RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2019-7 :: Friday, 11 January 2019

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#7 :: Friday, 11 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. The Hill: Janusz Bugajski, Managing Russia’s dissolution.
2. The National Interest: Paul Starobin, The Eternal Collapse of Russia. Despite centuries of dire predictions, Russia isn’t going anywhere. (excerpt)
3. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, TODAY’S FAKE NEWS PEDANTRY.
4. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, IT LIES WITHIN.
5. Christian Science Monitor: Mark Sappenfield, The Russian town that might save the world. Torzhok is experiencing a resurgence because of one woman’s activism.
6. Christian Science Monitor: Seven global trends to watch in 2019. Fred Weir, One Russian town’s unusual renaissance.
7. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Moscow daily predicts ‘better life’ for Russians after ‘crisis’. (Valery Solovey)
8. Moskovsky Komsomolets: Russian pundits view likely political developments in 2019.
9. Moskovsky Komsomolets: Commentary says 2019 may be a ‘year of protests’ in Russia. (Nikita Isayev)
10. Meduza: ‘The art of rejection’ A new report reveals the hidden mechanisms authorities use to restrict protests in Russia.
11. Izvestia: Pollster head says trust in Putin ‘declined least’ in 2018. (Valery Fyodorov)
12. Moscow Times: Tinatin Japaridze and Lincoln Mitchell, The Perils of Overestimating Putin. The West’s worries over where Putin will strike next is playing right into his hands.
13. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: World Bank spoils Russia’s New Year.
14. www.rt.com: Burgernomics: Big Mac index shows Russian ruble still deeply undervalued.
15. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russia’s GMO debate looks a lot like America’s – with more geopolitics. Russians tend to be just as concerned as their Western peers about how genetic modification might affect food products. But Russia’s bans on GMOs have become a bone of East-West ideological contention.
16. Financial Times: Russia to resume forex purchases after sanctions hiatus. Moscow will spend Rbs265.8bn between next Tuesday and early February.
17. Financial Times: Russia ditched dollar holdings to foil US sanctions. Euro, renminbi and yen reserves rise more than $100bn as part of ‘de-dollarisation’ plan.
18. Transitions Online: Germany Listens as Washington Thunders Against Russian Pipeline. Nord Stream 2 builders say project is on schedule, but will the gas find customers?
19. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, What Trump’s Syrian Withdrawal Really Reveals. A wise decision is greeted by denunciations, obstructionism, imperial thinking, and more Russia-bashing.
20. Carnegie Moscow Center: Artyom Shraibman, Money or Sovereignty? What an Oil Dispute Portends for Russian-Belarusian Relations.
21. TASS: Southern Kuril Islands’ handover to Japan would open Pandora’s box for Russia, expert says.
22. RFE/RL: ‘Only Estonians Here’: Outrage After Election Poster Campaign Singles Out Russian Minority.
23. TASS: Izvestia: Moscow mulling swap for Ukrainian sailors.
24. TASS: Kiev suggests 3 mln Ukrainians living in Russia should vote on Ukrainian territory.
25. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Nazis and mafia bosses invited to founding of independent Ukrainian church.
26. Consortiumnews.com: Max Blumenthal and Mark Ames, Covert British Military-Smear Machine Moving into US. After mobilizing a disinformation campaign across Europe, documents show that the Integrity Initiative is now infiltrating the U.S. (excerpt) [consortiumnews.com/2019/01/10/covert-british-military-smear-machine-moving-into-us/]
27. Wall Street Journal: America’s Electric Grid Has a Vulnerable Back Door-and Russia Walked Through It. A Wall Street Journal reconstruction of the worst known hack into the nation’s power system reveals attacks on hundreds of small contractors.
28. www.strategic-culture.org: Philip Giraldi, Is Paul Whelan a Spy? [strategic-culture.org/news/2019/01/10/is-paul-whelan-spy.html]
29. Reuters: Former U.S. Marine Held for Spying Had Russian Contacts With Military Backgrounds.
30. The Guardian (UK): David Smith, Performing Putin: behind ‘the most dangerous play’ of the season. In the new show Kleptocracy, a House of Cards writer takes us back to a pivotal moment in history and shines a light on the Russian president’s interior life. (play coming to Washington DC)