RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2015-#97 table of contents with links :: Johnson’s Russia List – Friday, May 15, 2015

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#97 :: Friday 14 May 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
The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University.
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RUSSIA

1. Russia Insider/Adme.ru: Why Don’t Russians Smile? Famous linguist
reveals the reasons.
2. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Citizens and advocates split over Russia’s human rights situation. According to the annual report by Russia’s human rights ombudswoman Ella Pamfilova, Russians believe that respect for human rights is improving, though human rights organizations say that the situation in the country remains concerning, with government attempts to “stifle civic society” by passing restrictive laws a serious concern.
3. Russia Direct: Ivan Tsvetkov, Putin’s Victory Day speeches as clues to
Russia’s foreign policy. The “Cult of Victory” in Russia is an objective
fact, not fictitious state propaganda, and must be taken into account by
anyone who wants to understand modern Russia’s domestic and foreign policy.
4. Russia Insider: Vladiir Golstein, Russophobe Liberals Are Wrong: V-Day
Is About the Russian People, Not Putin. First and foremost V-Day honors the Soviet people which fought and won against the Nazis. The worst of the pro-western Russian liberals deliberately miss the point and instead
pretend it is foremost a celebration of Putin’s state.
5. Daily Bruin (UCLA): Former ambassador speaks at Anderson as part of lecture series. (Michael McFaul)
6. Business New Europe: EBRD sees Russia’s GDP contracting by 4.5% in 2015.
7. Moscow Times: As Inflation Soars, One in Five Russians Can Only Afford Bare Necessities.
8. New York Times: Changing Course, Russia Will Sell Rubles Instead of Buying.
9. Moscow Times: Kristen Blyth, Russia’s Offshore Money Looks Set to Stay There.
10. Emerging Markets: Russia summons up the energy to diversify. Russia is finally diversifying its economy – but not in the way anyone expected.
11. Reuters: Russia plans detailed discussion on raising retirement age: document.
12. Bloomberg: Marc Champion, Putin Declares War on Russians’ Health.
13. www.opendemocracy.net: Georgy Borodyansky, Looking after yourself in Siberia. The ‘rationalisation’ of medical and social services in rural Russia has compelled people to acquire new skills in order to survive, but life for the weakest is very hard – and very expensive.
14. Russia Insider: Yury Nickulichev, The West’s Education Crisis: Can Russia Avoid a Similar Fate? Russia faces the same problems that are chipping away at Western education. What can be done?
15. Moscow Times: McCain Nixes Pentagon Plan to Use More Russian Rocket Engines.
16. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Alexander Gabuev, Russia-China talks: Silk Road leads to Eurasia. Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week ended with the signing of several deals. Perhaps the most important document concerns the leaders’ joint declaration on their readiness to unite the Moscow-backed Eurasian Economic Union with the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt.
17. Moscow Times: 30 Years On, Gorbachev Rues Running of His Soviet Anti-Alcohol Campaign.
18. American Enterprise Insitute: Publication: Putin’s Russia: How it rose, how it is maintained, and how it might end.
19. American Enterprise Institute: Leon Aron, Political values in ‘Putin’s Russia’: A Q&A with Mikhail Dmitriev.
20. The Times Literary Supplement (UK): Lesley Chamberlain, New Eurasians.
21. http://usforeignpolicy.blogs.lalibre.be: Gilbert Doctorow, 2015 Schlangenbad Dialogue: the East-West Confrontation in Microcosm.

UKRAINE

22. Interfax-Ukraine: Nuland, Yatseniuk discuss ways to overcome Russian aggression, carry out Minsk accords.
23. www.rt.com: ‘Great Ukrainian Wall’: Kiev plans to spend $200mn on Russian border defenses.
4. 5 Kanal TV (Kyiv): Ukraine military says almost 9,000 Russian troops in country’s east.
25. Russia Insider: Alexander Mercouris, How the Media Spins Story of Russian Soldiers In Ukraine. Report published by Russian liberal opposition fails to substantiate allegation of large Russian military presence in Ukraine, but still treated by Western media as doing so.
26. TASS: Russian human rights activist says has proof of Kiev’s extrajudicial killings of militias.
27. Sputnik: Poroshenko Snubs Minsk Accords, Vows to Fight ‘Till Last Drop of Blood’
28. Interfax: Russia takes steps to establish interaction with Ukraine on issue of humanitarian aid – Russian Foreign Ministry.
29. Fort Ross/Rusvesna: IMF demands will make most Ukrainians homeless – Finance Minister of Ukraine.
30. Interfax-Ukraine: GDP decline in Ukraine accelerates to 17.6% in Q1, 2015 – statistics.
31. Interfax-Ukraine: Shadow economy in Ukraine in 2014 up to record high since 2007, to 42% of GDP – Trade Ministry.
32. Atlantic Council: Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Four Reasons to Be Hopeful About Ukraine’s Economy.
33. Reuters: Ukraine’s creditors must accept Kiev’s debt proposals – Yatseniuk.
34. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Ukraine Shouldn’t Hold Out for Haircuts.
35. Xinhua: Ukraine objects to further delay of trade deal with EU.
36. www.rt.com: ‘Gap now opening up between Kiev & US, Kiev & EU.’ (interview with Martin McCauley)
37. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Russia-Ukraine conflict overshadows EBRD meeting.
38. The Economist: Ukraine and history. Fighting with ghosts. As well as shells and rockets, Ukraine is afflicted by the struggle over its past.
39. Valdai Discussion Club: Ivan Blot, Absurdity of Anti-Russian Sanctions.
40. http://politicalviolenceataglance.org: Denver Dialogues, A Symposium on the Crisis in Ukraine. (with Valerie Bunce, Donald Abenheim, and Steven Pifer)
41. Kyiv Post editorial: Damaging diplomacy.
42. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian daily looks at Kerry’s “open, businesslike” talks with Putin.
43. TASS: Analysts: West is insincere in professing commitment to peace in Ukraine.
44. Voice of America: Russia-US Dialogue Elevated, But Ukraine Tensions Remain.
45. Russia Insider: Danielle Ryan, Kerry’s Sochi Visit: Is the US
Backpedaling on Crimea? At the end of the day, what we saw with Kerry in Sochi was the inevitable result of failed US policy.
46. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Event-Russian Roulette: A Screening With VICE News Reporter Simon Ostrovsky. May 20.
47. PONARS Eurasia: Invitation: War, State, and Society in Ukraine. May 18.