JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2013-#37 – 22 February 2013

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#37 :: 22 February 2013
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POLITICS

1. Scientific American: Siberian Caves Reveal Advancing Permafrost Thaw. Melting of significant portions of Arctic permafrost could accelerate climate change into a catastrophe.
2. Interfax: Medvedev says Russia is not autocracy.
3. Interfax: Chelyabinsk meteorite is lesson for mankind — Medvedev.
4. Moscow Times: Medvedev Says Talk of Russia as Human Rights Violator ‘Frivolous’
5. Business New Europe: CORRUPTION WATCH round up. Russian crack down escalates dramatically.
6. www.russiatoday.com: Duma passes 1st reading of Putin’s bill on foreign assets.
7. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Feb. 22, 2013.
8. Moscow Times: Wave of Resignations Foreseen in Duma.
9. www.russiatoday.com: New Perestroika? Recent legislator resignations see change in wind.
10. Gazeta.ru: Russian Experts Comment on Duma Deputies’ Resignations, ‘Perestroika’ of Elite.
11. ITAR-TASS: Arrests of oppositionists, suspected of disorders at rallies, resumed.
12. Moscow Times: Belkovsky Stands by Criticism of Church.
13. Reuters: A year on, Pussy Riot claim a victory in Russia.
14. Reuters: Russia’s $50 billion Olympic gamble.

ECONOMY

15. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Russia Faces Same Macro-Economic Problems USSR Did 40 Years Ago, Moscow Economist Says. (Vladimir Mau)
16. Interfax: Police interference often disastrous for businesses – Russian Prosecutor General.
17. Polit.ru: Russian Rich Lists Said to Show Political Power, Business Inter-Connected.
18. www.minyanville.com: Craig Mellow, Putin’s BFF at Rosneft Cuddles Up With Exxon, BP.In aggregate, Igor Sechin’s initiatives signal a significant shift for Rosneft and for Russia amid the perceived stasis of Putin’s third presidential term.
19. Interfax: McDonald’s could open 150 restaurants in Russia in three years.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

20. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, So many nyets: Why the chasm between US, Russia is so hard to bridge. Many in the West see a perplexing obstructionism in Russia’s stands on everything from Syria to adoption. But Russia is working from a fundamentally different understanding of the post-cold war world.
21. ITAR-TASS: China attaches great significance to strengthening strategic partnership with Russia.
22. Interfax: Russian Foreign Ministry opens Facebook account.
23. New York Times: Russia Backs Off Claim of Murder in Death of Adopted Boy in Texas.
24. RIA Novosti: Senior MP Admits Adopted Children’s Deaths Almost Never Probed In Russia.
25. www.foreignpolicy.com: Dmitri Trenin, Nuclear Deference. How Obama can convince Moscow he’s not out to ruin Russia.
26. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Russia embarks on a diplomatic offensive in the Middle East.
LONG ITEMS
27. Valdai Discussion Club: Alexei Arbatov, International Security and the role of the Russian Federation.
8. Minchenko Consulting: Follow-Up Minchenko ‘Politburo.2’ Report Predicts Putin Elites ‘Reset.’