RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#228 table of contents with links :: Monday 3 November 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List
JRL 2014-#228 :: Monday 3 November 2014
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org
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Russia

1. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Come rain or shine: How Russians deal with the weather. Keeping a weather eye open: With winter slowly creeping in, our newly repatriated expat recalls how Russians react to the weather.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines/Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Fyodor Lukyanov, Playing by the rules and without rules. Vladimir Putin has been taking on an increasingly confrontational tone toward the United States in the last few years in his speeches. The Russian president openly disputes the legitimacy of the role of the U.S. and frequently refers to the need for a multipolar framework as an instrument for global policy.
3. Izvestia: Putin’s recent high-profile speech seen as call to West for dialogue. (Boris Mezhuyev)
4. Le Monde diplomatique: Jean-Marie Chauvier, How did we get from perestroika to Putin? Russia’s other October revolution. Boris Yeltsin’s storming of the Russian parliament in 1993 – ostensibly in the name of democracy but in fact to enforce his insistence on a neoliberal economy that enriched a few but impoverished millions – brought the world Russia as it now is.
5. Voice of America: Putin’s Popularity Rooted in Nationalism.
6. TASS: Moscow doctors demand healthcare system be more effective, accessible.
7. Sunday Times (UK): Mark Franchetti, Putin annexes oligarchs’ wealth.
8. New York Times: PUTIN’S WAY. Putin’s Friend Profits in Purge of Schoolbooks.
9. http://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com: Mark Galeotti, Is Kolokoltsev in or out? Either way, the rumours surrounding the Russian interior minister’s fate signify something.
10. http://zik.ua: Bukovsky: Putin’s risk-it-all bluffing can be stopped by his insiders.
11. Gazeta.ru: Accelerating brain drain spells tough times ahead for Russia.
12. AP: Russia’s Top Radio Station Slapped by Government.
13. Reuters: Russia keeps oil output near high despite sanctions, low prices.
14. Wall Street Journal editorial: The Run on the Ruble. Sanctions and a strong dollar create currency woes for Putin.
15. Russia Insider: Eric Kraus, Who Framed Roger Rouble?
16. Moscow Times: U.S. Midterms Raise Fears of Decades-Long Russia Sanctions Law.
17. Inter Press Service: Russia’s Immigrants Facing Crackdowns and Xenophobia.
18. Los Angeles Times: Anne Simmons, African migrants in Russia describe ‘hell on Earth’
19. Consortiumnews.com: Gareth Porter, Russia’s Key Role in Iran-Nuke Deal.
20. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Interest in Russian will only grow due to tension, says U.S.-based linguist. RBTH speaks to Alexandre Strokanov, the head of the Institute of Russian Language and Culture under the Lyndon State College in the U.S. state of Vermont, about the complexities of the Russian language, politics and how it affects Russian language studies. Strokanov is the winner of the Best Russian Teacher Abroad contest, held in Moscow on Oct. 21-24.

Ukraine

21. The Telegraph (UK): Roland Oliphant, Inside the capital of ‘New Russia’: Once a bustling, wealthy city, Donetsk is now a ghost town.
22. Reuters: Pro-Russian separatist Zakharchenko wins Ukraine rebel vote.
23. www.rt.com: Incumbent Donbass leaders Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky win elections – final results.
24. Interfax: Moscow ready to help launch dialogue between Kyiv and southeast Ukraine – top Russian diplomat.
25. Current Politics in Ukraine: David Marples, The People’s Republics Cast Their Votes.
26. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Putin’s Strategy in Ukraine – Sow Panic, Provoke, Invade and Then Repeat the Process.
27. Euromaidan Press: Next phase of Russian offensive “still highly probable” – expert opinions.
28. Kyiv Post: Tymchuk: Four strike groups consisting of nearly 30,000 Russians and Kremlin-backed proxies formed.
29. www.rt.com: Ukrainian battalion leader-turned-MP ready to ‘organize blasts in Russia’
30. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Ukrainian Crisis has Split Russia Just as Collapse of USSR and Chechen War Did, Gudkov Says
31. The Star (Canada): Ukraine civil war: ‘Welcome to hell, Daddy!’ The story of how a civilian bus driver was conscripted – in mid-shift – into Ukraine’s civil war.
32. Los Angeles Times: Sergei Loiko, UKRAINE FIGHTERS, SURROUNDED AT WRECKED AIRPORT, REFUSE TO GIVE UP.
33. Russia Insider: Patrick Armstrong, Those Horrible Russians are Winning the Information War. So we gotta ban them.
34. Russia Direct: A Cold War, a colder winter and a frozen conflict. Media Roundup: The uncertainty and tension surrounding the Ukrainian parliamentary elections and the signing of a new gas deal for Europe could intensify on Nov. 2 with Russia’s recognition of election results in Donetsk and Luhansk.
35. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine’s Last Chance.
36. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine’s Revolutionary No. 1 Goes to Parliament. (Mustafa Nayyem)
37. TASS: Ukraine to pay Russia first tranche of natural gas debt within days – National Bank head.
38. The Economist: Ukraine-Russia gas deal. Cold self-interest.
39. National Public Radio: David Greene, As Crimea’s Borders Change, So Do Lives.
40. www.rt.com: Iron Sword 2014: NATO stages massive military drill in Lithuania.
41. Euromaidan Press: David Marples, The “Snipers’ Massacre” in Kyiv.
42. Ivan Katchanovski: The Snipers’ Massacre in Kyiv: A Response to Critics.