JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#91 :: 21 May 2013

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#91 :: 21 May 2013
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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POLITICS

1. ITAR-TASS: Dmitry Medvedev confesses premiership as difficult a job as presidency.
2. ITAR-TASS: Medvedev says Russia has no plans to return to seasonal times.
3. Interfax: Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Russia’s most popular politician – survey.
4. RIA Novosti: Two Thirds of Russians are Internet Users – Survey.
5. Interfax: Russians say Internet does more good than harm – poll.
6. RIA Novosti: Moscow Safer Than New York – Minister.
7. www.opendemocracy.net: Grigorii Golosov, The incompetent many or the corrupt few?
8. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia Must Ensure Against Disintegration, Destabilization of Ethnic Periphery. (Mikhail Remizov)
9. Novyye Izvestiya: Moscow Daily Views Political ‘Manipulation’ of Opinion Poll Results.
10. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, May 21, 2013.
11. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Right choice: Duma discusses with experts political reform.
12. Interfax: Bill on mixed elections to Duma to determine development of Russia’s entire political system – Naryshkin.
13. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Kudrin accuses United Russia of economic stagnation.
14. Interfax: Russian Communist leader takes govt policy apart.
15. Moscow Times: Surkov Ridicules Government’s New Website.
16. Moscow News: Anna Arutunyan, The man behind the curtain. Do people miss Surkov? Or do they miss the illusions he created?
17. Moscow Times: Nikolai Petrov, United Russia Primed for Primaries.
18. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, Putin’s Game And Kudrin’s Choice.
19. Moscow Times: Kremlin Faces Barbs From All Sides on Human Rights.
20. RIA Novosti: Russia Urges EU to Avoid Ideology-Based Remarks on NGO Law.
21. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Kremlin orders Russian pollster to register itself as ‘spy’
22. Novaya Gazeta/http://russianspectrum.com: Andrei Kolesnikov, A Sociology of Dvoechniki. Levada Center is being destroyed with Stalinist methods.
23. Moscow Times: Vladimir Ryzhkov, Operation Total Eradication of NGOs.
24. BBC Monitoring: Russian NTV attacks opposition leaders over last year’s 6 May rally.
25. ITAR-TASS: Amnesty for May 6 rioters will enhance government prestige – ombudsman.
26. RIA Novosti: Russian Laws, Policies Restrict Religious Freedom – US Report.
27. ITAR-TASS: Russian lawmakers differ on law on protection of believers’ feelings.
28. ITAR-TASS: Defendants in journalist murder case ask for jury trial. (re Anna Politkovskaya)
29. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia’s new ‘Public TV’ channel has a Soviet feel.
30. Interfax: Russian pundits dismiss first day of Public TV as ‘dull’, ‘old-fashioned’

ECONOMY

31. Moscow Times: Medvedev, Dismissing Recession Jitters, Says Don’t Stockpile Food.
32. Financial Times: Russia’s markets: the Kudrin card.
33. ITAR-TASS: Russia’s oil output reaches 518 mln tonnes in 2012, exceeding indicator of 1990.
34. Business New Europe: Russia won’t break up Gazprom.
35. Financial Times: Political backlash blamed for woes at Russia’s ‘Silicon Valley’
36. Vedomosti: Russia Has Not Yet Adapted To WTO Membership.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

37. www.russiatoday.com: Top Russian security official visits US, ‘plays mailman’ for Obama and Putin.
38. ITAR-TASS: Russia, USA should jointly confront spreading terrorism – minister.
39. Moscow News: Mark Galeotti, Patriot games. Moscow’s current bout of spy fever is political pathology.
40. BBC Monitoring: Russia notes preconditions for success of Geneva conference on Syria. (Lavrov)
41. New York Times editorial: Why Is Russia Still Arming Syria?
42. Reuters:Brenda Shaffer, For Russia, Syria is not in the Middle East.
43. The Voice of Russia: William Dunkerly, The Litvinenko inquest, “beyond farce”
44. US-Russia.org: Expert Discussion Panel. Does Russia have soft power and the ability to wield it?