RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-6 :: Tuesday 12 January 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#6
Tuesday 12 January 2016
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
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RUSSIA

1. Kremlin.ru: Interview to German newspaper Bild. Part 2.
2. www.rt.com: Russia supports both Assad troops and rebels in battle against ISIS – Putin.
3. Moscow Times: Half of Russians Think ‘Hardest Times’ Ahead – Poll.
4. www.rt.com: Citizens see situation in Russia as ‘normal’ but expect crisis to deepen, poll shows.
5. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Will Russia run out of money with $30 oil?
6. TASS: Russian Finance Ministry to review 2016 budget in Q1 due to lower oil prices.
7. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Russia’s Finance Ministry Should Redo 2016 Budget.
8. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Moscow Just Set A Record For Residential Construction: Is A Housing Bust On The Way?
9. RussEurope: Jacques Sapir, Russian economic dilemmas.
10. TASS: China’s slowing economy no tragedy for economic relations with Russia.
11. AFP: Western sanctions ‘severely’ harming Russia: Putin.
12. Reuters: Sanctions Impact on Russia to Be Longer Term, U.S. Says.
13. AP: IAAF taskforce head: Russia trying to reform on doping.
14. Russia Direct: Review of the week: most important Russian foreign policy events. The rise of new Saudi-Iranian tensions and North Korea’s alleged nuclear test were the focus of Russian foreign policy during the first week of January.
15. Russia Direct; Mikhail Molchanov, Russia’s new security strategy: Why is the Kremlin so threatened by NATO? Russia now considers NATO one of the main security threats it faces – and for good reason. Since the 1990s, NATO has consistently expanded to Russia’s doorstep despite the nation’s new role as a weakened regional power in Eurasia.
16. www.rt.com: Western defense: Russia to form 3 new army divisions in 2016.
17. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexander Baunov, From Isolation to the Board of Directors: Why Russia Supported the United States at the UN.
18. Interfax: Putin talks about possibility of granting asylum to Assad in Russia.
19. Interfax: Russian air force operates in in terest of 11 Syrian opposition units.
20. www.thedailybeast.com: Nancy Youssef, Russian Airstrikes Are Helping U.S. Allies. Washington and Moscow are supposed to be backing opposite sides in Syria’s war. But in the ISIS fight, enemies of enemies often become battlefield friends.
21. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Who is happy to see Russian pilots in Syria? The arrival of the Russian Air Force in Syria has upset the figures on the board of the “Great Chess Game” in the Middle East and has given hope to supporters of al-Assad for personal survival, although perhaps not a quick conclusion to the war.
22. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Paper gives details of Russians fighting on side of Islamic State.
23. Kennan Institute: Maxim Trudolyubov, Popular Decisions, Unpopular Outcomes.
24. Russia Beyond the Headlines: 7 powerful politicians from around the world that speak Russian. Russian is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn yet there are many influential politicians around the world that have taken it up. (video with Michael McFaul)
25. New York Times: As U.S. Modernizes Nuclear Weapons, ‘Smaller’ Leaves Some Uneasy.
26. TASS: Water level in Lake Baikal keeps falling.
27. Taste of Cinema: Michael Watson, The 20 Best Russian Films of The 21st Century.

UKRAINE

28. Maclean’s (Canada): In Ukraine, a gun becomes a necessary tool. Andrey Lomakin’s ‘Amulet’ portrait series captures how the Maidan Revolution changed Ukranians’ view of guns.
29. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, OPINION POLLS. TAKING UKRAINE’S CARROT.
30. UNIAN (Kyiv): Consumer prices rise 79% in two years of crisis.
31. Brookings.edu: Steven Pifer, Ukraine’s challenges for 2016.
32. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Maidan protests.
33. Russia Insider: SOLVED: Opposition Shot Victims on Kiev’s Maidan. The study by Ivan Katchanovski at the University of Ottawa did not specify the exact identity of the perpetrators
34. TASS: Analyst: Europeans should beware “dehumanization” of part of Ukrainian society.
35. AFP: Protests across Ukraine against Russian cigarettes.
36. TASS: Crimea to gain energy independence from Ukraine by May 1.
37. Kyiv Post: Yuriy Petrenko, New special confiscation: Despite the guarantees, property rights are threatened.
38. UNIAN (Kyiv): Bezsmertniy: Putin’s statement on borders in Donbas is absurd and legally futile.
39. Interfax: Video cameras mounted near Shyrokyne for OSCE round-the-clock monitoring in conflict area.
40. Interfax: Moscow dismisses Ukrainian official’s idea for new format for talks.
41. Fort Russ: Ukraine’s Nightmare Will Continue in 2016.
42. Fort Russ: Zhuravko: “Keep Your Children Away From the Fratricidal War”
43. Sputnik: Kiev Authorities Finishing Off Last Remnants of Ukraine’s Economy.
44. Atlantic Council: Anders Aslund, Ten Reasons Why I’m Optimistic About Ukraine’s Economy in 2016.