RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#249 table of contents with links :: Wednesday 3 December 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List
JRL 2014-#249 :: Wednesday 3 December 2014
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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Ukraine

1. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Sergei Karaganov, 2014: Interim Results.
2. New York Times: Ukraine and Rebel Group Say They’ll Recommit to a Cease-Fire.
3. Interfax: Ukraine ceasefire deals with Donetsk, Luhansk reached but not abided by – source.
4. Interfax: Govt forces use cluster bombs in east Ukraine – Human Rights Watch.
5. Reuters: New Ukraine Government Puts Key Issues Into Hands of Foreign Experts.
6. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, New parliament, old ways in Ukraine.
7. Business New Europe: Alleged neo-Nazi links could complicate Ukraine cabinet talks.
8. Euromaidan Press: Ukraine’s new Ministry of Information Policies falls under criticism of journalists.
9. Business New Europe: Ukraine approaches energy crisis.
10. The Economist: The Economist explains. Why the Ukrainian economy is in deep trouble.
11. Bloomberg: One Year After Defying Putin, Ukraine Is Choking on Its Own Red Tape.
12. Der Spiegel (Germany): Christoph Schult, Stop Talking about NATO Membership for Ukraine.
13. Interfax: EU, NATO currently don’t see Ukraine as their member – Kuchma.
14. Reuters: Germany wants NATO-Russia channel to avoid accidental escalation.
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Questions appear as Russia drops controversial South Stream pipeline.
16. Interfax: Russia’s decision not to build South Stream increases Ukrainian gas transport system’s role – Ukrainian minister.
17. Russia Direct: Olga Mordyushenk, The South Stream energy project is a victim of European politics. Russia’s decision not to construct the South Stream is the result of purely political reasons – the same types of reasons that forced the European Union and Ukraine to oppose the plan in the first place.
18. The Vineyard of the Saker: Alexander Mercouris, The Importance Of The Cancellation Of South Stream.
19. Reuters: Kerry: Sanctions haven’t altered Moscow stance on Ukraine but hit its economy.
20. Moscow Times: Maxim Goryunov, Russians Are Gladly Ditching Ukrainian Roots.
21. Reuters: Robert Beckhusen, How Ukraine’s arsenal matches up against the Russian-backed separatists’
22. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, MH17: The Facts and the Cover-Up. The western media and the official inquiries are ignoring the most important evidence in the case because they are set on blaming the rebels rather than finding it out the truth.

Russia

23. Moscow Times: Theory Blaming West for Collapse of Soviet Union Gaining in Popularity, Poll Shows.
24. Russia Direct: Russia’s not-so-splendid isolation. Russian think tank review: Experts are increasingly concerned by what they see as Russia’s growing isolation in the world. And, given slumping oil prices, Russia now needs as many friends as possible.
25. Reuters: Russia budget cuts threaten long-term economic prospects.
26. New York Times: With Russia on Brink of Recession, Putin Faces ‘New Reality’
27. Washington Post: Falling oil prices hit Russia much harder than Western sanctions.
28. www.rt.com: Cheap oil, falling ruble, but ‘things not as bleak as they might seem.’ (interview with Patrick Young)
29. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia to issue short-term state bonds, despite memories of 1998 crisis.
30. Moscow Times: Russia to Make Internet Providers Censor Content – Report.
31. Moscow Times: Katrina Lantos Swett and Robert P. George, Russia’s Extremism Law Violates Human Rights.
32. Russia Beyond the Headlines: State Duma Speaker: We are committed to keeping channels of dialogue open.
33. Moscow Times: Why Germany Is No Longer Russia’s Best Western Friend.
34. Russia Direct: US think tanks ponder the possibility of Cold War II. Think Tank Review: November was a special month for the West, marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. With the anniversary came a stream of Cold War-inspired reflections and comparisons from top U.S. thinkers and diplomats.
35. Wall Street Journal: U.S.-Russia Space Alliance Hits Snags. Washington’s Sanctions Against Moscow, Growing Tensions Hamper Symbiotic Partnership.
36. Moscow Times: Will Nicoll, Putin and Lukashenko Are Using Each Other.
37. Moscow Times: Russian Satirist Takes On Ukraine, Western Powers. (Andrei Budaev)
38. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Historic films from Russian State Archives to be released worldwide.
39. The International New York Times: Karen Dawisha, Bad-Mannered Russians in the West.
40. The New York Review of Books: Anne Applebaum, How He and His Cronies Stole Russia. (re Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia? by Karen Dawisha)