RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#250 table of contents with links :: Thursday 4 December 2014

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Johnson’s Russia List
JRL 2014-#250 :: Thursday 4 December 2014
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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1. BBC: Anatol Lieven, How can the West solve its Ukraine problem?
2. Reuters: Psychiatric patients struggle to get through Ukraine conflict.
3. The National Interest: Nicolai Petro, The Real War in Ukraine: The Battle over Ukrainian Identity. “At its core, therefore, this conflict is about whether Ukraine should be a monocultural or pluricultural nation, and peace is unlikely until Ukrainian politics are brought into conformity with the country’s cultural reality.”
4. Interfax: Russia not seeking self-isolation, not looking for enemies – Putin.
5. Sputnik: Putin: Still No Signs of Western Efforts to Help Ukraine’s Economy.
6. Kremlin.ru: Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly.
7. Reuters: Putin delivers keynote speech on economy, Ukraine.
8. Reuters: Putin says foes hope to dismember Russia; rouble falls as he speaks.
9. Interfax: Putin’s address sends clear signal Russia is “strong and confident in itself” – press secretary.
10. Sputnik: Presidential Address Should Not Be Viewed as New Economic Policy: Kremlin.
11. Business New Europe: Putin offers Russian business ‘full’ offshore capital amnesty.
12. Russia Direct: Olga Doronina, What to look for in Putin’s big year-end speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Dec. 4 address to parliament is expected to outline a development strategy to cope with the new political and economic environment facing Russia in 2015.
13. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: The Question Russians Are Asking that Putin Can’t Answer.
14. Moscow Times: 5 Forces Battering Russia’s Economy as Putin Faces Nation.
15. Interfax: Luhansk region authorities, LPR report clashes, shelling.
16. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, MEET AND GREET NATALIE JARESKO, US GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE, UKRAINE FINANCE MINISTER.
17. Oilprice.com: Ukraine’s Next Energy Minister Will Be Bought and Paid For, As Usual.
18. Reuters: Fleeing war and crumbling economy, Ukrainians flock to Europe.
19. Business New Europe: Ukraine remains Europe’s most corrupt country.
20. Reuters: Ukraine currency, sovereign woes to push more and more firms into default.
21. Kyiv Post: Journalists, free speech activists demand abolishing of newly-formed ‘Ministry of Truth’
22. Sputnik: Ukraine for Sale: Unkept Promises of Maidan.
23. RFE/RL: End Of South Stream: Winners & Losers.
24. www.rt.com: Obama: Putin ‘scares heck out of neighbors’ with ‘nationalist, backward-looking’ policy.
25. Interfax: Russians tend to call relations with U.S. tense – poll.
26. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Is Russia’s middle class suffering as sanctions bite? Sanctions, unilaterally imposed by western nations, are supposedly causing economic problems in Russia. Bryan MacDonald investigated whether these claims are true and found that ordinary Russians had mixed opinions.
27. Moscow Times: Gordon Hahn, Putin Is Moving Away From Hard-Line Siloviki.
28. RFE/RL: Brian Whitmore, Putin’s Luck Runs Out.
29. Human Rights Watch: Russia: Human Rights Watch Director in Moscow. On First Visit in Decade, Calls Rights Climate ‘Unrecognizable’
30. Moscow Times: Russia Fails to Make Headway in Global Corruption Ranking.
31. Interfax: Human rights activists expect Russia to achieve anti-corruption results in 30 years.
32. www.rt.com: Cutting Russia out of SWIFT banking system would mean ‘war’ – head of VTB.
33. Moscow Times: Prestigious Ranking Has Moscow State University in 5th Place.
34. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Phoebe Taplin, Five Russian books for your Christmas gift list. Book reviews: Great Russian reads sparkling with wit, humor and drama that should be on your Christmas gift list.
35. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Does America realize the consequences of forcing Russia into China’s arms?
36. Antiwar.com: Jusin Raimondo, The War Against the ‘Trolls.’ Anne Applebaum goes Soviet in online anti-“troll” campaign.
37. RussEurope: Jacques Sapir, The Russian Army in transition.
38. www.peakprosperity.com: Dmitry Orlov: Russia’s Patience Is Wearing Thin. The lines of communication are shutting down.