RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-61 :: Wednesday, 4 April 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#61
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
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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1. The Guardian (UK): Foreign Office deletes tweet saying Porton Down confirmed Salisbury novichok produced in Russia.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/apr/04/labour-criticises-boris-johnson-over-his-porton-downnovichok-claims-as-opcw-meets-politics-live
2. Sky News (UK): Porton Down experts unable to identify ‘precise source’ of novichok that poisoned spy. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/apr/04/labour-criticises-boris-johnson-over-his-porton-downnovichok-claims-as-opcw-meets-politics-live
3. http://theduran.com: Alexander Mercouris, Skripal case: belief in Russia’s guilt looks to be based not on evidence but on a guess. British authorities admit have no proof poison made in Russia; entire case against Russia based on a classified assessment. [Text with links http://theduran.com/skripal-case-belief-russia-guilt-evidence-guess/]
4. Moon of Alabama: Operation Hades Blamed Russia – A Model For The ‘Novichok’ Claims? [Text with links http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/04/operation-hades-a-model-for-the-novichok-case-.html#more]
5. www.rt.com: Putin: OPCW meeting could put full stop to Russia-blaming in Skripal case.
6. www.rt.com: UK Foreign Office denies claiming nerve agent from Russia, despite tweet and Boris Johnson interview.
7. Facebook: Mark Galeotti, The Likely Alternative.
8. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrey Sushentsov, “BALL GAME”: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION DURING RUSSIA-WEST CONFRONTATION.
9. Voice of America: Kremlin’s Political Clans Start Competing Ahead of Possible Reshuffle.
10. Meduza: ‘The President’s Vacation’ A trashy new film reinvigorates Russian cinema with a comedy about Putin.
11. www.rt.com: Russian 4th largest city scraps direct mayoral elections.
13. The London School of Economics and Political Science: We must rethink Russia’s propaganda machine in order to reset the dynamic that drives it. To understand how Russian propaganda works, we first have to discard the idea that the Kremlin is in charge of a coordinated media machine acting together with cyber-warriors to attack a single audience. Stephen Hutchings explains why Russian media discourses are much more complicated than often presented. [Text with links http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/we-must-rethink-russian-propaganda/]
14. TASS: Izvestia: US pays top dollar to influence Russia’s internal affairs, legislators say.
15. Slavic and East European Journal (Ohio State University): Katya Tikhonyuk, Limitations of an English-Speaking Reader: The Yarovaya Law, Meduza, and News Media Bias. [Text with footnotes and links http://u.osu.edu/seej/2018/04/03/limitations-of-an-english-speaking-reader-the-yarovaya-law-meduza-and-news-media-bias/]
16. Russian Faith: POLL: Christian Values on Sodomy, Abortion, Surge In Russia – 83% Reject Homosexuality. “abortions have decreased eight-fold in Russia over the past 25 years” [Text with links https://russian-faith.com/family-values/poll-christian-values-sodomy-abortion-surge-russia-83-reject-homosexuality-n1345]
17. Bloomberg: Putin’s Stealth Economic Weapon Loses Its Punch. (re military spending)
18. Valdai Discussion Club: CAN TWITTER DIPLOMACY REPLACE NATURAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN STATES?
19. www.rt.com: Western pressure brings Russia & China closer.
20. Asia Times: Doug Tsuruoka, ‘Star Wars’ missile defense is back, but not how it should be. Some space-based systems may work against Russian, Chinese ICBMs – but the US has no defense against hypersonic missiles and big tech hurdles remain.
21. Intellinews.com: Putin’s Turkey visit brings S-400 missile and nuclear plant headway.
22. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Putin’s Ankara visit aims at harmonizing interests of key Syria players, expert says.
23. TASS: Putin seeks to pave new ways for global cooperation in war on terror.
24. AP: Russian officials accuse West of fomenting new Cold War.
25. TASS: Russian top brass says US striving to divide Syria and trigger war of all-against-all.
26. www.rt.com: Moscow to West: Remember fate of Goliath when trying to cling to power.
27. The Nation: James Carden, Democrats Enlist to Serve, Protect, and Defend the Discredited Foreign-Policy Consensus. Meet the new Beltway group that seeks to protect and defend the bipartisan foreign-policy orthodoxy.
28. CNN: Russia and the US can replace expelled diplomats.
29. Foreign Affairs: Daniel Fried, When Diplomats and Spies Must Go. Expelling Russians, Then and Now.
30. www.rt.com: Meeting with foreign adversaries? Good if you like the president, bad if you don’t.
31. New York Times: Thomas Friedman, Is Putin a C.I.A. Agent?
32. The Weekly Standard: Why Did Trump Expel the Director of the Russian Cultural Center? The organization has been suspected of ties to espionage.
33. Jewishpress.com: Who’s Responsible For The New Cold War? An Interview With Renowned Russia Expert Stephen Cohen. http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/interviews-and-profiles/whos-responsible-for-the-new-cold-war-an-interview-with-renowned-russia-expert-stephen-cohen/2018/03/28/
34. Rethinking Russia: Akop Gabrielyan, Russia Never Hits First, But Acts Always In Response: And Here Are 8 Historical Reasons Why.

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