JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#228 – 27 December 2012

Johnson’s Russia List
2012-#228
27 December 2012
davidjohnson@starpower.net
A World Security Institute Project
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In this issue

POLITICS

1. ITAR-TASS: Consumer Rights Watchdog chief warns of “decade of nightmare”
2. www.russiatoday.com: Official statistics claims lower poverty in Russia.
3. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Incomes Rise in Russia’s Regions as They Fall in Moscow, Transforming the Economic Landscape.
4. Interfax: Most of Russians like Putin’s answers at Dec 20 press conference – poll.
5. Moscow Times: Gordon Hahn, How to Democratize Russia Without Revolution.
6. Valdai Discussion Club: Gleb Pavlovsky, Putin’s views become increasingly less compatible with the state.
7. Moscow Times: Richard Pipes, Why Russians Feel So Isolated and Hostile.
8. www.opendemocracy.net: Elena Strelnikov, Orenburg 2013: ring out the old, ring in the new!
9. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Dec. 27, 2012.
10. Vedomosti: DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION. VLADIMIR PUTIN WILL TOTE UP CABINET’S PERFORMANCE IN 2012.
11. Valdai Discussion Club: Piotr Dutkiewicz, Russian politics in 2012 and prospects for the next year.
12. Voice of America: James Brooke, Putin’s Start Points to Authoritarian Rule Through 2018.
13. The National Interest: Ariel Cohen, Russia’s Year of Mediocrity.
14. Moscow Times: Poor State of Housing Services Could Be Next Rallying Point.
14a. ITAR-TASS: Russia’s protest movement is decreasing, its future depends on power – view.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Anti-Magnitsky bill fuels debates on NGO law. While the Federation Council backed the anti-Magnitsky bill that, besides banning adoptions by Americans, suspends operations of NGOs supported by U.S. agencies, pundits Dmitry Babich and Boris Altshuler resumed discussions on the controversial NGO law.
16. St. Petersburg Times: Drinking for freedom. A new politically themed bar aims to provide a meeting place for St. Petersburg’s opposition activists.
17. Institute of Modern Russia: Ekaterina Mishina, The Fight Against Corruption as a New Year’s Present.

ECONOMY

18. Xinhua: Russia seeks ways to secure growth amidst global economic slowdown.
19. RIA Novosti: Putin Urges Regional Investment Roadmaps to Boost Economy.
20. Interfax: Governors should be responsible for quality of business climate in regions – Putin.
21. RIA Novosti: Putin: Capital Outflow Is Russian Business Expansion Abroad.
22. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Top 10 Russian economic events of 2012.
23. SBERBANK INVESTMENT RESEARCH: Chris Weafer, Russia in Context. 2012 in Review: A Year of Positives and Negatives.
24. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Alexei Zabotkiin, Making predictions from a cloudy crystal ball.
25. Valdai Discussion Club: Yaroslav Lisovolik, The benefits of South Stream pipeline for Russia.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

26. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Top 10 Russian foreign policy events in 2012.
27. www.russiatoday.com: Putin ‘will sign’ bill banning US adoptions of Russian kids.
28. New York Times: Putin Says He Will Sign Law Barring U.S. Adoptions.
29. RIA Novosti: Children’s Rights Watchdog Defends US Adoption Ban.
30. Izvestia: DIMA YAKOVLEV LAW ADOPTED. THE UPPER HOUSE OF THE PARLIAMENT UNANIMOUSLY VOTED FOR THE RUSSIAN RESPONSE TO THE MAGNITSKY BILL.
31. Reuters: Children, many ill, would be victims of Russia ban on U.S. adoption.
32. Interfax: Moscow hopes to get rid of thorns in Russia-U.S. relations despite the Magnitsky Act.
33. RIA Novosti: Fyodor Lukyanov, An Extraterritorial Crisis.
34. ITAR-TASS: US human rights concerns not proved by its participation in int’l agreements -­ Russian diplomat.
35. Bloomberg: Russia Targets Diplomatic Solution on Syria in Moscow Talks.
36. Wired: Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, In Ex-Soviet States, Russian Spy Tech Still Watches You.