Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#150 :: Wednesday 5 August 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#150
5 August 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. New York Times: Robert Conquest, Historian Who Documented Soviet Horrors, Dies at 98. (with comment from DJ)
2. Moscow Times: Muscovites Having More Children Amid Drive to Promote Family Values.
3. Moscow Times: 6 in 10 Russians Would Support Internet Censorship During a Crisis.
4. Interfax: Russian church spokesman calls for “rotation” of political elites.
5. Washington Post: Russia loves Putin. The rest of the world? Not so much.
6. CNBC.com: Russia will recover, but it needs deep reforms: IMF.
7. Russia Direct: Stanislav Tkachenko, The Russian ruble roller coaster journey. The Russian ruble rebound could be over. On August 3, both the U.S. dollar and euro posted strong gains against the ruble, leading to questions about the future of the Russian currency.
8. Wall Street Journal: Russian Ruble’s Red Flag Flies Again. Pressure on ruble creates a headache for Moscow’s central bankers.
9. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Fresh U.S. sanctions will only boost import substitution – Russian experts.
10. www.rt.com: Supreme Court objects to current ‘right to be forgotten’ internet bill.
11. Moscow Times: Protesters Against Church Construction Gain Rare Victory.
12. http://readrussia.com: Mark Galeotti, Leaks and Sneaks in the Nemtsov Enquiry.
13. Politkom.ru: Analyst looks at realities, challenges of “post-Crimea” Russia. (Tatyana Stanovaya)
14. The Baltimore Sun: Jerome Israel, Is the U.S. less corrupt than Russia?
15. Russia Direct: Implications of MH17 tribunal and Iran’s impact on oil prices. Think Tank Review: Falling oil prices, the international tribunal on MH17 and Russia’s deteriorating relations with the West are the focus of Russian experts in July.
16. www.rt.com: Russia submits 1.2 million sq km Arctic claim to UN.
17. Interfax-AVN: No direct military threat to Russia – unnamed spokesman.
18. Interfax-AVN: “Nine times” more NATO reconnaissance, patrol flights along Russian borders.
19. TASS: Russians call for better relations with Europe, now rated ‘poor’ in poll returns.
20. Russia Direct: Artem Kureev, How the Kremlin reassessed its military approaches after Ukraine. By comparing the new Russian naval and military doctrine with U.S. military strategy, it’s possible to see that Russia is actually planning a strategy that avoids the risk of military conflict with the West.
21. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Time for the western media to send real journalists to Russia & Ukraine.
22. The Independent (UK): Alexander Litvinenko murder inquiry: The five unanswered questions at the end of the proceedings. Mary Dejevsky explains why the proceedings failed to get to the bottom of the former Russian agent’s death.
23. Russia Insider: Patrick Armstrong, WaPo Says the NED Does What the CIA Used to Do. But they’ve forgotten they said that.
24. Financial Times: Peter Pomerantsev, How to beat Vladimir Putin in the battle for hearts and eyeballs. Kremlin still has media hegemony over 142m Russian citizens.
25. The Economist: The World If: IF RUSSIA BREAKS UP. The peril beyond Putin. The world rightly worries about the prospect of a Greater Russia. But a Lesser Russia could be just as troubling.
26. Valdai Discussion Club: Angela Stent, Forty Years On: What Can We Learn from the Helsinki Final Act?

UKRAINE

27. Ukraine Today: Russian invasion in Ukraine planned since 2013 – Ukrainian official.
28. Euromaidan Press/Window on Eurasia: Moscow mulling ‘nuclear provocation’ against Ukraine, Kyiv analyst says.
29. Al Jazeera America: John Batchelor, Reaching the endgame in Ukraine. All parties say they want to comply with the Minsk 2 agreement, but compliance remains uncertain.
30. New York Observer: John Hanick, Can the United States Stop a War With Russia? Both sides need to try to see the other’s point of view.
31. Moscow Times: Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, Old East-West Divide Is Deepening in Ukraine.
32. Wall Street Journal: IMF Says Ukraine Bailout Faces ‘Significant Uncertainty.’ Weak economic prospects and potential shocks from the conflict with Russian separatists could derail program.
33. http://readrussia.com: Ukraine: Milk Producer Copes with Russian Sanctions.
34. The Huffington Post: Samuel Ramani, Ukraine’s Ministry of Truth — A Flop of Epic Proportions.
35. Kyiv Post: OSCE duped into false ‘Russian soldiers’ report by separatists.
36. New York Times: Cossacks Face Grim Reprisals From Onetime Allies in Eastern Ukraine.
37. Financial Times: The museum of New Russia’s ambitions. State media has toned down the anti-Ukraine rhetoric but its message lives on.
38. TASS: MH17 crash probe not comprehensive, not truly international – Lavrov.
39. Business New Europe: bne:Chart – Half of Russians in favour of MH17 tribunal.
40. www.rt.com: Russian investigators present new ‘White Book’ detailing crimes of pro-Kiev forces in Donbass.
41. The Intercept: Institute of Peace’s Hawkish Chairman Wants Ukraine to Send Russians Back in Body Bags. (Stephen Hadley)
42. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, America’s Ukraine Policy and Maidan Ukraine’s War Crimes.
43. Ukraine Today: Ukrainian soldiers ‘demoralised’ after more than a year of war in east Ukraine.
44. Ukrayinska Pravda (Kyiv): Ukrainian website says revolution “imminent” amid corruption, lack of reforms.