Tag: Russia
NEWSLINK: “Russian Government Official Looks Into Crystal Ball On EU Relations” [Alexei Ulyukayev] – Forbes/Kenneth Rapoza
NEWSLINK: “Far-right group says it aims to ‘open second front’ against government” – Kyiv Post
NEWSLINK: “There’s Still No Evidence Of Russia’s Much-Hyped ‘Import Substitution'” – Forbes/Mark Adomanis
NEWSLINK: “He Who Speaks Bad Russian, Stays Long” – Moscow Times/Michele Berdy
NEWSLINK: “Should Russia get rid of its dependence on oil exports?” – TASS
NEWSLINK: “Russia Pulls Back From Cooperating With U.S. on Afghanistan” – New York Times
AUDIO & NEWSWATCH: “For Russian Farmers, Climate Change Is Nyet So Great.” – National Public Radio
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says last month was the warmest January on record. That sets off alarm bells for climate scientists, but for the average person living in a northern climate, it might not sound so bad. * * * The problem … is that while warmer weather might open up more land in cold regions such as […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Poll: Americans view Russia as less of a threat” – The Hill
NEWSLINK: “Tajiks fear weaker Russian presence will open the way for ISIS. Locals in Tajikistan are worried about the possible reduction of Russian servicemen in the country, as the Islamic State militant organization grows in strength in neighboring Afghanistan.” – RBTH/Gazeta.ru
NEWSLINK: “Putin’s Patriotism Playbook. What’s Russian Nationalism Got to Do With It?” – Foreign Affairs/Gregory Feifer
NEWSLINK: “The media are misleading the public on Syria” – Boston Globe/Stephen Kinder
RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-35 :: Friday, 19 February 2016
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#35 Friday, 19 February 2016 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi Support for JRL is provided in part […]
» Read moreChechen Separatist Leader: Kadyrov Is Here To Stay
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Natalya Golitsyna – February 19, 2016) One of Ramzan Kadyrov’s staunchest critics says the Chechen leader remains one of the most powerful men in Russia despite mounting criticism over his ruthless tactics. According to Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled head of the Chechen separatist government, Kadyrov has accumulated so much clout that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself […]
» Read morePutin’s Pre-emptive Strike: Kremlin Moves to Liquidate ‘Foreign Agents’
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – February 19, 2015) Activist Pavel Chikov could react only with sarcasm when a court handed down a winding up order against his Agora legal advocacy association. “As the first NGO ever to have been liquidated in a Russian court, we are so proud,” he wrote on Twitter. The next day, another organization, […]
» Read moreTen Reasons Putin System May Not be as ‘Sustainable’ as Many Now Think
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, February 17, 2016) In an interview with Tomsk television, Mariya Snegovaya points to ten reasons why in her view the Putin system may not be nearly as “sustainable” as many now think given that the fall in oil prices has not led to an immediate effort to over throw the Kremlin leader. […]
» Read moreStrategy-2030 to be formulated in coming months – Dvorkovich
KRASNOYARSK. Feb 19 (Interfax) – Russian government officials intend to formulate the country’s development strategy to the year 2030 in the next few months, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said, opening the plenary session of the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum on Friday. “We have gathered not only in order to talk, but also to formulate solutions or approaches to solving the […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH AP: “UN Says Conflict in Ukraine Has Affected 580,000 Children”
The conflict in Ukraine has ‘deeply affected’ 580,000 children close to the front lines and in areas in the volatile east not under government control, the U.N. children’s agency said … Ukraine remains locked in conflict with Moscow, which annexed the Crimean Peninsula and has supported a pro-Russian insurgency in the east. Fighting there has killed more than 9,000 people […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russia government mulls five percent cut in defense procurement spending: sources” – Reuters
Russia’s government is considering cutting spending on defense procurement this year by 5 percent … a move that would extend the budget squeeze to a sector that up to now has been immune …. The proposal has support across several ministries and in other state institutions, enough for it to go forward for discussion at a cabinet meeting, the sources […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russian Premier Bypasses Ban on File-Sharing Site” – Transitions Online
Determined users can easily slip past Russia’s strict anti-piracy laws. … Medvedev used his personal iPad to reach the site during a meeting in which measures to combat piracy were under discussion…. the banned file-sharing website RuTracker …. Click here for Transitions Online: Russian Premier Bypasses Ban on File-Sharing Site
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russian Aggression Drives Increase in European Defense Spending” – Defensenews.com
Fear of Russian aggression will help drive European defense spending up by 8.3 percent this year, putting a halt to 20 years of declining budgets … Over two decades after the end of the Cold War, Vladimir Putin’s expansionist policies in Crimea and Ukraine have pushed European leaders to once again increase their spending on military programs, according to the […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Pentagon: Russia agreed not to strike US forces in Syria” – The Hill
The Pentagon revealed … that Russia granted a U.S. request not to target American special operations forces deployed to northern Syria …. The Pentagon made the request to the Russians after a U.S. decision to send the special operations forces into Syria last year. * * * … Russia also outlined some areas, such as airfields, that it did not […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky: I have no obligations to Putin. Outlining plans to back Russian opposition groups, Khodorkovsky – pardoned in 2013 – says he never agreed to stay out of politics” – The Guardian
NEWSLINK: “Russia warns Assad on vow to retake all of Syria” – AFP
NEWSLINK: “Economic data suggests Russian slump past worst” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “Stephen Kotkin: Scholar of Soviet history, encouraging mentor” – The Daily Princetonian
Chaos in Ukraine Is Making Putin Stronger
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Volodymyr Verbyany – February 17, 2016) Two years after Ukrainians shed blood on the streets of Kiev to crush a Kremlin-backed kleptocracy, the country of more than 40 million people is back on the brink of failed-state status. The government’s long descent into chaos reached a new nadir this week, when amid reform delays […]
» Read moreThe One Shock Russia Dodged Is Set to Catch Up With Putin
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas – February 18, 2016) [Charts here bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-17/the-one-shock-sidestepped-by-russia-is-catching-up-with-putin] Russia’s longest recession in two decades is proving a test too far for the labor market. After deflecting pressure in 2015 with salary reductions, part-time work and unpaid vacations, companies are increasingly opting to cut jobs as the economy enters its second year of contraction. As Russia’s […]
» Read moreCensors would starve in modern Russia
Maya Kucherskaya, a writer, linguist, literary critic and director of the newly opened Creative Writing School, the first such center for budding authors in Russia, talked to RBTH about professional writing, censorship and Russia’s book market. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – YULIA VINOGRADOVA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – February 17, 2016) RBTH: How is the Creative Writing School different […]
» Read moreRussian Politicians Ask Khodorkovsky for Endorsement As Elections Near
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 18, 2016) Former oil tycoon turned opposition politician Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s pro-democracy foundation has received dozens of requests from members of Russia’s main political parties to endorse them during an upcoming parliamentary election this fall, the coordinator of Khodorkovsky’s Open Elections project said in comments published Wednesday. The requests that came in […]
» Read moreRussia and OPEC trio agree to freeze oil production, but no cuts
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela have announced their readiness to freeze oil production volumes at January levels but fell short of agreeing to cut production by 5 percent as was earlier anticipated. Market analysts believe this agreement is a loss for Russian diplomacy – as a result of the deal, oil prices and the related value of the ruble […]
» Read moreMoscow Authorities Approve March in Honor of Slain Kremlin Critic Nemtsov
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2016) Moscow City Hall has approved a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, opposition party member Konstantin Merzlikin told The Moscow Times on Wednesday. The authorities have given permission for 50,000 people to attend the memorial event, which is due to take place on Feb. […]
» Read moreDefender of Putin, Detained in Russia: American Activist Deemed U.S. ‘Agent’
(RFE/RL – rferl.org –Carl Schreck – February 17, 2016) For a person who has dedicated her life to improving ties between Moscow and the West — and who has passionately denounced what she calls the “demonization” of President Vladimir Putin by Western media and officials — Sharon Tennison has gotten a strange reception in Russia. Tennison, an American activist whose […]
» Read moreWeak Ruble Draws Foreign Tourists to Russia for Summer Vacations
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2016) The number of foreign tourists booking summer vacations in Russia has risen by 30 percent amid the weakening of the ruble, the Kommersant newspaper reported Wednesday, citing a study by the Momondo online reservation system. Demand for trips to Russia during the summer months among German travelers – who made the most […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Countering Putin begins with knowing what his regime is saying” [Bring back FBIS] – The Hill/Stephen Blank, Glen Howard, Enders S. Wimbush, Paul Goble
Recent media accounts have argued that the U.S. government suffers from an absence of high-quality expertise on Russia. * * * One such solution that does not require legislation is directing the intelligence community to resume the daily electronic Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) now supervised by the Open Source Center. … a daily electronic feed of worldwide media, press, […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-34 :: Thursday, 18 February 2016
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#34 Thursday, 18 February 2016 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi Support for JRL is provided in part […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Putin Hasn’t Given Up His Designs on Ukraine. NATO is wise to bolster its eastern flank, but Kiev needs more defensive armaments right now” – Wall Street Journal/DAVID PETRAEUS, JOHN HERBST
NEWSLINK: “A blackout in Ukraine is a reminder of the dangers of cyberattacks” – Washington Post
NEWSLINK: “Small businesses cower after Moscow’s night of bulldozers” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “Bolshoi Theater to screen best performances on video in U.S.” – RBTH/TASS
NEWSLINK: “Suicide rates fall in Russia” – RBTH/RBC Daily
NEWSLINK: “The Russian Connection Between Syria and Ukraine. Moscow may try to link cooperation in the Syrian crisis to relief from sanctions.” – The National Interest/Joseph Nye
NEWSLINK: “How likely is a Turkish invasion of Syria? As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops move closer to taking the strategic northern city of Aleppo, Russian observers believe that a Turkish invasion of Syria is becoming ever more likely given Ankara’s opposition to Assad’s regime and the Syrian Kurds.” – RBTH/Gazeta.ru
NEWSLINK: “Ukraine’s government almost fell yesterday. It’s still in crisis. Here’s what happened and why it matters. [interview with Oxana Shevel]” – Washington Post/Joshua Tucker
NEWSLINK: “Cutting a Deal with Russia” – Forbes/Laurence Kotlikoff
NEWSLINK: “Yes, the U.S. and Russia can cooperate to end the Syrian civil war. Here’s why.” – Washington Post: Yoshiko Herrera, Andrew Kydd, Fyodor Lukyanov
NEWSLINK: “Living and loving on Ukraine’s front line. It’s a year since an agreement was signed in Minsk that was supposed to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But the fighting continues – and civilians continue to suffer. The BBC’s Fergal Keane went back to the village of Pisky to talk to a couple determined to stay in their home, come what may.” – BBC
NEWSLINK: “Lessons From Munich: We Need Cooperation, Not Confrontation” – Moscow Times/Igor Ivanov
NEWSLINK: “Emboldened Assad defies Moscow’s diplomatic efforts over truce. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put a peaceful settlement in Syria in doubt by insisting that government forces will continue to fight on. Damascus’ new signals contradict the agreements on a ceasefire reached by world powers with Moscow’s participation in Geneva and Munich.” – RBTH/Kommersant
Russian Nationalists Oppose Moscow’s Plan to Resettle Ukrainian Refugees in Far East
(Paul Goble – Staunton, February 16, 2016) Duma deputies are proposing and the Russian Ministry for Far Eastern Development has come out in support of a plan to resettle as many as 50,000 Ukrainian refugees who had fled their country because of the fighting but have not yet found permanent residences in the Russian Federation. This plan reflects the convergence […]
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