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Putin’s Beneficiaries, Impossibility of Reform, Russian Special Services in D.C.

The Russian media roundup, February 3-9, 2018

Details: 09 February 2018

In this week’s roundup, New Times profiles the key beneficiaries of Putin’s fourth-term presidency; Alexander Baunov outlines why genuine reforms after Putin’s re-election are impossible; Vladimir Frolov discusses the recent unprecedented visit of the three heads of the Russian special services to Washington; Pavel Chikov details the encroachment of Russian state regulation on the Internet; and Pavel Aptekar examines the growing prestige of the “chekist” profession.

Details: Law

Verbal Strategies from Kosovo to Crimea. Part One

How the Kremlin uses the language of international law as a foreign policy tool

Details: 06 February 2018; Thomas Hodson

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 has become a turning point for the Kremlin’s relationship with the West. While inside Russia the event is largely viewed as a “restoration of historical justice,” in the West it is perceived as a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and essentially as the first rewriting of Europe’s borders since World War II. As Russia’s belligerent behavior in the international arena continues to raise concerns, Russia analyst Thomas Hodson investigates the Kremlin’s attempts to manipulate the language of international law to justify its actions.

Details: Media Must-Reads

Kremlin Report, Voters’ Strike, “Death of Stalin”

Russian media roundup, January 27 – February 2, 2018

Details: 02 February 2018

In this week’s roundup, Alexander Baunov and Ekaterina Schulman analyze the U.S. Treasury’s “Kremlin report,” The New Times writes about the meaning and consequences of the January 28 protest in Russia; Alexander Rubtsov discusses the recent reforms in the field of science that shocked members of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Sergei Medvedev explains why the Russian authorities banned Armando Iannucci’s latest comedy titled “The Death of Stalin.”

Details: Opinions

Daniel Fried: “This List Is a Missed Opportunity”

Details: 01 February 2018; Olga Khvostunova

Imrussia.org's editor-in-chief Olga Khvostunova spoke with Daniel Fried, distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, former State Department's Coordinator for Sanctions Policy, about the contents and the meaning of the "Kremlin report," which was released by the U.S. Treasury on January 29.

Details: Event Briefings

How to Succeed in the Art of Sanctions

Details: 01 February 2018; Olga Khvostunova

On January 30, following the release of the U.S. Treasury’s “Kremlin report,” the Harriman Institute (Columbia University) held a discussion on a timely book titled The Art of Sanctions with the author Richard Nephew and former Coordinator for Sanctions Policy Daniel Fried, who discussed U.S. sanctions and the Treasury’s “Kremlin report.”

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