Stirring up world conflict

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

Subject: Stirring up world conflict Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 From: Dmitry Mikheyev <dmitrymikheyev@gmail.com> I am again inviting this intellectual community to explore what from my point of view is a cardinal question of our time. Do democratic countries have legal and moral rights to instigate and perpetrate a Coup D’état against a legitimate government? Hypothetically, it seems only fair […]

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Kremlin Propaganda on Ukraine Likely to Backfire on Putin, Gudkov Says

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 16, 2014) Kremlin-orchestrated propaganda about Ukraine and Crimea remains “absolutely effective” for the moment, Russia’s leading independent pollster says, but it is likely to backfire on Vladimir Putin as Russians draw parallels between the Kremlin leader and Viktor Yanukovich, the ousted Ukrainian president. According to Lev Gudkov, the head of the […]

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Wide range of Russians protest Crimea vote

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sam Skove, special to RBTH – March 16, 2014) The meeting in central Moscow brought together a diverse group of people with a variety of views on the situation in Crimea and the state of the Russian press. Saturday’s protest in central Moscow against the war in Ukraine, started at Pushkinskaya square and […]

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From your friendly editor: a goodbye and some unsolicited advice

Collage of Russian Newspapers

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – March 14, 2014) In the Russian media, the season of change, some of it sad and sudden, continues. Now it is my turn to say my goodbye and announce my imminent departure from The Moscow News. I also want to use this platform to give everyone who is reading this – particularly […]

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Saakashvili: Let Georgia be a lesson for what will happen to Ukraine; My country’s ordeal in 2008 suggests Crimea’s referendum is a trick for Russia to cement its territorial and military grip

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(“Let Georgia be a lesson for what will happen to Ukraine; My country’s ordeal in 2008 suggests Crimea’s referendum is a trick for Russia to cement its territorial and military grip” – Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia – The Guardian – March 15, 2014) Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia, writes in The Guardian about the crisis in Ukraine, […]

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Mistakes in some arguments given for Russia’s action [re: Ukraine]

Maidan Square file photo

Subject:  Mistakes in some arguments given for Russia’s action Date:     Fri, 14 Mar 2014 From:   Ira Straus IRASTRAUS@aol.com Mistakes in some arguments given for Russia’s action By Ira Straus U.S. Coordinator Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO A. The imagined NATO threat It is argued that the EU association agreement was a step to NATO membership, and Russia […]

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Crimea could face energy shortage, price hikes

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – March 15, 2014) Russia can supply water and electricity to the peninsula, but not immediately, which could result in problems for local residents. One of the concerns of local officials in Crimea should the peninsula decide to separate from Kiev is how to supply water and electricity […]

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Putin’s Crimea Policies Reflect His Fear of Revolutionary Change in Russia, Pavlovsky Says

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 15, 2014) What Vladimir Putin is doing in Crimea has less to do with the defense of Russia’s foreign policy interests there than with the defense of the Kremlin leader’s own position in the face of what is becoming “the Great Ukrainian-Russian Revolution,” according to Gleb Pavlovsky. In an article posted […]

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Mr. Putin’s mercenaries

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(opendemocracy.net – Roman Osharov – March 14, 2014) Roman Osharov is a Moscow-based freelance journalist. His work has appeared in Voice of America’s Russian Service, The New Times magazine and Slon.ru The Kremlin claims that its every step in Crimea fully complies with international law. But does President Putin understand that, under international law, Ukraine could either arrest or shoot […]

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Russia to Wait Until After Ukraine Elections for Loan Talks

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

MOSCOW, March 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will wait at least until after Ukraine’s presidential election on May 25 to discuss continued payments under a $15 billion loan agreement signed with the country last year, a senior official said Friday. The first $3 billion tranche of the plan was paid in December, but Moscow halted further payments due to what […]

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Russians fear possible civil war in Ukraine – poll

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Interfax – March 14, 2014) Sixty-eight percent of Russian citizens interviewed by the All Russian Center for Public Opinion Studies (VTsIOM) in March said tensions were mounting in Ukraine. Twenty-two percent of respondents believe that the situation in Ukraine has not changed either for better or worse, and 7 percent have suggested that the situation was gradually returning to normal. […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: 2014-#57 :: Saturday, 15 March 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#55 :: 13 March 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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Ukraine’s Social Media Revolution Years in the Making

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Voice of America – voanews.com – Cecily Hilleary – March 14, 2014) When a Ukrainian women’s plea for freedom went viral in February and received nearly eight million views, it demonstrated the power of social media in spreading the message of Ukraine’s political reform. Yulia Marushevska’s emotional YouTube plea spurred thousands of Ukrainians into the streets, but analysts say it […]

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Kudrin on sanctions: Western banks already closing credit lines to Russian corporate sector

Alexei Kudrin file photo

ST. PETERSBURG. March 13 (Interfax) – Former Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin is apprehensive about possible Western sanctions against Russia and said limitations in the banking sector have already begun. “I can say quite definitely: credit line limits for Russia are being closed,” said Kudrin, who is currently a member of the Presidential Economic Council. “Our corporate sector currently has […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: 2014-#55 :: Thursday, 13 March 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#55 :: 13 March 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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Statement of G-7 Leaders on Ukraine

File Photo of G8 Heads of State Outdoors in 2013

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release – March 12, 2014) We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, call on the Russian Federation to cease all efforts to change the status of Crimea […]

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Statement of Concerned Scholars Regarding the Conflict in Ukraine

Maidan Square file photo

Subject: Statement of Concerned Scholars Regarding the Conflict in Ukraine Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 From: Juliet Johnson, Prof. <juliet.johnson@mcgill.ca> Dear David, I’m writing to bring to your attention to the “Statement of Concerned Scholars Regarding the Conflict in Ukraine.” My colleague Maria Popova and I wrote this statement, and since Sunday afternoon 340 academics working on Ukrainian and Russian […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Remarks by President Obama and Ukraine Prime Minister Yatsenyuk after Bilateral Meeting

White House

(The White House – March 12, 2014 – Office of the Press Secretary) For Immediate Release Oval Office 3:30 P.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA: It is a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Yatsenyuk to the Oval Office, to the White House. I think all of us have seen the courage of the Ukrainian people in standing up on behalf of democracy […]

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Foreigners View Russia as ‘Unpredictable,’ Overseas Cooperation Head Says

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 13, 2014) Foreigners perceive Russia as “unpredictable and aggressive” and it will take Moscow years to improve on this image, the head of a state agency for overseas cooperation has said. The head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Konstantin Kosachyov, whose agency was established in part to improve Russia’s image abroad, offered no criticism of Russia’s intervention […]

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Obama Warns Putin Annexing Ukraine Will Be Costly for Russia

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Business News Europe – bne.eu – Tim Ash, Standard Bank – March 13, 2014) Pretty good summary herein of the main developments in Ukraine: [http://russialist.org/germanyeuukraine-fine-grained-response-likely-to-crimean-referendum/] A couple of things I would add: First the Kerry-Lavrov meeting today is important, as Kerry seemed to be playing hard to get earlier in the week, perhaps letting his Russian counterpart stew somewhat and […]

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GERMANY/EU/UKRAINE: Fine-grained response likely to Crimean referendum

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Business News Europe – bne.eu – Teneo Intelligence – March 13, 2014) In response to the Crimean referendum, the EU will likely move to level two of its sanctions menu. Asset freezes and travel bans will be applied only gradually, amid German unwillingness to escalate to broader economic measures. No quick fix to the crisis is expected by Berlin, amid […]

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Interfax: Head of Ukraine’s SBU provided Ukrainian special service officials’ personal files to CIA – Yakimenko

Map of Ukraine and Ukrainian Flag

MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) – Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), provided the personal files of Ukrainian special service officials to the CIA during his tenure as head of the Ukrainian Security Service in 2006-2010, Oleksandr Yakimenko, who has recently left the post of head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said. “CIA officials worked in the […]

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As Sanctions Loom, U.S. ‘Mistake’ Vulnerable to Russian Attack

File Photo of U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – March 13, 2014) The U.S. and European Union moved closer to imposing sanctions on Russia on Wednesday, as a discrepancy in a U.S. interpretation of President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric about the Ukrainian crisis opened itself up to Russian attacks. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution on Tuesday that […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: 2014-#54 :: Wednesday, 12 March 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#54 :: 12 March 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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Intellectual Property Rights Case Load Overwhelming Fledgling Court

Map of Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – March 12, 2014) Overworked and understaffed, Russia’s fledgling Intellectual Property Rights Court is watching nervously as its case load continues to climb. “Compared to analogous courts in Europe, we have a very high case load … and an increase in workload leads to the risk of a decline in the quality of […]

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New TV Show Turns Ethnic Tension Into Comedy

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – March 11, 2014) Russia’s largest television stations broadcast all over the country, bringing the same faces to Muscovites, Siberians and Caucasus natives alike. However, a new series is taking this a step further, representing Russia’s ethnic diversity in one sitcom family and confronting the controversial topic of race head on. A new […]

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Putin’s Approval Rating Rises Amid Crimean Secession Debate – RIA Novosti

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has risen 5 percent in the past week amid the ongoing crisis over the Crimean parliament’s plan to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, according to a survey published Wednesday by a state-run pollster. According to the Public Opinion Foundation, 53 percent of respondents said they would vote […]

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Russia to Select New Human Rights Ombudsman

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian parliament has tentatively decided to select the country’s new human rights ombudsman next week. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally nominated Ella Pamfilova, an outspoken Kremlin critic, for the post last month. The position, established in 1994, has powers to sue state agencies and the parliament on behalf of people whose rights have […]

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RIA Novosti Begins Cutting 1/3 of Staff

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – March 12, 2014) RIA Novosti, Russia’s largest state-owned news agency, is undergoing the final stages of its liquidation three months after President Vladimir Putin decreed its dismantlement and mandated the creation of Rossia Segodnya, a global news agency to be headed by a Kremlin loyalist. New details regarding the structure of Rossia […]

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Six stories of Russians with Ukrainian roots

Maidan Square file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vsevolod Pulya, RBTH – March 12, 2014) For many people in Russia, the current crisis in Ukraine is not just a political issue, but also a deeply personal one. The situation in Ukraine is particularly painful for many ordinary Russians because the two countries are connected not only by a common political history, […]

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Opposition planned Moscow micro-Maidan in May 2012 – activist

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

MOSCOW. March 12 (Interfax) – The convicted Left Front activist, Konstantin Lebedev, who is serving a prison term for organizing the mass disturbances in Moscow in May 6, 2012, told Moscow City Court that he and the other co-accused, Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev – were planning to stage a “micro-Maidan.” “We were prepared for mass disturbances because the micro-Maidan […]

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Major Ukrainian TV provider drops Russian channels

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – March 12, 2014) One of Ukraine’s largest television providers has announced it will suspend broadcasts of several major Russian channels, the UNN Ukrainian news agency said Wednesday. The TV provider Volya, with about 20 percent of the market, said it was notifying subscribers across the country about the service changes, UNN reported. On Tuesday, the National Television […]

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Crimean Tatars’ rights to be reinstated in case of Crimea’s annexation – Naryshkin

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Interfax -MOSCOW. March 12, 2014) The State Duma will confirm the guarantees of restoring the rights for the Crimean Tatar people in the event of Crimea’s reunification with Russia, lower house chairman Sergei Naryshkin said. “I would like to reassure them that in the event that the Crimean population decides during a free democratic referendum on Crimea’s annexation to Russia […]

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Crimean standoff sees torn loyalties added to frayed nerves

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Sevastopol – March 12, 2014) The standoff in Crimea between Russian and Ukrainian forces is seeing torn loyalties add to the pressure on Ukraine’s penned-in units, epitomized by the position of Sevastopol’s illustrious Nakhimov naval college. Head of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, 53-year-old Vice Admiral Aleksandr Vitko, the key military figure […]

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U.S. not to cut cooperation with Russia on disarmament, non-proliferation – Russian official

File Photo of Russian Nuclear Missile on Mobile Launcher Near Woods

(Interfax – MOSCOW. March 12, 2014) The United States is not ready to cut cooperation with Russia on important and strategic issues concerning disarmament and non-proliferation and the situation in Ukraine does not affect this, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department on security and disarmament, Vladislav Antonyuk, said at a meeting of the State Duma committee on security […]

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Putin’s Failure in Crimea

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Paul Goble* – Staunton, March 12, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his supporters in Moscow and the West are explaining and justifying his invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea in various ways and celebrating the divisions and weaknesses of the West that it has highlighted, but in every case, they are treating it as a geopolitical victory for the Kremlin. They […]

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Who’s next on Putin’s list?

Vladimir Putin file photo

(opendemocracy.net – Agnia Grigas – March 12, 2014) Crimea is under the control of Russia’s military forces and its Moscow-backed government is voting to secede from Ukraine.  Where might President Vladimir Putin seek territorial expansion next? Agnia Grigas served as an advisor in the Lithuanian government. She consults for multinational corporations investing in emerging markets and is the author of […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List contents with links :: 2014-#53 :: Tuesday, 11 March 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#53 :: 11 March 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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Why do most Russian women hate feminism?

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Diana Bruk, special to RBTH – March 7, 2014) Russian women don’t see the point of feminism – and maybe they have a point. Diana Bruk is a Russian-American journalist based in New York. It would probably surprise no foreigner who has ever visited Russia that a 2004 Kinsey study described Russian society […]

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Politics trumps & thumps economics

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Chris Weafer, Macro-Advisory – March 11, 2014) “Sanctions and boycotts would be tied to serious political dialogue” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi We have cut our growth forecast to 1% for 2014, and revised some other macro forecasts partly because of the uncertainty and disruption caused by the Ukraine crisis but also reflecting the […]

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Ukraine’s Increasing Polarization and the Western Challenge

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(stratfor.com – Geopolitical Weekly – Eugene Chausovsky – March 11, 2014) Just days before the Ukrainian crisis broke out, I took an overnight train to Kiev from Sevastopol in Crimea. Three mechanics in their 30s on their way to jobs in Estonia shared my compartment. All ethnic Russians born and raised in Sevastopol, they have made the trip to the […]

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Crimea Tatar head threatens partisan movement if Russia annexes

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Bakhchysarai – March 11, 2014)  Given the collapse of Kyiv’s power on the Crimean peninsula, the Tatar population remains a bulwark of resistance to the plans of Crimea’s Kremlin-backed secessionist leadership to join Russia. bne visited the heartland of Crimean Tatars at Bakhchysarai and spoke to its leader, Ilmi Umerov, who […]

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Crimean parliament offers broader rights to Crimean Tatars – Interfax

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

SIMFEROPOL. March 11 (Interfax) – The Crimean parliament has passed a resolution on guarantees of the restoration of the Crimean Tatar people’s rights and their integration into the Crimean Community, which proposes broadening the rights of the deported ethnic group considerably in the autonomous republic’s new constitution. Eighty-one Crimean parliamentary deputies voted in support of the resolution on Tuesday, the […]

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World Bank Pledges $3 Billion Loan to Ukraine for Reforms

Maidan Square file photo

MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) – The World Bank announced Tuesday that it will provide up to $3 billion to support reforms in Ukraine, which is struggling to put its economy back on track amid political turbulence. The lender said that restoring economic stability, strengthening the banking sector, reforming the energy sector, tackling corruption, enhancing investment and improving social assistance […]

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Lavrov Not Satisfied With U.S. Proposals on Ukraine

Sergei Lavrov file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – March 11, 2014) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Russia and the West were continuing to butt heads over the Ukraine situation after the U.S. submitted “unsatisfactory” proposals based on the notion that there was a “conflict between Russia and Ukraine.” At a meeting with Putin […]

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Ousted Ukrainian President Warns of Civil War – RIA Novosti

Viktor Yanukovych file photo

MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) – Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych warned on Tuesday that “dark forces” are working to foment civil war in the troubled former Soviet nation. During a short address in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, Yanukovych insisted that he not only remains Ukraine’s president, but that he is also still the head of the armed […]

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Interfax: Yanukovych blames Ukraine’s current authorities for Crimea’s separation

Viktor Yanukovych file photo

ROSTOV-ON-DON. March 11 (Interfax) – Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, said that the socioeconomic situation will deteriorate in Ukraine under the current government and that he does not bear responsibility for Crimea’s “separation from Ukraine.” “The socioeconomic situation will seriously deteriorate soon, which will deal a direct blow to the people of Ukraine. Those who have usurped power will try to […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: 2014-#52 :: Monday, 10 March 2014

St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#52 :: 10 March 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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Crimean authorities say Ukrainian Defense Ministry units quartered in Crimea disobey Kyiv – Interfax

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

SIMFEROPOL. March 10 (Interfax) – The units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry quartered in Crimea are off-the-line and do not obey orders of Kyiv, Crimea’s First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev told Interfax on Monday. “Almost all military units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry located in Crimea are under control, joint patrolling of storages with arms is being held and […]

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