RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2019-#12 :: Friday, 18 January 2019

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2019-#12 :: Friday, 18 January 2019
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.
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1. Intellinews.com: Russians are ashamed of the “eternal poverty” of their country.
2. Meduza: Russia’s Constitutional Court decides to ease limits on foreign involvement in the media – a bit.
3. Financial Times: Russia faces sharp outflow of private investment. More than $67bn shifted out of the country’s economy last year.
4. The National Interest: Michael Rubin, Why Russia’s Economy Is Headed for Trouble. A lack of real reforms and a hyper-dependence on oil has prevented the emergence of a healthy, diverse economy.
5. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Ruble bound to weaken if current oil prices persist.
6. Bloomberg: Putin Push to Dump Dollar Proves Hard Sell With Russia Inc.
7. RFE/RL: Once Upon A Handout: Russian Fairy Tales Accused Of Teaching Kids To Freeload.
8. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrei Kolesnikov and Denis Volkov, Pragmatic Paternalism: The Russian Public and the Private Sector. (excerpt)
9. The Unz Review: The Saker, The Russian Pension Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost [unz.com/tsaker/the-russian-pension-chickens-are-coming-home-to-roost/]
10. Novaya Gazeta: Expert sees fall in support for Russian regime as end of ‘Post-Crimean era.’ (Kirill Rogov)
11. Russia Matters: Mark Galeotti, Gangster Geopolitics: The Kremlin’s Use of Criminals as Assets Abroad.
12. Council on Foreign Relations: Stephen Sestanovich, The Russia Sanctions Test in the U.S. Senate. A move to block sanctions relief has been defeated, averting a likely spike in global aluminum prices but also spotlighting the tough road ahead for Congress in shaping policy on Russia.
13. Russia Beyond: Who are Russia’s main allies?
14. The Nation: Theodore Postol, Is Russia Solely to Blame for Violations of the INF Treaty? The New York Times says so, but this MIT professor emeritus says there’s more to the story.
15. TASS: Kommersant: Russia’s new weapons put US defense system on its toes.
16. Wall Street Journal: Trump Outlines Broader Missile-Defense Strategy. Plan’s vision includes space-based sensors to detect hostile or accidental launches.
17. Intellinews.com: Huge crowds greet Putin in Belgrade.
18. Sputnik: Analyst on Why Russia-China ‘Pole’ Provides an ‘Alternative to NATO’
19. Counterpunch.org: David Swanson, Top 10 Reasons Not to Love NATO. [counterpunch.org/2019/01/18/top-10-reasons-not-to-love-nato/]
20. Asia Times: Giovanni Pigni, No end to World War II in sight in the Kuril Islands. As Abe and Putin prepare to deal, a dispute that dates back to the final hours of World War II looks unlikely to be resolved.
21. Valdai Discussion Club: Oleeg Barabanov, The Ideology of Russia’s Return to Africa, and the Zimbabwean President’s Visit to Moscow. [valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-ideology-of-russia-s-return-to-africa/]
22. TASS: Human Rights Watch criticizes crackdown on freedom in Ukraine.
23. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, Anti-Trump Frenzy Threatens to End Superpower Diplomacy. Baseless Russiagate allegations continue to risk war with Russia.
24. American Thinker: James DeLong, There’s More to Russia than Meets the Eye.
25. Washington Post: Nelson Pressley, Washington theaters shine a spotlight on Vladimir Putin. (re “Kleptocracy”)