RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#82 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Monday AM, April 27, 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#82 :: Monday 27 April 2015
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs
JRL homepage: russialist.org
JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist
JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi
Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php

RUSSIA

1. Interfax: Putin confesses he expected radical upturn in relations with West after fall of the Communist regime.
2. Interfax: Putin documentary: I have the common touch, I’m not from the elite.
3. RIA Novosti: Putin outlines the achievements that make him happy in documentary.
4. TASS: Putin says no regrets over actions in Crimea.
5. Moscow Times: Putin Accuses U.S. of Supporting Separatists in Russia’s North Caucasus.
6. Rossiya 1 TV (Moscow): Russian TV heaps praise on Putin in 151-minute documentary.
7. Izvestia: Russian state TV journalist interviewed on his film about Putin. (Vladimir Solovyev)
8. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Perestroika 30 years on: Analyzing the consequences for modern Russia. Two expert views on why Gorbachev’s historic reforms still matter today. (Andrei Grachev and Fyodor Lukyanov)
9. TASS: Russians still wonder if perestroika was a curse or a blessing.
10. Moscow Times: More Russians Believe Sanctions Will Result in Economic Crisis, Poll Shows.
11. Moscow Times: Russia-Focused Funds Get Most Investment in 8 Months.
12. Moscow Times: Russian Cabbage Prices Triple as Much-Loved Staple Falls Victim to Inflation.
13. Business New Europe: Mark Adomanis, COMMENT: Reasons to be cheerful – and despondent – over Russia. It being Russia, there are several good arguments in favour of being optimistic and pessimistic over the economy.
14. Interfax: Putin sees growth of wages outrunning labor productivity as one of causes of economic crisis.
15. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia’s Economy: Not Just Natural Resources.
16. Moscow Times: Richard Connolly, Ruble Is in Good Shape, Russian Economy Isn’t.
17. Wall Street Journal: Moscow’s Once-Bustling Airports Decline as Russia’s Isolation Deepens. Fewer Russians are venturing outside the country, while foreign tourist and business visitors are staying away.
18. Carnegie Moscow Center/Vedomosti: Andrei Kolesnikov, Closing the Book on Russian Liberals.
19. Interfax: Putin didn’t see partners for dialogue among opposition campaigners in December 2011 – Kudrin.
20. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Daily Reminder Why the Russian “Opposition” Has Single Digit Approval Ratings.
21. Politkom.ru: Russian pundit examines changing nature of Putin’s social contract with public. (Tatyana Stanovaya)
22. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, ‘Pro-Russia’ Chechen leader threatens to kill Russian cops on his turf.
23. Russia Direct: Eugene Bai, The real reason why a resurgence of conservatism in Russia is dangerous. As Russia gears up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day, the recent censoring of Hollywood movie “Child 44” and the debates over “Leviathan” indicate that cultural conservatism in Russia is on the upswing.
24. Business New Europe: Ousmene Mandeng, COMMENT: Europe’s historic lack of economic engagement with Russia. The alienation felt between the EU and Russia has seemingly deepened to a post-Soviet Union low. This may in large part be due to the fact that Europe has never fully engaged with Russia economically in the first place.
25. Washington Post: Henry Farrell, What’s behind the Gazprom crisis?
26. Moscow Times: Josh Cohen, West Must Compromise on Victory Day.
27. www.rt.com: Obama’s absence from V-Day parade won’t bother Russian public – poll.
28. Russia Direct: 70 years after link-up at Elbe River, Russia and US should start dialogue. Participants in a conference organized by the Carnegie Moscow Center to mark the historic link-up between Soviet and American soldiers at the Elbe River on April 25, 1945 have used the occasion to call for greater cooperation between Moscow and Washington.
29. Xinhua: Poll: ISIS more dangerous to U.S. than Iran, Russia.
30. TASS: What prevents Russia, US from fighting against Islamic State together?
31. C2C Journal (Canada): Paul Robinson, The West’s new ‘Cold War’ is with Dostoevsky’s Russia, not Stalin’s.
32. Sputnik: Myth Busters: No, Russians Don’t Want to Be Americans in Furry Hats.
33. Russia Direct: What American Studies in Russia can teach about Russian Studies in the US. RD Interview: Victoria Zhuravleva, professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH), discusses the new Russia Direct Ranking of Russian and Post-Soviet Studies Programs and the future of Russian Studies programs in the United States.
34. AFP: Kazakhstan strongman Nazarbayev heads for poll victory after record turnout.
35. From Igor Rotar (a Russian journalist)