RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#179 :: Tuesday 15 September 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#179
Tuesday – 15 September 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. www.theblogmire.com: Rob Slane, A Media Primer on the Art of Writing Russian Scare Stories.
2. TASS: Russians’ general satisfaction with life dwindles – poll.
3. Russia & India Report: Hot air melting the Arctic. Around 700 new ‘methane holes’ found in the Arctic shelf by Russian scientists show how fast these emissions are heating up the region. Given the scale of hot air emissions, it is likely the permafrost has been severely degraded, and the thaw irreversible.
4. Moscow Times: 13 Percent of Russians Want to Move Abroad – Poll.
5. Moscow Times: Andre Rogger, Giving Russia’s Artistic Talent a Helping Hand.
6. Moscow Times: What’s That Line of Poetry Again? Just Yandex It.
7. International Business Times: Russians are the Most Well Educated: UK Ranked Seventh.
8. TASS: Lake Baikal’s water level may drop to new record low in spring.
9. www.rt.com: Elton John spoke to Putin about gay rights in Russia, says thank you
10 TASS: Russia’s Liberal Mission NGO excluded from foreign agents list. (Yevgeny Yasin)
11. Journalitico: Danielle Ryan, NYT asks: Are Western values losing their sway?
12. Russia Direct: Why the Kremlin neglects strategic thinking. RD Interview: Carnegie Moscow Center’s Andrei Kolesnikov explains why the re-emergence of nationalism and conservatism in post-Crimea Russia is a long-term trend and why the Kremlin is shying away from strategic thinking.
13. Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Voskresnoye Vremya TV programme, September 13, 2015.
14. Russia Direct: Russian media comments on Duma ‘dress rehearsal’ elections. Media roundup: Nationwide elections in 83 of the 85 regions of Russia made headlines this week, as did new signs that Europe was attempting to broker a peace deal for Ukraine.
15. Vedomosti: Russian daily says political infighting resulting from resources cuts, reforms.
16. Fort Russ: Who’s next? Three possible successors to Putin.
17. Politico.com: Walter Laqueur, Why Putinism Will Survive Putin. Let’s face it: Russians like a strong state, and they’ll always see themselves as an empire.
18. Moscow Times: Russian Orthodox Activists Who Vandalized Manezh Face Criminal Charges.
19. Moscow Times: First Russian Business School Enters Top 50 of Financial Times Global Ranking.
20. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Kids of Russia’s billionaires charge into business.
21. Sputnik: Why are Liberal Economists Outraged by Putin Advisor’s Reform Proposals? (Sergei Glazyev)
22. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrey Movchan, Glazyev’s Economic Policy of the Absurd.
23. Russia Beyond the Headlines: What you need to know about Russia’s biggest military drill this year.
24. www.rt.com: Russia simulates international conflict in ‘biggest war drills since Cold War’
25. Valdai Discussion Club: Konstantin Simonov, Situation on Oil Market: OPEC Factor.
26. TASS: OPEC raises forecast for global oil demand in 2015, worsens outlook for 2016.
27. Moscow Times: Russia Apathetic Over Corbyn Labour Victory.
28. www.rt.com: Putin: ISIS has designs on Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, endangers Europe & Russia.
29. The Guardian (UK): West ‘ignored Russian offer in 2012 to have Syria’s Assad step aside.’ Exclusive: Senior negotiator describes rejection of alleged proposal – since which time tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced. (Martti Ahtisaari)
30. Sic Semper Tyrannis: French Military Intelligence Cautious about Russian Military Build-up in Syria.
31. Sputnik: Russia Has No Plans to Build Military Air Base in Syria.
32. Moscow Times: Allegations of Russian Troops Reflect Battle Over Syria’s Future.
33. Gazeta.ru Fedor Lukyanov on why growth in Russian military presence in Syria benefits everyone except ISIL.
34. Antiwar.com: Justin Raimondo, Is Russia Invading Syria?
35. The National Interest: Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Moscow’s Moves in Syria: 5 Messages Russia Is Sending to the World.
36. The National Interest: Thomas Graham, Russia’s Syria Surprise (And What America Should Do about It). “Russian pride will not allow Moscow to join a U.S.-led coalition, but we should be able to work in parallel, coordinating air strikes and other actions for maximum effect in degrading ISIS.”
37. The National Interest: Rajan Menon, Why Russia’s Actions in Syria Are No Shocker. “[A]s Russia sees it, the result of this logjam will be war without let up in Syria and the strengthening of extremist forces.”
38. Political Violence @ a Glance: Jesse Driscoll and Barbara F. Walter, What Russia Might Teach the US about Establishing Order in Civil Wars.
39. Stratfor.com: The Logic and Risks Behind Russia’s Statelet Sponsorship.
40. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrei Ostrovsky, Russia-China Cooperation: Problems and Prospects.
41. Brookings Institution: Steven Pifer, Empty words: Republican non-proposals for dealing with Putin.
42. Russia & India Report: Russian women’s struggle for the right to vote.
43. The Independent (UK): Andy McSmith, World War II: Soviet envoy’s book reveals missed opportunities to pre-empt Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union. Ivan Maisky’s personal account of his years in London has been rediscovered – as have new facts about one of the most important events in world history.
44. The Conversation: Gabriel Gorodetsky, Diary of Soviet ambassador to London rewrites history of World War II.
45. The Independent (UK): How I moved to the US from Soviet Russia in 1980: ‘Being an immigrant means living with your soul split in half.’ In the final installment of our series, Elena Gorokhova describes how she arrived to live in the US from Soviet Russia in 1980 and found her new country’s unquestioning optimism and dizzying consumer choices strangely alienating.