Tag: Russia and the West

JRL NEWSWATCH: “It’s High Time to Decolonize Western Russia Studies” – Foreign Policy/ Artem Shaipov, Yuliia Shaipova

Academia, Education, Academia, Europe, EU, Headlines, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

“Why has it taken a war of conquest for experts to recognize Russia’s nature as a vast imperial enterprise?” “… Russia’s nature as an imperial power is [historically and geopolitically] incontrovertible. After World War I, the Russian Empire avoided the permanent dismemberment that befell other multi-ethnic land empires …. The Soviet Union … reconquered most of the non-Russian lands … […]

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Moscow’s Invasion Of Ukraine Triggers ‘Soul-Searching’ At Western Universities As Scholars Rethink Russian Studies

Education, Academia, Headlines, History, Soviet Union, Russia & the West, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

(Article text Copyright © 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. – rferl.org – Todd Prince – Jan. 1, 2023 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-war-ukraine-western-academia/32201630.html) When more than 2,000 Slavic, East European, and Eurasian studies specialists from around the world gather in Philadelphia later […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Regime is ‘Cracking’ as Elites Panic: Former U.S. Ambassador” – Newsweek

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

“An argument on Russian state television is a ‘good sign’ that the country’s leadership is cracking, according to [] former U.S. [A]mbassador [McFaul]. Russia [reportedly] has threatened to nationalize assets of Western companies … pull[ing] resources from the country following its [Ukraine] invasion …. Hundreds of companies have already left Russia after expressing dissatisfaction with the war … [I]f the […]

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For Russia and U.S., National Security Must Be Embedded in Mutual Security

Europe, EU, Military, NATO, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
NATO Meeting File Photo

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Robert Legvold – Jan. 6, 2022) Robert Legvold is Marshall D. Shulman Professor Emeritus in the department of political science at Columbia University. As senior Russian officials prepare for talks on European security with Western counterparts, three aspects of the latest crisis around Ukraine point to its seeming intractability, but also lay bare an elemental […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Is Only One Small Part of Putin’s Plans” – New York Times

Belarus, Central Asia, Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

“… The immediate aim, to be sure, is to return Ukraine to Russia’s orbit. But …. Putin’s design is grand: to refashion the post-Cold War settlement, in the process guaranteeing … Russia’s personalized power system. … Today, Ukraine is the jewel to fight for. But it won’t end there: Belarus, whose embattled leader relies on Russia’s support, could be the […]

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Next Generation of Russians Will Be More Anti-Western than Current One, Chesnokov Says

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and River

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Sept. 20, 2021) “If present trends continue,” Edvard Chesnokov says, “the next generation of Russian rulers will be even more anti-Western than the present one,” the result of the West’s double standards when it comes to Russia and recognition by Russia’s rulers that they must stand up to such pressure. The Komsomolskaya […]

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Putin’s Aggressiveness Uniting West against Russia and Powering Its Search for Modus Vivendi with China, Shevtsova Says

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders at Summit, adapted from image at usembassy.gov

Putin’s aggressively anti-Western posture is helping the West to recover its lost self-discipline and unity […]

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Any Increase in Western Sanctions on Russia will Only Make It Easier for Kremlin to Repress Its People, Inozemtsev Says

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Feb. 13, 2021) One of the paradoxes of relations between Russia and the West is that when Russian actions at home or abroad prompt Western governments to react by seeking to impose penalties on Moscow, those penalties only make it easier for the Kremlin to repress its population at home, Vladislav Inozemtsev […]

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Those Russians Angry at Putin Not Necessarily Pro-Western and His Successor May Not Be Either, Kirillova Warns

Europe, EU, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

Those … angry at … Putin and his failures at home and abroad are not necessarily pro-Western, Kseniya Kirillova says […]

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Mark Galeotti: “Re: Subject: A comment on Galeotti” [re: UK-Russian Relations, U.S.-Russian Relations, Nicolai Petro]

Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Europe, EU, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

It’s always great when something you write receives a thoughtful response, but I did feel I needed make a couple of responses to Nicolai Petro’s open reply to my short commentary in The Spectator […]

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Russia, George Floyd, and the end of the imaginary West; Why are Russians so angered by America’s latest protests?

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

From liberal columnists to pro-Kremlin pundits, Russia’s opinion formers take the same line on the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Once poles apart, they have merged into a chorus chanting about the death of the West, exposing “political correctness,” and gleefully sharing racist jokes.

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Replacing ‘The Last of the Offended’ – Generational Change at the Russian Foreign Ministry

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of U.S. Embassy Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry Building in Distance

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 25, 2020) The Moscow Carnegie Center has issued a podcast devoted to the discussion of generational change at the Russian Foreign Ministry and to what the rising generations, those in their 30s and 40s as well as those in their 20s are likely to bring to the table when they assume […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow’s coronavirus offensive; As the epidemic ravages Europe, the Kremlin has dialed up the disinformation and propaganda” – Politico.eu/ Hannah Roberts

Coronavirus, Covid-19 Pandemic, Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Artist's Conception of Globe with Curved Connecting Lines of Light Passing Through Space, adapted from image at fincen.gov

“As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, Russia appears to be observing the adage that you should never let a good crisis go to waste. Seeking to capitalize on the chaos and promote its own soft power, the Kremlin has taken Beijing’s lead and started love-bombing struggling nations with medical aid, and stepping up its efforts to broadcast propaganda and sow disinformation […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “NATO enlargement: evaluating its consequences in Russia” – International Politics/ Kimberly Marten

Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Military, NATO, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
NATO Meeting file photo

“… There is no question that Russia – its leaders, expert analysts, and public – reacted negatively to NATO enlargement right from the start. … But …. Russia’s unhappiness is overdetermined, and there is no evidence that if NATO enlargement had been avoided, delayed, or altered (while nothing else changed), that Russia could have been reconciled to the idea of […]

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Sean Guillory; “Response to Dmitry Babich from JRL #67, Item 27”

Education, Academia, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

Subject: Response to Dmitry Babich from JRL #67, Item 27 Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2020 From: Guillory, Sean Christopher Jos <guillory@pitt.edu> I’ve wavered back and forth between sending a comment on Dmitry Babich’s Facebook post about the pervasiveness of “Ultra-liberal ideology” in American Russian Studies included in JRL 2020-#67, Item 27. Part of me just wants to ignore such a […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Long War Against American Science” – New York Times/ William J. Broad

Coronavirus, Covid-19 Pandemic, Europe, EU, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

A decade of health disinformation promoted by President Vladimir Putin of Russia has sown wide confusion, hurt major institutions and encouraged the spread of deadly illnesses. “… the pandemic has swept the globe … accompanied by a dangerous surge of false information – an ‘infodemic,’ according to the [WHO] …. Analysts say … Putin … has played a principal role […]

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RUSSIALINK: “4 in 5 Russians View West as a Friend – Poll” – Moscow Times

Europe, EU, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2020) Almost 80% of Russians believe that Russia and the West should become friends and partners, according to the results of an independent Levada Center poll published Tuesday. Only 3% of Russian respondents said they see the West as Russia’s enemy, Levada said. Another 16% said they view the West as a rival. […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Common interests should prevail in Russian-NATO relations – Putin” – Interfax

Military, NATO, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Globe Highlighting NATO Members

BOCHAROV RUCHEI, Sochi. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Russia stands ready for cooperation with NATO and expects that common security interests will prevail in its dialogue with the alliance, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “London is hosting a NATO summit marking the 70th anniversary of the alliance’s foundation right now, on December 3-4,” Putin said, opening a regular conference on defense […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Most Russians Don’t Believe ‘Western Meddling’ Is to Blame for Moscow Protests, Poll Says” – Moscow Times

Europe, EU, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 3, 2019) A majority of Russians don’t believe in the authorities’ claim that Western powers are to blame for election protests in Moscow this summer, according to the independent Levada Center polling agency. Weeks of demonstrations over elections for the city legislature have turned into the biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Overextending and Unbalancing Russia; Assessing the Impact of Cost-Imposing Options” – RAND/ James Dobbins, Raphael S. Cohen, Nathan Chandler, Bryan Frederick, Edward Geist, Paul DeLuca, Forrest E. Morgan, Howard J. Shatz, Brent Williams

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“This brief summarizes a report that comprehensively examines nonviolent, cost-imposing options that the United States and its allies could pursue across economic, political, and military areas to stress – overextend and unbalance – Russia’s economy and armed forces and the regime’s political standing at home and abroad. Some of the options … are clearly more promising … any would need […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump Says Russia Should Be Readmitted to G7” – New York Times/ Michael Crowley

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Trump said on Tuesday that Russia should be readmitted to the Group of 7 industrialized nations, a call for ending Moscow’s pariah status …. Speaking a few days before his planned departure for the summit, … Trump said … Moscow’s exclusion since 2014 from the group of leading economic powers should be reversed and, ignoring Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “G8 reinstatement based on ‘7 against 1’ principle could be trap – MP Kosachyov” – Interfax

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Russia & the West
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax) – Russia could return to the G8 format if the latter becomes a G10 and involves China and India, Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov said. “In my opinion, Russia’s reunion with the G7 would make sense only if we manage to avoid the ‘seven against one’ trap. We should look at the bigger […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “It’s Time to Rethink Russia’s Foreign Policy Strategy” – Carnegie Moscow/ Dmitri Trenin

China, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, JRL NewsBlog, Russia & the West, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

“A broad public discussion on Moscow’s foreign policy goals and objectives is long overdue. International issues are affecting the interests of Russian society as a whole more and more, making it necessary for private citizens to take a greater interest in their country’s conduct abroad, especially in the single continental space that is Greater Eurasia.” “It has been just over […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia is no place for young people” – Deutsche Welle

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

It’s almost impossible to find a decent salary and comfortable living conditions in Russia. For many young people, the only options are to build a life in Moscow or leave the country, says Anastasia Arinushkina. “… half of Russia’s citizens are unhappy with the size of their salaries and struggle to pay for health care and education, according to recent […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Has Ceased ‘All’ Cooperation With NATO, Foreign Ministry Official Says” – Moscow Times

Military, NATO
NATO Meeting file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 15, 2019) Russia has stopped all cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with state media on Monday. The Western alliance suspended military and civilian cooperation with Russia in the spring of 2014 in response to Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula. Several disputes, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Federation Council says dialogue with NATO military, politicians necessary” – Interfax

Military, NATO
Globe Highlighting NATO Members

MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) – The Federation Council made a statement on the destructive policy of NATO on Wednesday. “The Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly believes that a dialogue between the military and politicians of Russia and NATO could play a positive role in this exacerbated situation. We can only regret that the old formats and communication channels […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The UK executives helping Putin burnish Russia’s image; Meeting with top British businessmen could not come at a better time for the Kremlin” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy

Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog
File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

“Eleven years ago [BP’s] Bob Dudley … fled [Russia] citing ‘sustained harassment of the company and myself’ and threats to his life allegedly directed by politically connected oligarchs and Russia’s security services. Last month … Dudley, now head of the British oil group, was back, telling … Putin … at the Kremlin that he and the British company ‘deeply appreciate […]

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Gallup Poll Shows One In Five Russians Would Migrate West If Possible

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Population Disaster, Demographics, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Satellite Image of Earth in Style of Mercator Map, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – April 4, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-migrate-west-gallup-poll-one-in-five/29861985.html) One in five Russians say they would leave their country if they could, according to a new poll by Gallup. The Washington-based pollster said on April 4 that since 2014, the percentage of working-age Russians who say they […]

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7 Pillars of Putin’s World: New Book Shows U.S. Policymakers Russia as It Is

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nikolas K. Gvosdev – April 4, 2019 – russiamatters.org/analysis/7-pillars-putins-world-new-book-shows-us-policymakers-russia-it) Nikolas K. Gvosdev is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs.   “Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest” By Angela Stent Twelve, February 2019 American officials who profess to have […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Share of Russians Predicting Better Ties With the West Hits 5-Year High – Poll” – Moscow Times

Europe, EU, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 1, 2019) The number of Russians forecasting improved relations between their country and the West has reached a five-year high, the independent Levada Center pollster said Monday. Public support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine has remained in the high 80s in the Levada poll since 2014, despite it leading to economic sanctions […]

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Russia and China Beyond Realpolitik: The Bond of Respect and Values

Central Asia, China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Asia Map

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Jeanne L. Wilson – February 4, 2019) Jeanne Wilson teaches at Wheaton College where she is the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of Russian studies, a professor of political science and coordinator of the school’s international relations major. She is the author of “Strategic Partners: Russian-Chinese Relations in the Post-Soviet Era.”  This op-ed is part of a new debate from […]

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NEWSLINK: “The Daily 202: From Brexit to NATO and the shutdown, Putin is winning so much he might get tired of winning” – Washington Post/ James Hohmann

Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Europe, EU, NATO, Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Historic Washington Post Masthead, adapted from image at nlrb.gov

“James Hohmann is a national political correspondent for The Washington Post. He is the author of The Daily 202, The Post’s flagship political newsletter.”  

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Managing Russia’s dissolution” – The Hill/ Janusz Bugajski

Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russia Regions Map

“Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine and … persistent subversion of Western states demonstrates that Washington and Brussels have failed to restrain Moscow’s imperial ambitions. Engagement, criticism and limited sanctions have … reinforced Kremlin perceptions that the West is weak and predictable. To curtail Moscow’s neo-imperialism a new strategy is needed … [to] nourish[] Russia’s decline and manages the international consequences […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s GMO debate looks a lot like America’s – with more geopolitics” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

Agriculture, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West, Science, Technology, Engineering, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Wheat Field in Kenya, adapted from image at usda.gov

“… faced with something new, Russian lawmakers have generally found it easier to ban it than … debate it, even if such prohibitions often prove dysfunctional …. case in point: Russia’s legislation banning … production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) … nominally implemented … to keep Russia’s food supply ‘pure.’ The passage two years ago of the law … prohibit[ing] […]

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Isolation and Reconquista: Russia’s Toolkit as a Constrained Great Power

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Military, NATO, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Soldiers Marching

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Marlene Laruelle – December 12, 2018) Marlene Laruelle is a research professor, associate director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, director of the Central Asia Program and co-director of PONARS Eurasia at The George Washington University. [russiamatters.org/analysis/isolation-and-reconquista-russias-toolkit-constrained-great-power] In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s famous Munich speech took stock of what Russia considered the failure of the […]

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Russia and the West Soon Will Be Moving Leftward, Pastukhov Says

Europe, EU, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 28, 2018) Many commentators now talk about the ways in which Russia and the West are moving to the right, with the former seeking to recover the Soviet past and the latter the unreconstructed capitalism of the past, but that “rightist wave” in both cases will soon be overwhelmed by a […]

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RUSSIALINK: “What Drives the Russian State; To understand what makes Putin and his allies act the way they do, you need to look beyond the myths” – New York Times/ Alexander Baunov/ Carnegie Moscow

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“Since … Putin came to power … analysis of Russia … has largely focused on two interpretations …. The first argues that Russia is a mafia state in which the main aim of the ruling elite is to steal money at home to conceal and spend abroad. The second states that Mr. Putin is a hostage of his own popularity […]

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NEWSLINK: “Walter Laqueur obituary; Influential but pessimistic historian who tried to find answers to the Holocaust and was among the first scholars to study terrorism” – The Times (London)

History, Soviet Union, In Memoriam, Russia & the West
Lit Candle with Reflection and Dark Background

“… Laqueur’s curiosity, interest in the future and anxiety remained into his nineties …. As always he was interested in the attacks societies faced, and how internal weaknesses made them vulnerable. … He spoke sometimes of hope, but the searing experience of seeing the society he was born into collapsing into barbarism had never left him. Walter Laqueur, historian, was […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia clashes with Western oil buyers over new deals as sanctions loom” – Reuters

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Oil Well file photo

“Russian energy majors are putting pressure on Western oil buyers to use euros instead of dollars for payments and introducing penalty clauses in contracts as Moscow seeks protection against possible new U.S. sanctions. … Western oil majors and trading houses have clashed with Russia’s third and fourth biggest producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, over 2019 oil sales contract terms during […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Patriarch Kirill speaks out against Western-style globalization” – Interfax

Religion, Russia & the West
Patriarch Kirill file photo

MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) – Following the Western model of globalization would be a mistake because it has no room for traditional values, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said. “The narrow paradigm of the New Time speaks of globalization as an inevitable process. Hidden underneath the word ‘inevitability’ is the western principle of global development which features liberal […]

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Let Them East Cheese: Russian Plant Thrives Amid Sanctions

Agriculture, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Russia & the West, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russia Map

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Dmitry Lyubimov, Tony Wesolowsky – Oct. 22, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/let-them-east-cheese-russian-plant-thrives-amid-sanctions-/29557433.html) Sergei Chernych proudly points to the gleaming Western-made stainless-steel machinery at his cheese factory in Mari El, a small republic in Russia’s Volga region. Production at the plant in Sernur, some 90 kilometers east of the […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with RT France, Paris Match and Le Figaro” – Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Lavrov file photo

“Question: Western countries, the media and various organisations, including the World Anti-Doping Agency and the OPCW, have been constantly accusing Russia of meddling in elections and staging cyberattacks. Just recently, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands simultaneously voiced similar accusations and submitted six-month-old information to the media. What is this? Is this part of a planned […]

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Putin Youth Have Fallen in Love with the West but Not with Democracy, Levada Expert Says

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 17, 2018) Putin’s “Generation Z” love the West but not democracy and because of their numbers assume that they won’t be able to change things in Russia and are thus even less inclined to support the opposition of take part in demonstrations, according to Denis Volkov of the Levada Center. In […]

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Russia is in a Stalemate Today But Can’t Stay There for Long, Shevtsova Says

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 31, 2018) Russia is in a stalemate today because the Kremlin “cannot accept the sanction-backed demands of the West without losing face,” but it also cannot act as if it is indifferent to the sanctions because they are undermining Russia’s ability to remain a great power, Liliya Shevtsova says. As a […]

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Moscow has Made ‘Unforgivable Mistake’ of Setting West against Russia for the Long Term, Shevtsova Says

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 15, 2018) The Russian regime has made “the unforgivable mistake” of acting against the West in ways that have made Russia a key part of the domestic politics of the U.S. and European countries and guaranteed that the West will continue its sanctions regime against Moscow for a long time to […]

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Nigel Gould-Davies: “BOFIT Policy Brief: Assessing Western Sanctions”

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

Subject: BOFIT Policy Brief: Assessing Western sanctions Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2018 From: Nigel Gould-Davies <nigelgd.office@gmail.com In case of interest to JRL, my policy brief for the Bank of Finland’s Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT) on “Economic effects and political impacts: Assessing Western sanctions on Russia”, just published: helda.helsinki.fi/bof/bitstream/handle/123456789/15832/bpb0818.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Abstract: This brief assesses the effectiveness of Western sanctions on […]

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NEWSLINK: “Believe it or not, Trump’s following a familiar script on Russia; The West has spent a decade playing into Putin’s hands” – Washington Post/Robert Kagan

Georgia, Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

“… Ten years ago this week … Putin struck one of the first major blows when he sent Russian forces into South Ossetia in neighboring Georgia in support of Russian-backed separatists. The Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, fearing a full-blown invasion, ordered his troops to attack, thus springing Putin’s trap. Using the Georgian attack as a pretext, Putin launched that full-blown […]

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Growing Russian Sympathy for West a Bigger Problem for Kremlin than Regime’s Declining Ratings, Shevtsova Says

Europe, EU, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 4, 2018) According to a new Levada Center poll, 68 percent of Russians do not want to live in “‘a besieged fortress’ and fight with the West but instead want to a rapprochement with the West, a change in attitudes with more far-reaching consequences than the declining popular ratings of Vladimir […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Whatever It Was, We Didn’t Do It” – New York Times Editorial

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and River

“… Russia’s reaction to all accusations of foul play [has been consistent], whether … [to] well-documented charges by the Netherlands, Australia and other nations that [Russia] was responsible for downing a Malaysian jetliner over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 … the British accusation that Russia was most likely behind the poisoning of a double agent and his daughter in England […]

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NEWSLINK: “How Putin’s Russia Became Mafia Heaven; Inside the long, strange story of organized crime taking over the former Soviet Union-and how Russia tamed it only to unleash it on the West. [re: Mark Galeotti]” – ViceCom/Seth Ferranti

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“…  Putin is engaged in this kind of political war with the West—he’s effectively trying to weaponize Russian organized crime against the west. We have seen Russian-based organized crime groups being used to kill enemies of his, to gather intelligence, to move spies across boarders, and raise money for Putin by supporting particular groups or media outlets that he likes […]

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