RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#5 table of contents with links :: Thursday 8 January 2015

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Johnson’s Russia List
JRL 2015-#5 :: Thursday 8 January 2015
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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Ukraine

1. Business New Europe: Soros calls for EU to give Ukraine $50bn bailout.
2. Gulfnews.com: Vladislav Inozemtsev, Building Russia’s European home. The West’s biggest mistake regarding Moscow and Kiev was to choose the path of indifference after the end of the Cold War. Had both been invited to join Nato, the world would have been more peaceful today.
3. http://newcoldwar.org/Il Fatto Quotidiano: Vauro Senesi, Slavyansk and the rubble of the Ukrainian soul: between devastation and suspicion.Trip inside the ‘capital’ of the separatist East, recaptured by the troops of Kiev in July: Hospitals bombed and children without care.
4. Interfax: Russian humanitarian convoy crosses into Ukraine.
5. www.truth-out.org: Joshua Tartakovsky, Are There Nazis in Ukraine? A Visit to Lviv.
6. Fort Russ: Commander-deputy Semenchenko: Ukrainian soldiers need war.
7. New York Times Magazine: Joshua Yaffa, The Search for Petr Khokhlov. A Russian Soldier Vanishes in Ukraine.

Russia

8. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Lifting the lid on Russia’s bad habits. Psychologists and sociologists have identified several bad habits typical of Russians: smoking, swearing, drinking a lot of tea, and even the habit of passing the blame. What do the statistics say and what are the explanations behind these common indulgences?
9. Christianity Today: Mark Elliott, Why Russia’s Evangelicals Thank God for Putin. Despite the Crimea takeover and Ukraine conflict, many church leaders are grateful for Putin’s leadership.
10. Interfax: Russia’s grain harvest tops 105 mln tonnes in 2014.
11. Reuters: William Pomeranz, Vladimir Putin’s economic plan: Bread and vodka.
12. Wall Street Journal: Russian Repayments: Who Owes What, When.
13. Sputnik: Russia’s Communists Propose Progressive Income Tax, ‘Anti-Usury Law’
14. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian justice minister interviewed on 2014 results, 2015 challenge. (Aleksandr Konovalov)
15. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Ludmila Ulitskaya: Culture is above politics and public life. A winner of the Russian Booker and Big Book awards, an officer of the Légion d’Honneur and simply an interesting author, Ludmila Ulitskaya talks to RBTH about her popularity in and outside Russia.
16. Politkom.ru: Post-Crimea weakening of ‘Westernizers’ in Russian elite “not fatal.” (Roman Larionov)
17. The Daily Mail (UK): Peter Hitchens, Notes on Mr Navalny
18. Forbes.com: Paul Roderick Gregory, Will 2015 Be A Turning Point For Putin And His Regime?
19. Russia Direct: Ivan Tsvetkov, Five big challenges for Russian foreign policy in 2015. There are five primary factors that will impact Russian foreign policy in the coming year. Chief among these is the potential for a new direction in U.S. foreign policy that is more aggressive towards Russia.
20. Russia Direct: Dominic Basalt, 10 Russian foreign policy black swan events for 2015. These are ten of the most outlandish forecasts for Russian foreign policy events that might occur over the coming 12 months that nobody could possibly predict (but we just did).
21. Reuters: Ruble’s woes spread to other ex-Soviet currencies.
22. Business New Europe: Meet the EEU family (Eurasian Economic Union)
23. Le Monde diplomatique: Regis Gente, The great game continues across Central Asia. Whose Silk Road? After a brief term of involvement, the US is exiting Central Asia, leaving Russia to defend its (former colonial) interests against China’s economic investments in the region.