RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#164 :: Thursday 20 August 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#164
Thursday – 20 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. Moscow Times: Fyodor Lukyanov, How Russia Can Learn From Helsinki.
2. Russia Direct: What are the Kremlin’s new red lines in the post-Soviet space? RD Interview: Sergey Markedonov of Russian State University for the Humanities talks about the unpredictable nature of frozen conflicts and assesses the chances that the Ukrainian conflict might end in military confrontation.
3. The Calvert Journal: Moscow bus drivers officially required to be polite.
4. Moscow Times: Half of Russians Believe Putin is Poorly Informed of Situation in the Country, Poll Shows.
5. www.opendemocracy.net: Russian press digest (19 August 2015).
6. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Press Digest: NATO holding biggest drills in Europe since Cold War. RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media on international events, featuring a report on large-scale NATO exercises in Europe, as well as analysis of the risk of renewed conflict in the Transcaucasian region and an interview with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock about the putsch of August 1991 in the Soviet Union.
7. TASS: Russia condemns political repressions officially.
8. RAPSI: Russia’s Human Rights Council drafts bill to commemorate political repression victims.
9. Moscow Times: New Policy on Commemorating Victims of Repression At Odds With Actions.
10. Government.ru: Endorsing the Government policy concept for the remembrance of victims of political reprisals.
11. Transitions Online: Will Wright, Russia’s Democratic Opposition On the Ropes. Rejections in Novosibirsk and Magadan, a small breakthrough in Kostroma mark the Democratic Coalition’s efforts to take part in Russian local elections. From Global Voices.
12. Russia Direct: Yury Korgunyuk, The unraveling of crony capitalism in Russia? The resignation of the head of Russia’s main railroad company might have important implications for the future of Putin’s brand of capitalism.
13. Vedomosti: Russian Railways head’s possible resignation “unprecedented” – paper.
14. TASS: Russian PM appoints new Russian Railways CEO. (Oleg Belozerov)
15. Interfax: Kaliningrad election commission confirms Yakunin’s rank as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
16. http://readrussia.com: Louise Dickson, Why Is Vladimir Yakunin Taking a Million Dollar Paycut?
17. TASS: Russian GDP down 3.4% in first half of 2015 – report.
18. Moscow Times: State Statistics Show Flat Unemployment, Survey Paints Different Story.
19. Oilprice.com: Oil Prices Must Rebound. Here’s Why.
20. Bloomberg: Russia Rewrites Growth Blueprint as Recession Dooms Consumer.
21. TASS: EU concerned over Moscow’s food embargo in response to anti-Russian sanctions.
22. TASS: Russia’s government to support drug rehabilitation NGOs.
23. The Calvert Journal: Stars set to boycott Russian radio station.
24. The Calvert Journal: Russia bans Reddit pages over drug discussion.
25. Real Times With Bill Maher Blog: Bill Maher, Climate Change is Helping Putin!
26. TASS: Russia’s S-300 missile system supplies to Iran to strengthen Mideast security.
27. Valdai Discussion Club: Vladimir Batyuk, US Plans for a Missile Defense System in Europe.
28. Sputnik: Revealed: Russia’s Ambitious New ICBM Early Warning System.
29. The National Interest: Dmitry Gorenburg, This Is How the Russian Military Plans to Fight Future Wars. Russia is actively seeking out areas of relative strength to compensate for its military’s overall weakness.
30. TASS: Russian prosecutor asks court to imprison Ukrainian filmmaker for 23 years.
31. Washington Post: Andrew Roth, Russia’s summer of intrigue: Political trials take center stage.

UKRAINE

32. Moscow Times: Nicholas Kaufman, West Must Be Wary of Ukraine’s Leaders.
33. TASS: Ukraine’s Security Service accuses more than a thousand of its officers of desertion.
34. Sputnik: Ultra-Right Militants Acting Like Cops in Ukraine’s 2nd Largest City. (Kharkiv)
35. TASS: Ukrainian forces violate ceasefire regime 17 times over last 24 hours – DPR.
36. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, BLAME GAME.
37. Russia Insider/Kyiv Post: As Shells Hit Ukraine-Controlled Town Residents Cry False Flag.
38. Reuters: James Miller, Ukraine shifts closer to open war with recent attacks.
39. Reuters: Ukraine leader looks to summit with Germany, France, to curb Russian ‘aggression’
40. www.rt.com: Alexander Yakovenko, Ukraine: Road to peace runs through Minsk-II.
41. Business New Europe: Kyiv one of the world’s most unliveable cities, survey finds.
42. Russia Insider: Thousands of Ukrainians Are Being Maimed and This Disabled Activist is Furious About It. (Oleksiy Zhuravko)
43. TASS: Ukraine to resell Russian electricity to Poland at double price.
44. New York Times: Russia’s Pitch to Vacationers: Crimea Is for Patriots.
45. http://newcoldwar.org: Victor Shapinov: The Novorossiyan ideal isn’t dead.
46. Bloomberg: Exiled Ukraine Premier Seeks to Regain Power, Though Not Crimea. (Mykola Azarov)
47. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Ukraine Reform Monitor: August 2015.
48. Fort Russ: “Quiet Americans” in Kiev.
49. Huffingtonpost.com: Diana Francis, Russia Readies to Invade Ukraine this Fall.
50. Den (Kyiv): Former Ukrainian foreign minister urges West to counter Russian propaganda. (Volodymyr Ohryzko)