RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-160 :: Monday, 21 August 2017

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#160
Monday, 21 August 2017
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1. www.rt.com: Russians name security as top foreign policy aim.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Life expectancy of Russians exceeds 72 for the first time.
3. Fort Russ: Irish Crimean: Is Russian Fatalism Behind Terrible Driving Practices?
4. www.rt.com: PM Medvedev closest to Putin in fresh rating of influential Russian politicians.
5. Moscow Times: Putin’s Would-Be Successors Ranked Ahead of 2018 Elections.
6. The National Interest: Robert W. Merry, Stop Poking the Russian Bear. Western intrusion into traditional Russian spheres of influence, areas under the sway of Moscow for three centuries or more, represents a highly provocative and destabilizing policy.
7. The National Interest: Robert Legvold, Getting America and Russia Back to Normal. Putin and his entourage, the Trump administration, and the U.S. Congress have a large choice to make.
8. Intellinews.com: Wages in Russian industry recover to pre-recession top levels.
9. Sputnik: Society Should ‘Filter’ Information Based on Moral Principles – Putin.
10. Interfax: Putin likes to wear simple, but elegant clothes.
11. Washington Post: Alfred B. Evans, Jr., Many Russians aren’t protesting against Putin – they want his help.
12. The Conversation: Matthew Wyman, Little prospect of regime change in Russia short of a popular uprising – and that’s unlikely.
13. Paul Goble: A Lesson for Today: August 1991 Coup Failed because KGB Didn’t Support It, Gennady Gudkov Says.
14. Moskovsky Komsomolets: Anti-Putin protest leader interviewed on changes in society, opposition. (Sergei Udaltsov)
15. www.opendemocracy.net: Kirill Medvedev and Oleg Zhuravlev, How can Russia’s left work with Navalny? Across Russia, Alexey Navalny’s anti-corruption campaign is gaining an audience. Can Russia’s left benefit from the political opening he has provided?
16. Awful Avalanche: Interview With Moscow Political Candidate Samson Sholademi.
17. Vedomosti: Economic growth will slow, experts warn Russians.
18. Fortune.com: Why Europe Is Furious Over Congress’s Russia Sanctions.
19. Intellinews.com: Oleksandr Valchyshen, How will the new US sanctions affect Russia’s economy?
20. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrey Bystritskiy, NORTH KOREA: ABSTENTION FROM EVIL.
21. Russia Matters: On Russia’s Role in Resolving the North Korea Crisis: Q&A with Gary Samore.
22. www.rt.com: Putin appoints Anatoly Antonov as Russia’s new ambassador to US – Kremlin.
23. www.rt.com: US embassy in Russia temporarily halts issue of non-immigrant visas.
24. Moscow Times: Lavrov: Russia Won’t Follow ‘Stupid’ U.S. Example After Visa Freeze.
25. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Driven from US shores, neo-Nazi website finds no haven in Russia either. Kremlin watchdog Roskomnadzors’ decision to shut down The Daily Stormer hate site underscores the very one-sided nature of the ‘alt-right’s’ love affair with Russia.
26. Russia Insider: Paul Goncharoff, Major Sanctions Escalation? Informed Sources Say Russian Bank Disconnected From SWIFT. Rumors are swirling in Moscow that a Russian bank has been removed from SWIFT.
27. AP: After Doping Scandals, Russia Touts Reformed Testing Agency.
28. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Shock Poll: Most Countries Prefer Putin Over Trump.
29. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, BOOK REVIEW: UKRAINE IN THE CROSSFIRE.
30. The Independent (UK): Ukraine has removed all 1,320 statues of Lenin.
31. Wall Street Journal: Kremlin Envoy Played Central Role in Eastern Ukraine. Vladislav Surkov has encouraged and managed pro-Russia separatists, according to former rebel leaders and Western and Ukrainian officials.
32. Moscow Times: Russian Emigres in New York Unfazed by Sanctions Fallout. U.S.-Russia relations are flourishing in Brooklyn’s ‘Little Odessa’
33. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian security chief warns of threat to IT infrastructure. (Nikolay Patrushev)
34. Consortiumnews.com: Robert Parry, Russia-gate’s Evidentiary Void. A cyber-warfare expert sees no technical evidence linking Russia to the Democratic email releases, but The New York Times presses ahead with a new hope that Ukraine can fill the void.
35. AP: Report of Ukraine Witness to DNC Hacking Stirs Confusion. (re New York Times)
36. Washington Post: David Ignatius, Russia’s election meddling backfired – big-time.
37. Washington Times: David Keene, The Rohrabacher-Assange meeting. Pending is proof that the Democratic National Committee wasn’t hacked by Russians after all.
38. The Hill: Dershowitz: Russia investigation ‘endangers democracy’
39. www.opendemocracy.net: Alexey Kovalev, Why explaining internal strife in the United States through “Russian influence” is lazy and unhelpful. When you find yourself doing the same thing Putin and his propaganda machine does, you’re doing something wrong.
40. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, Political Conflict Over Historical Monuments, From Charlottesville to Moscow. Today’s conflicts over American slavery and Stalin’s Great Terror reveal similar controversies as well as an unknown Putin.
41. Pavel Koshkin: Interview with Mikhail Zygar: 1917-2017: An ominous anniversary for Russia. Here is why the Kremlin is not eager to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1917 revolution and use it in its political goals.
42. The Nation: Nadezda Azhgikhina, Three Days in August. They remain in history as a heroic and inspired experience of civic awakening, the unexpected and joyous understanding that everyone’s personal choice has meaning and the future of the country depends on that choice.