RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#31 table of contents with links :: Wednesday 18 February 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List
JRL 2015-#31 :: Wednesday 18 February 2015
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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1. Russia Beyond the Headlines/RBC Daily: Nikolai Zlobin, Bear ethics: Why today’s Russia and the West cannot understand each other. The views that the West has today of Russia are outdated and need to be corrected. But it will be nearly impossible to correct them if Russia itself does not stop believing in its own propaganda and does not define its long-term interests.
2. The Nation: James Carden, Legendary Ambassador Delivers Some Straight Talk in DC. Jack Matlock makes the case for the United States reaching a practical compromise with Russia.
3. Reuters: Ukrainian forces quit besieged town after rebel assault.
4. New York Times: A Bloody Retreat From Debaltseve as Ukrainian Forces Suddenly Withdraw.
5. TASS: Poroshenko claims Ukraine military not surrounded at Debaltsevo – media.
6. Business New Europe: Ukrainian rebels fight way into Debaltseve.
7. www.rt.com: Kiev says troops withdrawn from Debaltsevo, rebels claim military ‘surrender en masse’
8. TASS: Fighting near Debaltsevo endangers Minsk Accords for Ukraine.
9. Kyiv Post: Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers trapped as Debaltseve pocket closes.
10. Buzzfeed.com: Horrific Images Capture The Sheer Brutality Of War In Ukraine.
11. Reuters: Putin seeks orderly retreat for encircled Ukrainian troops.
12. Moscow Times: Putin Says Russian Intelligence Shows U.S. Is Already Arming Ukraine.
13. Kremlin.ru: Press statement following Russian-Hungarian talks and answers to journalists’ questions.
14. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine’s President Is Trapped With His Troops.
15. Counterpunch.org: Yulia Malina, Live from Donetsky. Crimethinks and Doublethinks in the Civil War Regime of Ukraine.
16. Interfax: UNSC unanimously backs Russian resolution supporting Minsk deal.
17. Interfax: Self-proclaimed Luhansk republic may return to Ukraine on certain conditions – leader.
18. Reuters: A year after revolution, Ukraine struggles with old hang-ups.
19. Theconversation.com: Tymofiy Mylovanov, Forecast for Ukraine: stormy with rays of sunshine.
20. Science: Ukraine’s science minister aims to mend Soviet-era rift. (Serhiy Kvit)
21. www.rt.com: Maidan murders: 1 year on, still no justice over Kiev massacre.
22. Der Spiegel: ‘Guantanamo of the East.’ Ukraine Locks Up Refugees at EU’s Behest.
23. Moscow Times: Georgy Bovt, No Peace for Ukraine Without U.S.
24. Kyiv Post: Maxim Tucker, Putin doesn’t respond to slaps on wrists; it’s time to go for jugular.
25. Reuters: Steven Pifer, How to arm Ukraine without starting World War Three.
26. Kirk Bennett: ARMING UKRAINE: A DOSE OF REALISM.
27. Financial Times: Robert Hunter, The west has failed to find a constructive role for Moscow. Europe needs a strategy created from understanding of Russia’s past
28. The National Interest: Robert Merry, Ukraine Is NOT Munich. The “appeasement” analogy is overused and largely understood. It’s time to stop abusing it.
29. www.rt.com: IMF aid package pushes Ukraine gas prices up 280%.
30. Reuters: Rouble steady, Russian stocks higher on oil, eyes on Ukraine.
31. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia’s Economy: Good, Bad, And Everything In Between.
32. Russia Direct: RD Explainer: Oil prices and Russia. The next in our RD Explainer series takes a closer look at falling oil prices and their impact on the Russian economy.
33. The Kremlin Stooge: Mark Chapman, Excuse Me; Is This the Bus to Wonderland?
34. Moscow Times: Experts Say Conflict in North Caucasus Waning – But Far From Over.
35. Washington Post: Erik C. Nisbet and Sarah Mikati, Russians don’t trust the Internet – and it’s making the country worse. Large majorities of Russians have negative feelings toward anti-government online content.
36. Dozhd TV (Moscow): Russian opposition leader defiant as court upholds sentence. (Navalnyy)
37. Moscow Times/Vedomosti: Maxim Trudolyubov, Organized Resistance Is Impossible in Russia.
38. Politkom.ru: Moscow website views federal backing for pro-Kremlin movement.
39. Moscow Times: CNN Applies for Russian Broadcast License Month After Quitting Country.
40. Reuters: Modern take on Russian classic charms and offends in Moscow. (Boris Godunov)
41. Interface: Terrorism in Europe rooted in Middle East policy – diplomat.
42. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, Merkel in Moscow and Minsk: Der Spiegel Says Putin Has Won. A mammoth Der Spiegel article points to Russian-German understanding for a broad settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
43. http://gordonhahn.com: Gordon Hahn, Reflections on Hill’s and Gaddy’s “The American Education of Vladimir Putin” (The Atlantic, 16 February 2015)
44. www.rt.com: Aleksey Yaroshevsky, My Maidan memories: Living through Ukraine’s nightmare year (Part 2)