RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-34 :: Thursday, 18 February 2016

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#34
Thursday, 18 February 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. Washington Post: Yoshiko Herrera, Andrew Kydd and Fyodor Lukyanov, Yes, the U.S. and Russia can cooperate to end the Syrian civil war. Here’s why.
2. Forbes.com: Laurence Kotlikoff, Cutting a Deal with Russia.
3. The Hill: Stephen Blank, Glen Howard, Enders S. Wimbush and Paul Goble, Countering Putin begins with knowing what his regime is saying. (bring back FBIS)
4. www.rt.com: Faith in defending the Motherland: Russians trust military to protect the nation, poll shows.
5. Russia Beyond the Headlines/RBC Daily: Suicide rates fall in Russia.
6. Russia Insider: BOOZE CRISIS: Russians Forced to Drink Less Vodka. If a lack of cheap booze can’t bring Russians to their knees, then nothing ever will.
7. Moscow Times: Weak Ruble Draws Foreign Tourists to Russia for Summer Vacations.
8. Russia Beyond the Headlines/TASS: Bolshoi Theater to screen best performances on video in U.S.
9. RFE/RL: Defender of Putin, Detained in Russia: American Activist Deemed U.S. ‘Agent.’ (Sharon Tennison)
10. Moscow Times: Moscow Authorities Approve March in Honor of Slain Kremlin Critic Nemtsov.
11. Vedomosti: Russia’s ruling party tries to change image ahead of election – pundits.
12. Moscow Times: Russian Politicians Ask Khodorkovsky for Endorsement As Elections Near.
13. www.rt.com: Liberal party Yabloko rules out any cooperation with Khodorkovsky.
14. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Censors would starve in modern Russia. Maya Kucherskaya, a writer, linguist, literary critic and director of the newly opened Creative Writing School, the first such center for budding authors in Russia, talked to RBTH about professional writing, censorship and Russia’s book market.
15. Reuters: Small businesses cower after Moscow’s night of bulldozers.
16. TASS: PM: Russian economy is gradually adjusting to new external economic conditions.
17. Bloomberg: The One Shock Russia Dodged Is Set to Catch Up With Putin.
18. Levada.ru: Soviet economic, political systems most popular amongst Russians – poll.
19. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia and OPEC trio agree to freeze oil production, but no cuts. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela have announced their readiness to freeze oil production volumes at January levels but fell short of agreeing to cut production by 5 percent as was earlier anticipated. Market analysts believe this agreement is a loss for Russian diplomacy – as a result of the deal, oil prices and the related value of the ruble began falling.
20. www.rt.com: Russia may cut crude output by 14% over next 4yrs.
21. The Unz Review: Philip Geraldi, Cold War Redux. Dishing it to the Russkies.
22. Valdai Discussion Club: MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE: NO COLD WAR YET. Medvedev did not declare a new Cold War in Munich. He diagnosed a slide into it. (interview with Dmitri Trenin)
23. Russia Direct: Ivan Tsvetkov, Munich re-thinks the Russia threat. The growing threat of military confrontation on the European continent and the potential for the global escalation of hostilities became one of the key themes of this year’s Munich Security Conference.
24. Moscow Times: Igor Ivanov, Lessons From Munich: We Need Cooperation, Not Confrontation.
25. Russia Insider/Gazeta.ru: Georgy Bovt, Washington’s Conduct Toward Russia Is Ad Hoc and Reckless. The glaring absence of logic in American decisions is not a hopeful sign.
26. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Kommersant: Emboldened Assad defies Moscow’s diplomatic efforts over truce. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put a peaceful settlement in Syria in doubt by insisting that government forces will continue to fight on. Damascus’ new signals contradict the agreements on a ceasefire reached by world powers with Moscow’s participation in Geneva and Munich.
27. Newsweek.com: Tony Brenton, WHY PUTIN WANTS THE SYRIAN CEASEFIRE TO WORK.
28. The National Interest: Joseph Nye, The Russian Connection Between Syria and Ukraine. Moscow may try to link cooperation in the Syrian crisis to relief from sanctions.
29. The Express (UK): Russia is getting it RIGHT in Syria, it’s the UK getting it WRONG, blasts ex-army chief. (General Lord Dannatt)
30. Gazeta.ru: Russian think tank director urges “honourable withdrawal” from Syria. (Vladislav Inozemtsev)
31. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Gazeta.ru: How likely is a Turkish invasion of Syria? As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops move closer to taking the strategic northern city of Aleppo, Russian observers believe that a Turkish invasion of Syria is becoming ever more likely given Ankara’s opposition to Assad’s regime and the Syrian Kurds.
32. Russia Direct: Pietro Shakarian, Will Russia cancel its 1921 friendship treaty with Turkey? By calling into question the validity of the 1921 Treaty of Moscow, Russian politicians may be attempting to rattle Ankara and gain the political support of Georgia and Armenia.
33. The Daily Princetonian: Stephen Kotkin: Scholar of Soviet history, encouraging mentor.

UKRAINE

34. BBC: Living and loving on Ukraine’s front line. It’s a year since an agreement was signed in Minsk that was supposed to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But the fighting continues – and civilians continue to suffer. The BBC’s Fergal Keane went back to the village of Pisky to talk to a couple determined to stay in their home, come what may.
35. Reuters: Ukraine PM hunts for new allies after coalition cracks.
36. Washington Post: Joshua Tucker, Ukraine’s government almost fell yesterday. It’s still in crisis. Here’s what happened and why it matters. (interview with Oxana Shevel)
37. TASS: Political bargaining lets Ukraine’s ‘lame duck’ prime minister stay in office for now.
38. Russia & India Report: For Russia, Ukraine’s political crisis poses danger. There are signs that the political turmoil in Ukraine could pose an increasing threat to Russia’s efforts to resolve the crisis and stabilize its own political and economic interests.
39. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Yatsenyuk Survives No Confidence Vote – And Lives to Lose Another Day. US pressure and backroom intrigue with Ukrainian oligarchs keep discredited Prime Minister – thereby prolonging, and deepening Ukraine’s crisis.
40. www.foreignpolicy.com: Maxim Eristavi, Now We Know Who Really Runs Ukraine. This week’s government showdown in Kiev is proof that the oligarchs are still firmly in control.
41. Bloomberg: Chaos in Ukraine Is Making Putin Stronger.
42. Atlantic Council: Anders Aslund, A Pyrrhic Victory for President Poroshenko.
43. TASS: Putin: Ukraine does not comply with Minsk agreements.
44. Washington Post editorial: A blackout in Ukraine is a reminder of the dangers of cyberattacks.
45. Wall Street Journal: DAVID PETRAEUS and JOHN HERBST, Putin Hasn’t Given Up His Designs on Ukraine. NATO is wise to bolster its eastern flank, but Kiev needs more defensive armaments right now.
46. Fort Russ: Right Sector: “Take the Machine Guns, Assault Rifles, RPGs and Drive Poroshenko Out!”
47. Interfax: DPR reports over 100 Ukrainian army attacks over past day.
48. Russia Without BS: Jim Kovpak, Denial. (re Bandera)
49. Russia Insider: Circles of Hell: Shocking Film of Ukraine War Crimes, Sadistic Torture. (Video)