RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#217 :: Monday 9 November 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#217
Monday 9 November 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. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Gazeta.ru: Acting world policeman. Fyodor Lukyanov takes a look at how Russia has forced its way into the main squadron of international politics and what it must do in order to stay there.
2. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Igor Ivanov, The Putin plan. Russia’s proposals and actions for a Syrian settlement – The way to world order.
3. Antiwar.com: Justin Raymond, The Russian Question. Are we in for another nuclear standoff with the Kremlin?
4. Wall Street Journal: U.S. Military Officials Aim to Bolster Troop Presence in Europe. Pentagon leaders propose rotating more forces to the Continent to deter Russia.
5. Interfax: Poll: Russians continue to lose interest in protests.
6. TASS: Only quarter of Russians satisfied with police work – poll.
7. TASS: Russia loses territory equal to Andorra annually – geology expert.
8. AP: Putin to Join More Than 100 Leaders at Paris Climate Talks.
9. Russia Direct: Top 10 Russian media any Kremlin watcher needs to know. Russia Direct has compiled a special round-up of the most influential and interesting media outlets that provide insights into political, economic and social spheres in Russia.
10. Moscow Times: Russian Students to Get Paid Foreign Education – If They Return Home Afterward.
11. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Oleg Poptsov, Belated Enlightenment. The Government’s Obsession with a Neoliberal Economic Policy Has Led the Country into a Blind Alley.
12. Vedomosti: Putin prepares new team to implement economic reforms – pundits.
13. RIA Novosti: One in six Russians overwhelmed by debts – poll.
14. Paul Goble: Russian Economy Set to Take Another Hit – A Much Smaller Labor Force in the Future.
15. Interfax: Russian imports from non-CIS plummet 38% in 10M – Customs Service.
16. Interfax: Member of Sever battalion Mukhutdinov charged in absentia in Nemtsov murder – lawyer.
17. The Independent (UK): Patrick Cockburn, Egypt plane crash: This attack shows that Russia is hurting Isis.
18. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Russian Aerospace Forces commander interviewed on Syria operation. (Col-Gen Viktor Bondarev)
19. New York Times: Confirmation of Attack on Russian Jet May Strengthen Putin’s Resolve in Syria.
20. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, How Russia Is Saving Syria. Conduct of military campaign shows that it is carefully weighed to achieve Russia’s political objective of a united and secular Syrian state.
21. Russia Direct: Vienna talks on Syria a reminder about Cold War legacy for Russia, US. Russia Direct sat down with retired American diplomat John Evans to discuss recent achievements of the Vienna-2 talks on Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position in the 2015 Forbes ranking and the lessons from 2015 for U.S.-Russia bilateral relations.
22. The Unz Review: The Saker, Week Five of the Russian Intervention in Syria: The Russians Are Digging in.
23. Washington Post editorial: Russian and Egyptian officials are not to be trusted over airline crash.
24. Defensenews.com: Russia’s ’16 Defense Spending To Remain Essentially Flat.
25. Russia Direct: Michael Kofman, Six key trends in Russian foreign policy, as seen by the West. Heading into 2016, Russian foreign policy is arguably more unpredictable than at any time in the post-Cold War period. There are several key factors, though, that continue to influence the future trajectory of Russian diplomacy.
26. The Blog Mire: On Scaremongering and The Importance of Keeping the Real Agenda From the Masses – by Russell O’Phobe.
27. www.rt.com editorial: Talking out of both sides of their mouths: Tuesday’s bizarre US Senate hearings about RT.
28. Reuters: John Lloyd, The continuing Soviet collapse.
29. Moscow Times: Michele Berdy, A Cookbook to Rehabilitate Soviet Cuisine.
30. Irrussianality, Paul Robinson, BOOK REVIEW. STALIN AND STALINISM. (re Oleg Khlevniuk’s Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator)

UKRAINE

31. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine Is in Danger of Becoming a Failed State.
32. The Ukraine Today: UKRAINE’S FAILED FRIENDS. (re Bershidsky)
33. TASS: Ukrainian forces return heavy artillery to contact line in Donbas – DPR defense ministry.
34. Kyiv Post editorial: Yatsenyuk’s cover.
35. TASS: Ukrainian parliament coalition risks collapsing as another party may join opposition.
36. Fort Russ: Kiev using Donetsk front to solve its politically problematic “volunteers”
37. http://newcoldwar.org: Ukraine Rada approves first draft of regressive labour code, putting visa-free travel in Europe at risk.
38. Kyiv Post: Stefan Huijboom, Ukraine’s failure to adopt anti-discrimination legislation is putting European freedoms in danger.
39. Sputnik: Why Ukraine’s Parliamentary Punch Up Could Spell the End of EU Integration.
40. http://readrussia.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia Gets a Lesson in International Power Politics. (re IMF and Ukraine)
41. Russia Insider: War in Ukraine Will Resume Soon – Top Russian Theorist (Alexander Dugin)
42. New York Times: Ukraine Pins Hopes for Change on Fresh-Faced Police Recruits.
43. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, THE TONGUE THAT RAN AWAY WITH ITSELF – AUSTRALIAN AND DUTCH OFFICIALS LOSE CONTROL OF MH17 INFOWAR.