JRL Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#223 – 18 December 2012

Johnson’s Russia List
2012-#223
18 December 2012
davidjohnson@starpower.net
A World Security Institute Project
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“We don’t see things as they are, but as we are”

In this issue

POLITICS

1. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Fyodor Lukyanov, Putin outlines his moral vision for modern Russia. Debates about whether Russia was better off in Soviet times are left behind as Vladimir Putin focuses on his country’s future.
2. Vedomosti editorial: Putin’s Federal Assembly Seen as Indicator of His Tiredness.
3. Kommersant: Experts, Politicians Comment On Whether Ruling Tandem Still Exists.
4. Moscow News: Kremlin to stay impregnable for 10-15 years ­ poll.
5. Interfax: U.S. school shooting buries idea of free selling of weapons in Russia – Pushkov.
6. Moscow Times: Marilyn Murray, When Violence Is So Typical It Becomes Normal.
7. RIA Novosti: Moscow’s Cabbies, Prices, Locals ‘World’s Worst’ ­ Poll.
8. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Dec. 18, 2012.
9. www.russiatoday.com: Political reform: there’s no turning back– Kudrin.
10. Moscow News: Pride of the nation. Searching for a new national idea, the Kremlin hedges its bets on patriotism.
11. Moscow Times: Nikolai Petrov, Putin and the Regions.
12. ITAR-TASS: Duma committee supports ban on NGO using US grants.
13. RIA Novosti: No ‘Color Revolutions’ in Russia – Security Council Chief
14. RIA Novosti: Russian Pundits Blame Lack Of Clear Agenda For Wane In Protest Movement.
15. Moscow News: Anna Arutunyan, Try being constructive. When protesters on municipal councils ‘get in the way’ of democracy.
16. Committee to Protect Journalists: Russia still far from solving Politkovskaya murder.
17. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Russians who Want Re-Integration of Soviet Space Face Same Problem Soviets Did 90 Years Ago, Chernyakhovsky Says.
18. New York Times: An Ugly Reminder in Russia That Bigotry Lingers. (re soccer)
19. Moscow TImes: Coping With Cancer: Patients Struggle in Faulty State System.
20. Transitions Online: Alexander Kolesnichenko, The Great Russian Consumer Revolution. In a new book, journalist Valery Panyushkin argues that the Soviet Union fell to an emerging consumer society that is also beginning to undermine Vladimir Putin as frustration builds over Russia’s abysmal public services.

ECONOMY

21. RIA Novosti: Kudrin Slams Russia for ‘Creeping De-Privatization’
22. Interfax: Anti-western rhetoric stopped international financial center in Russia – Kudrin.
23. Moscow Times: Capital Flight Calculation Open for Debate.
24. Moscow News: More precision in taxation. Entrepreneurs report higher satisfaction with the tax service, but question the government’s commitment to supporting business.
25. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Izvestia: Russian Ministry of Natural Resources wants a global climate model.
26. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Has Russia Deindustrialized?
27. Reuters: Gazprom to cut gas price for Europe in 2013-source.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

28. Vedomosti: VISAS FOR OFFICIALS. Forthcoming Russian-EU summit: no breakthroughs are expected.
29. Interfax: Russian Foreign Ministry’s ombudsman slams EU’s human rights.
30. Reuters: Russia expects Obama visit despite “mini-crisis” in ties.
31. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, US Magnitsky Law draws Kremlin ire ­ but many Russians support it.
32. Moscow Times: Retaliatory Ban of U.S. Adoptions Proposed.
33. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. US citizens may be banned to adopt Russian orphans in retaliation to the Magnitsky Act.
34. AP: Russian FM against any ban on US adoptions.
35. Reuters: Russian rights activists to draft list of violators to help U.S.
36. Interfax: Magnitsky Act is not targeted against Russia – Ambassador McFaul.
37. Reuters: Putin touts record Russian arms sales of $14 billion in 2012.
38. www.russiatoday.com: US seeks ‘world supremacy’ through advanced weapons – Security Chief. (Nikolay Patrushev)
39. Svobodnaya Pressa: Experts Comment on US Intelligence Agency’s Forecast of Russian, Global Trends. (with Viktor Kremenyuk and Andrey Bunich)
40. Moscow News: It’s time for Africa. In a new scramble for the continent, Russia doesn’t have to be an outsider.
41. Civil Georgia: PM’s Envoy Spells Out Reasons Behind Launching Direct Talks with Russia.
42. National Public Radio: Wine And Food May Rekindle Love Lost Between Russia And Georgia.