RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-72 :: Monday, 23 April 2018

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 2018-#72
Monday, 23 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
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 contributions from readers.
Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php – Donate Online: direct link

1. www.rt.com: ‘Even Cold War did not come to this’: Moscow slams US after Bolshoi ballet dancers denied entry.
2. Interfax: Shvydkoi upset that Bolshoi actors fail to get U.S. visas, sees explanations as ‘weak’
3. Washington Post: Frustrated at visa holdup, Russians give up on American vacations.
4. www.rt.com: Russia needs more offensive foreign policy to counter US – security council chief.
5. Foreign Affairs: Emma Ashford, How Reflexive Hostility to Russia Harms U.S. Interests. Washington Needs a More Realistic Approach.
6. The National Interest: Nikolas Gvosdev, The United States, Russia and the ‘No Cost’ Paradigm. Washington think tanks can churn out studies about Russia, but the rationale behind them usually lack deep, strong roots sunk into the American public.
7. Bear Market Brief: Trust in Putin drops after election.
8. TASS: RBC: Business tired of state involvement, expects no major privatization deals, survey says.
9. Wall Street Journal: Russian Farmer Alters Rural Economy With Virtual Currency, as Moscow Watches Warily. Cryptocurrency begun by ‘agro-anarchist’ becomes a tender for transactions from milk to tractors in a region Russia’s energy boom left behind.
10. Bear Market Brief: Crypto fears may have driven Telegram crackdown.
11. Bear Market Brief: Russia: Too globalized for a ‘sovereign internet’?
12. Russiafeed.com: Paul Goncharoff, Russia’s digital ‘Velveeta moment.’ No Spam, Just Facts.
13. TASS: Ruble unlikely to return to pre-sanctions level within months, ex-finance minister warns. (Kudrin)
14. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, This Is Where The Upside Is In Russia.
15. Bloomberg: U.S. Softens Stance on Rusal Sanctions; Aluminum Prices Plunge.
16. Interfax: Influential economist says sanctions-hit Russian firms must not be compensated. (Kudrin)
17. AP: ‘People Will Revolt’: Workers Say Russia Must Save Sanctions-Hit Rusal.
18. Intellinews.com: Europe pushes back against US sanctions on Russia.
19. www.rt.com: Russia entrusts its gold to no one, has zero bullion in US.
20. Russia International Affairs Council: Ivan Timofeev, A Pyrrhic Victory: the History of the Sanctions War Against Iran. [FULL VERSION OF THE ARTICLE: http://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/a-pyrrhic-victory-the-history-of-the-sanctions-war-against-iran/
21. TASS: Kommersant: Russia ready to bury the cyber hatchet if US agrees, Putin adviser says.
22. Indian Punchline: M K Bhadrakumar, Russia-Iran ties surge under US pressure.
23. Interfax: Kim Jong Un’s suspension of nuclear, missile tests strengthens N. Korea’s position in talks with S. Korea – expert.
24. TASS: Ukrainian defense chief hints that Kiev may ramp up use of force in Donbass conflict.
25. Awful Avalanche: Poroshenko Seeks To Punish Ordinary Crimean Workers.
26. TASS: Kremlin calls events in Armenia domestic affair, says Russia won’t meddle.
27. New York Times: Armenian Leader, Facing Mass Protests, Resigns.
28. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Is Armenia facing a colour revolution? Popular protests on the rise in Emerging Europe.
29. AP: A Cold War Poison Resurfaces in a Quiet English Town.
30. Wired (UK): Nobody is safe from Russia’s colossal hacking operation. Russia hackers have targetted “millions” of connected devices in the UK and US. It’s all part of Putin’s grand plan to disrupt the west.
31. Vesti.ru: The Tony Blair Rule: The Truth Takes About 15 Years to Come Out, Skripal Countdown Starts Now – Margarita Simonyan. [Video news with English subtitles https://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=3010321&cid=4441#]
32. Consortiumnews.com: Gareth Porter, Another Dodgy British Dossier: the Skripal Case. In this second part of a series, Gareth Porter compares the same faulty logic employed in two purposely misleading, so-called British intelligence dossiers.
33. Washington Post editorial: America is still unprepared for a Russian attack on our elections. Trump is giving Putin little reason not to interfere again.
34. Wall Street Journal: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, How to Stop Vladimir Putin’s Mafia. The real enemy is a group of about 100 beneficiaries of the regime and several thousand accomplices.
35. Paul Goble: Ten Signs Putin and His Russia have Serious Problems.
36. The Independent (UK): Andreas Whittam Smith, Is the Cold War really back with a vengeance? To understand its origins we need to look back hundreds of years. In truth, Russia believes that the West has always despised it. It is unlikely that threats and sanctions will ever make Moscow cower.