(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 22, 2015) Russia is to conduct a “micro-census” next month involving 2.5 million people that will have a broader scope than an ordinary census, the State Statistics Service, or Rosstat, said in a statement. The population survey will take place in all regions of Russia between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, according to Rosstat. […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#184 Tuesday – 22 September 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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The Wall Street Journal reports on U.S. military and foreign policy responses to stepped-up Russian activity in Syria, including Congressional criticism of the Obama administration. The Obama administration is considering discussions with Russia on military activities Syria in what would mark a shift in approach as U.S. policy comes under growing criticism at home. * * * In a scorching […]
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The Kremlin is refusing to accept proposals by Kiev to restructure $3 billion worth of bonds and demands full payment on the debt. Experts point out that this is an economic as well as a political issue and it could become a bargaining chip in the ongoing negotiations over a bilateral gas deal. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – […]
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(Interfax – September 21, 2015) Half of Russians deem Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be independent states and think that these republics and Transdniestria should have formal independent status, the Levada Center has told Interfax. According to the poll of 800 respondents held in 134 populated localities in 46 regions on August 21-24, practically half (47 percent) of respondents see […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 21, 2015) The Russian government will ban production of goods using genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying Friday. “The question is complicated, but the decision was made: We are not going to produce any food products using genetically modified organisms,” Dvorkovich said at an agricultural forum, the […]
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Five years into a process to consolidate and redistribute funding to schools, results are being seen, despite protests from parents and experts. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Stroganov, special to RBTH – September 21, 2015) When news came in fall 2012 that School 122 in central Moscow would be merged with another school, parents were up in […]
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(RFE/RL – Roman Super, Robert Coalson – MOSCOW – September 20, 2015) If Russian journalism has a patron saint, his name is Yasen Zasursky. The ailing 85-year-old headed the Moscow State University (MGU) journalism department for more than 40 years before becoming its president emeritus in 2007. The roster of respected journalists who received their diplomas from him is astounding: […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org) On September 17, staff members of IMR’s The Interpreter project led an impassioned discussion about Western policy toward Russia and Ukraine at the presentation of their new report, “An Invasion by Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine,” in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. [Report here http://www.imrussia.org/en/news/2414-imr-releases-the-interpreter-report-an-invasion-by-any-other-name-the-kremlins-dirty-war-in-ukraine] The Interpreter editor-in-chief Michael Weiss and […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#183 Monday – 21 September 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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(Embassy of the United States Kyiv – September 12, 2015) Remarks by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland at a Panel Discussion “Ukraine’s East and Crimea: Solving the Unsolvable” 12th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting Kyiv, Ukraine MODERATOR: Victoria Nuland, if I may just turn to you. Obviously, you work for the State Department. You […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov, Stepan Kravchenko – September 17, 2015) Ukrainian separatist leaders say their hopes of full integration with Russia or greater independence are fading as the Kremlin tightens the reins on their rebellion. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears unwilling to risk broadening his conflict with the U.S. and European Union over Ukraine, senior separatist officials said […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Natasha Doff, Marton Eder – September 17, 2015) A group of investors in Ukraine’s shortest-dated bonds stepped up pressure on Franklin Templeton to adjust the terms of an $18 billion restructuring agreement they argue is biased against them, saying they have the power to block the deal. Holders of the $500 million Eurobond due on Sept. […]
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(Interfax – September 18, 2015) At least 8,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution, has said. Eight thousand people have died, and according to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, most of them have been civilians. Artillery shelling incidents are observed on both sides, […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Naubet Bisenov in Almaty and Olim Abdullayev in Tashkent – September 17, 2015) The issue of succession has become topical again in Central Asia’s largest countries – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – after the Kazakh leader appointed his daughter as deputy prime minister, while the Uzbek president was reported to have openly nominated his second […]
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(Interfax – September 18, 2015) The Russian Foreign Ministry has not been able to either confirm or deny information that US special forces are present in Syria but it condemns coalition actions that have not been agreed with Damascus. “I cannot either confirm or deny this information but I can indeed say that all actions by the so-called coalition have […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015) Russia risks provoking “military and economic countermeasures” if it continues to stonewall over a U.S. accusation that it violated a bedrock of nuclear arms control, the United States’ lead arms-control negotiator says. The comments by Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, highlight the seriousness […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Nick Allen in Warsaw – September 18, 2015) If you can right hook or roundhouse with the best of them, or rattle off 100 uses for a giant nose, then the door to Russia and the Kremlin may be wide open to you. What is it with international martial arts, boxing and wrestling stars […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova, Anna Dolgov – September 18, 2015) News of the possible shutting down of an American culture center sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow after 22 years of operation rattled Muscovites on Wednesday. Ambassador John Tefft was the first to break the news in a statement published on the embassy’s website, warning that […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Fedorov, RBTH – September 18, 2015) Project 5-100, launched by presidential decree two years ago, sets the ambitious goal of getting five Russian universities in the world’s top 100 by 2020. Since 2013, Russia has invested millions of dollars in an attempt to drive up the position of its universities in international […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Jason Corcoran in Moscow – September 18, 2015) Deutsche Bank, a lender whose ties with Russia span 134 years, will exit its investment banking business in Moscow by the end of year following allegations its bankers laundered money on behalf of its clients, it was confirmed on September 18. The German bank’s corporate finance […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova – September 17, 2015) A slump in Russian consumption showed no letup last month while a drop in investment stretched into the longest in two decades, highlighting the toll on the economy from lower oil prices and the latest wave of ruble depreciation. Real wages declined 9.8 percent from a year earlier after a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 18, 2015) Russians’ wages fell in August at their fastest pace since the start of the year, according to official data published Thursday that also showed a continuing slump in capital investment, industrial output and retail spending. Russia’s economy has been shaken by a collapse in the price of oil since summer 2014 and […]
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(Interfax – September 17, 2015) The regional elections that took place on 13 September in Russia were a fair and competitive fight, and many non-parliamentary parties will take part in the 2016 State Duma election, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, as reported by Russian news agencies on 17 September. “The election campaign took place in conditions of an open […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#182 Friday – 18 September 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – September 17, 2015) The Russian government has shut down the U.S. Embassy’s American Center in Moscow after 22 years in operation, Ambassador John Tefft said, warning the Kremlin is eroding ties that were preserved even during the Cold War. “The U.S. Embassy in Moscow deeply regrets the Russian government’s unilateral decision to […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – September 17, 2015) When Russian health care officials announced last week they would start replacing foreign HIV medication with drugs produced in Russia, patients’ rights advocates were quick to point out that HIV patients have complained that domestic drugs are ineffective and have undesirable side effects – but patients themselves say that […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – September 16, 2015) After four years at the helm of one of Russia’s most high-profile applied research universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Edward Crawley will step down and return to the United States, according to a letter obtained by The Moscow Times on Tuesday. Crawley, a member of several senior […]
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SOCHI. Sept 17 (Interfax) – Russia’s Economic Development Ministry is somewhat more optimistic about the outlook for the oil market than the Central Bank in its baseline scenario, which assumes an oil price of $50 per barrel in the next three years. “Our hypothesis is that it might be a little higher, but this is absolutely not crucial,” Economic Development […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 17, 2015) Russians are becoming less interested in what is happening in neighboring Ukraine amid reports of decreased military activity in the country, state-run pollster VTsIOM reported in a survey published Wednesday. According to the poll, 71 percent of Russians are currently following events in Ukraine, including 25 percent of respondents who say they […]
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(Interfax – September 17, 2015) It is NATO that ought to take the first step towards resuming constructive dialogue between military officials of Russia and the alliance, Moscow’s Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko has said. “Signals have recently been heard from different ‘corners’ in NATO that it would be a good idea to revive Russia-NATO contacts at the military […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#181 Thursday – 17 September 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. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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(Paul Goble – Staunton, September 17, 2015) When Vladimir Putin first appeared on the Russian political Olympus, people asked “Who is Mr. Putin?” In the years since that time, they have continued to ask because the Kremlin leader has changed fundamentally at least three times, a reflection of the situation he has found himself in and his own agendas. Now, […]
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Russia, already facing recession and falling oil prices, prepares for the possibility that Western sanctions may remain in place for years to come. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – David Miller, Jared Feldschreiber, special to RBTH – September 17, 2015) Russia is girding itself for the possibility of a long haul under Western economic sanctions, as officials in Moscow […]
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(Interfax – September 16, 2015) The well-known Russian impersonator who claimed he tricked Elton John into thinking that President Vladimir Putin had phoned him to discuss LGBT rights should apologize to the singer, Putin’s spokesman said on 16 September, in remarks reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax. Asked whether Vladimir Krasnov, better known as Vovan, should apologize to the […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Lottie Millington in London – September 17, 2015) [Charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/story/bnechart-corruption-putins-biggest-failing-finds-poll] Corruption is Vladimir Putin’s biggest presidential failing, according to a survey by Russia’s independent Levada Center. According to the survey respondents, some of Putin’s biggest failures were dealing with the “fight against corruption and bribery”, and improving “relations between Russia and the West”. […]
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