RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2017-38 :: Wednesday, 22 February 2017

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2017-#38
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
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1. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Fedor Lukyanov, Nervous Munich.
2. Intellinews.com: Russia’s propensity to protest hits decade-long low.
3. Interfax: Poll: 84% of Russians satisfied with Putin as president.
4. Moscow Times: Putin Orders Demolition of Moscow’s Iconic Post-War Apartment Blocks.
5. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
6. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia’s new social class: Servants of God. In less than 30 years of religious freedom, the Russian Orthodox Church has regained its position of authority. The growing class of clergymen in post-Soviet Russia also seeks to better educate itself in order to attract new churchgoers, especially those who are intellectually and culturally advanced.
7. Vedomosti: Russian paper looks at personnel changes in Kremlin. (Petr Kozlov)
8. Rethinking Russia: The Institution of Primaries is Spreading in Russia.
9. Rethinking Russia: State Duma: Quality First.
11. Paul Goble: Putin Moving to Depoliticize Entire Russian System, Stanovaya Says.
12. Vedomosti: Experts view proposals to improve Russian Public Chamber.
13. www.rt.com: Supreme Court vacates sentence of activist jailed over repeated violations of rally rules. (Ildar Dadin)
14. Moscow Times: Russia Eyes Reforms to 13 Percent Flat Income Tax. A new series of reform proposals could tie tax rates to income levels.
15. TASS: Moody’s stabilizes outlook on Russian regions, affirms ratings to ‘stable’
16. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Why does Putin need a psychological dossier on Trump? The Russian president is preparing for his first meeting with his American counterpart, and the American press finds this to be quite surprising perhaps even suspicious. But experts say that this is a normal procedure to prepare for any high-level meeting.
17. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, In Russia, Rex Tillerson Talks ‘Reset’ And Moody’s Gives 26 Upgrades.
18. Moscow Times: Trump’s New National Security Adviser Is No Friend of Russia’s. Moscow knows little about General McMaster, but isn’t particularly happy with what it does know.
19. The Unz Report: Anatoly Karlin, “You Are Soros Propaganda!”
20. Izvestia: Russian pundit views Trump in “hostile domestic political environment.” (Alexander Domrin)
21. Wall Street Journal: Holman Jenkins, Missing the Meaning of Trump. Liberals desperately pretend his rise is a message from Russia, not voters.
22. http://theduran.com: Alexander Mercouris, Vladimir Putin and FSB make an offer to Donald Trump. In meeting with the senior staff of the FSB Russian President Vladimir Putin outlines the threats facing Russia and the contours of a deal that might be done with President Donald Trump.
23. Russia Insider: Churkin’s Last Interview: ‘Difficult’ Year For Russian Diplomats Due to ‘Explosion of Global Instability’ Caused by US (VIDEO)
24. Russia Direct: Dimitri Elkin, Is a post-West world order viable? Russia is trying to promote its post-West narrative that challenges the future of the U.S.-led global order. However, it remains to be seen if Moscow succeeds in its efforts to frame the meaning of a new historic era.
25. Moscow Times: Russia Prepares for High Camp Battle Behind Enemy LinesThis year’s Eurovision song contest in Kiev is set for political controversy.
26. Valdai Discussion Club: Ivan Timofeev, ADVANCE OR CONTAIN? HOW TO RESPOND TO THE ESCALATION IN DONBASS.
27. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Passport diplomacy: Why did Russia recognize Donbass documents? Vladimir Putin ordered that civil documents issued by the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine are now officially recognized in Russia. This move is far from a recognition of statehood, however, and political experts believe Moscow is trying to send a message to Kiev and Washington.
28. TASS: Ousted Ukrainian leader Yanukovich proposes holding referendum on Donbass status.
29. Awful Avalanche: Ukrainian Parliamentarian Blackmails American Independent Filmmaker!
30. New York Times editorial: Ukraine and the Shadowy Freelancers.
31. New York Times: David Leonhardt, Trump’s Russia Motives.
32. Washington Post: David Ignatius, The Trump bubble bursts in Moscow’s markets. The Trump trade was looking like a winner for Moscow, but now, not so much.
33. Washington Post: Jennifer Rubin, Russia hawks won the personnel battle, but they need to do more. Forming a united front against Putin patsies.
34. Washington Post: Hannah Chapman, Trump’s news conferences look a lot like Putin’s. Should you worry? They pretend to offer openness, but they’re just a show.
35. New York Review of Books: Masha Gessen, ‘Total Catastrophe of the Body’: A Russian Story
36. www.opendemocracy.net: Anna Lind-Guzik, Grab him by the wallet. The anti-Trump movement in the States can learn a lot from the experiences of Soviet dissidents – in today’s legislative and economic reality, new resistance tactics are essential.
37. Chatham House: John Lough, Handling Russia Should Not Be So Difficult for the West. Western countries are still struggling to develop a long-term strategy to address the increasing problems that Russia poses for their security.
38. Roreign Policy: Samuel Greene, Europe Needs a Hearts and Minds Campaign for Russia. Forget about dealing with Trump or Putin. Europe’s Russia strategy should focus on winning over the Russian people.
39. Politico.eu: Marc Bennetts, Putin’s holy war. In former atheist stronghold, law ‘protecting feelings’ of religious believers enforces Russian Orthodox Christianity.
40. The Guardian (UK): Keith Gessen, Killer, kleptocrat, genius, spy: the many myths of Vladimir Putin.
41. USAToday.com: Vladimir Putin may just be the richest man in the world (video)