russ/jpgazeta.ru: Aleksandr Rodzhers, A short list of Kremlin’s accomplishments.
12. Interfax: Russians blame EU, Athens for Greek crisis – poll.
13. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia and EU negotiators push toward crisis resolution in Ukraine; U.S. and Russia compete for Cuba; Uzbekistan pays flirting game with global powers.
14. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Vesti.ru: U.S. and Russia introduce visa-free travel for Chukotka and Alaska. New law allows indigenous peoples to cross Bering Strait to visit relatives.
15. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, US Stops Pretending Missile Shield Was Aimed at Iran. Not that anyone with half a brain cell was buying it – US will press ahead with the missile shield despite Iran deal proving it was always aimed at Russia.
16. Russia Direct: Galiya Ibragimova, Afghanistan: The real vs. imaginary threats to Central Asia and Russia. With Islamic State purportedly increasing its activity within Afghanistan, Russia Direct interviewed experts to find out the new challenges for Russia and Central Asia emanating from Afghanistan.
17. The Unz Review: The Saker, The Russia-U.S. Conventional Military Balance.

UKRAINE

18. New York Observer: Mikhail Klikushin, Ukraine Spirals Into the Abyss: Pensioner Suicides and Open Talk of Default. With the currency in free-fall and food and fuel skyrocketing, leaders don traditional garb and a brave face.
19. Interfax: Moscow-Washington contact useful; U.S. can help Ukrainian peace process, says Medvedev.
20. Kremlin.ru: Putin discusses Ukraine arms pullback with “Normandy” leaders.
21. Kyiv Post: Gun Crime Surges In Ukraine.
22. Kyiv Post: War drive soaks up donations for non-military charity funds.
23. Kyiv Post: Ukraine’s veterans struggle with mental trauma in civilian life.
24. The Guardian: Alec Luhn, Gay couple kicked and pepper sprayed by far-right mob in Kiev. Zoryan Kis and Tymur Levchuk were attacked by group of 15-20 young men after deciding to test people’s reactions to them holding hands.
25. Liveleak.com: Ukrainian Journalists get jumped by Nationalists.
26. AP: Ukraine replaces entire police force to beat corruption.
27. Russia Direct: Evheniya Pyrohovska, Will Poroshenko’s amendments reconcile Russia and Ukraine? Attempts to amend Ukraine’s Constitution and expand the rights of the Donbas could help to resolve the nation’s standoff with Russia over the separatist territories of Eastern Ukraine.
28. Russia Insider: The Amazing Implosion of Ukraine’s PM Yatsenyuk. Support for PM Yatsenyuk’s People Front party has slipped to a pitiful 3%.
29. Russia Insider: Yury Nickulichev, Ukraine Parliament – The Best Absurdist Comedy Since Monty Python. One MP wants the Interior Minister to form a special task force to saw off pirate satellite dishes that are fooling people with Russian propaganda.
30. GlobalVoices: As Ukraine Bans Russian TV Shows for ‘Propaganda,’ Local Channels Put Up a Fight.
31. Kyiv Post: Ukraine’s Justice Ministry outlaws Communists from elections.
32. Kyiv Post: Right Sector calls for continued revolution.
33. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, Right Sector and the Impotence of Ukraine’s Weimar Maidan Regime .
34. www.opendemocracy.net: Denys Gorbach, Ukraine’s left: between a swamp and a hard place. With a new-found reputation for radicalism, Ukrainian politics is in flux. The left, however, are nowhere to be seen.
35. www.rt.com: Ukraine pays $120mn debt, avoids technical default – finance ministry.
36. The National Interest: Robert Kahn, Debt: The Next Ukraine Disaster?
37. RIA Novosti: Supply of US artillery-locator radars to Kiev will have major effect – pundit.
38. Sputnik: US Will Be Disappointed by Consequences of Military Drills in Ukraine.
39. Chatham House: Andrew Monaghan, US Should Resist Calls to Provide Ukraine with More Weapons. Lethal military support to Kyiv will create more problems than it solves.
40. The Vineyard of the Saker: Rostislav Ischenko, Kiev is in a stalemate.
41. Sputnik: Results of MH17 Crash Investigation Must Be Disclosed – Russia’s EU Envoy.
42. Interfax: Moscow supports bringing closer stances with Kuala-Lumpur on MH17 issue – diplomat.
43. Consortiumnews.com: Robert Parry, NYT Enforces Ukraine ‘Group Think.’ (re MH17)
44. Counterpunch.org: VETERAN INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS FOR SANITY, Obama Should Release MH-17 Intel.