RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-20 :: Wednesday, 25 January 2017

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter]

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#20
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
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.
JRL homepage: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi
Support for JRL is provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to the George Washington University and by voluntary contributionswhinin from readers.
Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php – Donate Online: direct link

1. TASS: Putin urges Europe to stay united.
2. TASS: Putin encourages students to see Russia as their home rather than striving to immigrate.
3. Valdai Discussion Club: VALDAI EXPERTS DISCUSS CHALLENGES FOR THE WORLD IN 2017.
4. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russia leaves Syria talks with tentative plan. Up next: get US involved. Russia, Iran, and Turkey agreed Tuesday to sketch the outlines of a wider political settlement to Syria’s civil war, which would be taken to larger talks in Geneva that include the US, the EU, and other major players.
5. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, BAD LEGISLATION. (with comment)
6. TASS: Russia’s State Duma passes law on decriminalizing domestic violence.
7. Bear Market Brief: Industry Warms Up.
8. Bear Market Brief: Russian Businesses Name Top Risks.
9. Intellinews.com: Watcom Russian shopping index finishes 2016 on a rise.
10. Foxnews.com: Amy Kellogg, The state of investing in Russia.
11. Russia Insider: Paul Goncharoff, Trump Adds Impetus to an Already Burgeoning Russian Market. Russia is considered to be one of the best investment destinations for 2017 as it has clearly shifted from its recovery mode to a growth mode.
12. Reuters: How Russia Sold Its Oil Jewel – Without Saying Who Bought It.
13. Kremlin.ru: Moscow State University Board of Trustees meeting.
14. Paul Goble: Demographic Collapse of Ethnic Russian Nation Seen Accelerating.
15. www.rt.com: 70mn cyberattacks, mostly foreign, targeted Russia’s critical infrastructure in 2016 – FSB.
16. TASS: Lavrov warns West will have to pay dearly for stoking revolutions in Middle East.
17. BBC Monitoring: Russian press on Syria talks in Astana.
18. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia takes center stage as arbiter of peace in Syria. A meeting of the Syrian government and the armed opposition resulted in a consolidation of ceasefire terms thanks to the mediation of Russia, Iran and Turkey.
19. Moscow Times: Vladimir Frolov, Moscow Pivots From Combatant to Peacemaker in Syria.
20. Bloomberg: Eli Lake, Trump Team Aims to Test Russia’s Alliance With Iran.
21. Stratfor.com: U.S., Russia: A History of Containment.
22. TASS: 40 percent of Russians pin high hopes on Trump’s presidency – poll.
23. Project Syndicate: Samuel Charap and Timothy Colton, The US Election and the Ukraine Connection.
24. The Hill: Patrick Eddington, Memo to Congress: On alleged Russian hacking, put up or shut up.
25. TASS: Lavrov says only time can heal damage done to US-Russia ties by Obama administration.
26. Russia Direct: Aurel Braun, Why US policy toward Russia will not take a U-turn under Trump. The current “bromance” between Trump and Putin and early signs that the two leaders will find common ground are no assurance of good and sustainable relations between the U.S. and Russia.
27. BBC Monitoring: Russian press sees no threat in China’s missiles.
28. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Why doesn’t Russia return the ‘Northern Territories’ to Japan?. A common search query by Japanese internet users on Google is on the lines of ロシアはなぜ北方領土を返さないのか or ‘Why doesn’t Russia return the ‘Northern Territories’ to Japan.’ RBTH asked political scientists and historians who are familiar with Russia-Japan relations to explain Moscow’s position.
29. The National Interest: Michael Buckalew, An Unlikely Solution to Russia and Japan’s Island Stalemate. The Kuril Islands dispute is older than World War II.
30. Latvijas Avize: Latvian paper slams anti-Russian “paranoia”
31. Russian International Affairs Council: Svetlana Krivokhizh and Maria Liamtceva, Transformation of Higher Education in China and its Implications for Russia.
32. www.rt.com editorial: RT critics admit promotion of Russian media threat is a money racket.
33. Awful Avalanche: “Always Alive” – How And Why Lenin was Mummified – Part V.
34. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Moscow theater performance of ‘Anna Karenina’ to play at a cinema near you. Other major Moscow theater performances will follow suit later in the spring. Organizers see art and culture as a way to transcend politics.
35. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, Putin’s War On The ’90s.
36. Yale Richmond: Free issues of Slavic Review in Washington.