RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2019-#55 :: Tuesday, 2 April 2019

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2019-#55 :: Tuesday, 2 April 2019
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1. Russia Reviewed: Question of the day (the decade?)
2. The Independent (UK): Mary Dejevsky, Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky may have played Ukraine’s president on TV – but could he really run the country? How far will voters distinguish between Zelensky the real-life candidate and the fictional small-time schoolmaster-turned-president whose secretly taped anti-corruption rant propelled him to the top job?
3. Interfax: Ukrainian voters tired of atmosphere of hatred in country – Center for Current Politics director on outcome of first round of election.
4. Valdai Discussion Club: Oleg Baravanov, Elections in Ukraine: Who Will Be the Worst President for Russia? – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/elections-in-ukraine-who-will-be-the-worst-preside/
5. TASS: Poroshenko to fight tooth and nail in Ukrainian presidential election runoff – analysts.
6. Carnegie Moscow Center: Konstantin Skorkin, Ukrainian Candidates Set to Haggle Ahead of Presidential Runoff. The clash between the new populism of Zelenskiy, who staked everything on Russian-speaking Ukraine, and Poroshenko’s national-patriotic conservatism is leading to a partial resumption of the old standoff between the two Ukraines.
7. TASS: Voter bribery is Poroshenko’s main tactic in Ukraine’s presidential election – analyst.
8. Kyiv Post: Brian Bonner, 5 ways that Poroshenko can still win.
9. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Ukraine election: The West’s Poroshenko gamble blows up as joker Zelensky tops poll. – rt.com/op-ed/455280-ukraine-elections-poroshenko-west/
10. TASS: Zelensky may become president, but his role will be downgraded to ceremonial – analyst.
11. Foreign Policy: Alexander Motyl, Ukraine’s TV President Is Dangerously Pro-Russian. Volodymyr Zelensky could become the country’s next real-life leader. If his show is any guide, Ukrainians should be worried.
12. Foreign Affairs: Melinda Haring, Will a Comic Actor Become Ukraine’s Next President? Why Volodymyr Zelenskiy Won the First Round of Elections.
13. Moscow Times: Alexei Levinson, Corruption Dies Hard in Russia. Studies show that Russians believe that a state free of high- level corruption cannot exist.
14. Moscow Times: Tatyana Stanovaya, The End of Political Stability in the Regions. Last week’s arrest of former Khabarovsk governor Viktor Ishayev is a sign that the Kremlin is losing influence over the provinces.
15. Paul Goble: Russian Opposition Now Not Heir to the Soviet Dissent It Believes Itself to Be, Podrabinek Says.
16. Interfax: Serebrennikov’s house arrest prolonged by another 3 months.
17. Bloomberg: Russia Revises Up 2018 Growth Data in Boost for Putin Target.
18. TASS: Izvestia: Russians do not want to unify with Belarus.
19. The Diplomat: Ankit Panda, After the Collapse With Trump in Hanoi, Will Kim Turn to Putin? As U.S.-North Korea diplomacy falters, will Kim Jong Un look to boost ties with Russia?
20. AP: Elections looming, Netanyahu to head to Moscow to meet Putin.
21. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Article by Andrei Krutskikh, Ambassador at Large of the Russian Federation, Special Presidential Representative for international cooperation in information security.
22. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrey Sushentsov, Mueller Probe and Russia-US Relations – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/mueller-probe-and-russia-us-relations/
23. Washington Post: Christian Caryl, Let’s empower Russians who are fighting Putin’s propaganda.
24. The Grayzone: A Very Incomplete List of Sinister Things Vladimir Putin/Russia/’the Russians’ Have Been Accused of Doing.
25. Tablet: Lee Smith, System Fail. The Mueller Report is an unmitigated disaster for the American press and the ‘expert’ class that it promotes.
26. https://caitlinjohnstone.com: Caitlin Johnstone, Leaked Mueller Report Proves Barr Lied; Collusion Theorists Vindicated. (April 1) – caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/04/01/leaked-mueller-report-proves-barr-lied-collusion-theorists-vindicated/
27. The Hill: John Solomon, Joe Biden’s 2020 Ukrainian nightmare: A closed probe is revived.
28. Awful Avalanche: Interesting Stuff About the Russian Alphabet. – awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/interesting-stuff-about-the-russian-alphabet/
29. The National Interest: Tom Nichols, Billions Dead: 5 Times Russia and America Nearly Started a Nuclear War. Some history that should never be forgotten.
[first appeared in 2014]