RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2019-#17 :: Wednesday, 6 February 2019
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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2019-#17 :: Wednesday, 6 February 2019
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1. Moscow Times/Bloomberg: Leonid Ragozin, Putin Has a Multibillion Dollar Plan to Modernize Russian Cities. The Kremlin is still capable of delivering positive changes despite a struggling economy.
2. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, In uncertain post-INF world, Russia may opt for talks over arms. As the US pulls out of “the treaty that ended the cold war,” what’s next for Russia? Probably a diplomatic attempt to split the US and European allies in an effort to prevent a return to nuclear standoff.
3. Moscow Times: Steven Pifer, Moscow and Washington Are Heading Down a Very Risky Path. Russia and the United States are on the brink of a new arms race as future of vital arms control treaties in doubt.
4. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, THE PUTIN I KNEW.
5. The New Yorker: Masha Gessen, The Trump-Russia Investigation and the Mafia State.
6. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, RUSSIA: BOTH MALEVOLENT AND SUPER-EFFICIENT.
7. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Russia’s Economic Growth Looks Too Good to Be True. Under a new top statistician, recent data have been much more optimistic. That doesn’t make them correct.
8. Kennan Institute: Nikolay Epplee, Inventorying the Past: Russia Refreshes Its Historical Memory.
9. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russians embrace Soviet ideals – by not paying their gas bills. Frustration with present economic woes is leading many Russians to turn to the ideals of a rose-colored Soviet past. And for some, that means an unusual ethical stand: refusing to pay their utility bills.
10. Le Monde Diplomatique: Igor Delanoe, Behind the naval conflict with Ukraine. Russia extends Black Sea control. Russia has strengthened its grip on the Black Sea since annexing Crimea. Turkey controls the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, curbing Moscow’s maritime expansion. Between them, they keep western forces in check.
11. Conaortiumnews.com: Pepe Escobar, MAGA Misses the Eurasia Train. While China and Russia solidify their economic and political alliance, the U.S. is missing an historic chance to join a multilateral world, clinging instead to military empire. [consortiumnews.com/2019/02/04/pepe-escobar-maga-misses-the-eurasia-train/]
12. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, Trump’s Withdrawals from Afghanistan and Syria Are Hardly ‘A Gift to Putin.’ Why would Moscow want to fight terrorists without the US? It doesn’t.
13. The American Thinker: Leo Goldstein, ‘Russian Interference’ Didn’t Happen.[americanthinker.com/articles/2019/02/russian_interference_didnt_happen.html]
14. The American Interest: Ivan Krastev and Leonard Bernardo, NO RESET. The Unquiet American. Michael McFaul’s memoir throws into sharp relief the failures of America’s Russia policy.
15. London Review of Books: Sheila Fitzpatrick, People and Martians. (re Robert Conquest)
