RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2020-#177 :: Tuesday, 29 September 2020

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net

Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php
Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter]

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#177 :: Tuesday, 29 September 2020
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 Home: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi
Support for JRL is provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to the George Washington University and by voluntary contributions from readers.

1. Sputnik: US Doctors Express Interest in Sputnik V, Russian Direct Investment Fund Says – sputniknews.com/russia/202009291080607201-us-doctors-express-interest-in-russia-sputnik-v/
2. Meduza: Putting it to the test. Russia’s Constitutional Court agrees to hear challenge against state-imposed coronavirus self-isolation measures.
3. TASS: Battle against coronavirus in Russia continues, Putin cautions.
4. TASS: Putin intends to get inoculated against COVID-19.
5. TASS: Vedomosti: Businesses not ready for return of lockdown restrictions.
6. Paul Goble: Pandemic has Pushed 6.1 Percent of Middle-Class Russians into Poverty, HSE Experts Say.
7. rt.com: Graham Dockery, Oxford University anonymously interviews RT journos, reveals we have ‘doubts about the West.’ In other news, water is wet – rt.com/op-ed/501973-rt-oxford-propaganda-study/
9. Kremlin.ru: Expanded State Council Presidium meeting. The President held a videoconference meeting of the State Council Presidium on implementing the Executive Order on national development goals until 2030 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/64105
10. NYU Jordan Center: Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, Identity Politics and the Reality of Pandemic-Era Russia: A Clash in the Making.
11. Moscow Times: How Will a Second Wave Affect Russia’s Economy? The damage won’t be as devastating, but the long-term impacts will linger.
12. rt.com: Russian ruble will recover despite current volatility, Kremlin says.
13. TASS: Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Oil consumption to return to pre-crisis levels in two to three years.
14. TASS: Russia overcomes dependency on Ukraine, NATO for military products – Deputy PM.
15. Foreign Affairs: Robert David English and Morgan Grant Gardner, Phantom Peril in the Arctic. Russia Doesn’t Threaten the United States in the Far North – But Climate Change Does.
16. Sputnik: Explained: Why Azerbaijan and Armenia are Clashing Over Nagorno-Karabakh – sputniknews.com/world/202009291080609723-explained-why-azerbaijan-and-armenia-are-clashing-over-nagorno-karabakh/
17. rt.com: Paul Robinson, Renewed Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict a new threat to Russia’s delicate balancing act with key player Turkey – rt.com/russia/501967-karabakh-conflict-russia-turkey-relations/
18. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia relies on soft power in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
19. Carnegie Moscow Center: Sergei Markedonov, Nagorno-Karabakh: A Flare-Up, or All-Out War? The most likely scenario amid renewed clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a battle for small and not particularly important pockets of land, allowing for the symbolic declaration of a victory. But raising the bar in a conflict makes it very difficult to stop as planned.
20. Asia Times; Richard Giragosian, Caucasus conflict heralds clash of the titans. Russia, Turkey and Iran all have big vested interests in the budding armed conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.
21. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Russia’s Options in Artsakh War II – unz.com/akarlin/russias-options-in-artsakh-war/
22. South Front: ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI WAR RAGES IN SOUTH CAUCASUS – southfront.org/armenian-azerbaijani-war-rages/
23. Facebook: Maxim Edwards, Armenia/Azerbaijan conflict.
24. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Russian & Ukrainian Attitudes to Belarus Maidan – unz.com/akarlin/russian-ukrainian-attitudes-to-belarus-maidan/
25. TASS: Russian intelligence head says CIA, Pentagon implicated in Belarus unrest.
26. Carnegie Moscow Center: Konstantin Skorkin, Revenge Voting: Ukraine Prepares to Go to the Polls. For Zelensky’s team, used to winning landslide victories, the outcome of the upcoming local elections will be dispiriting and will fan the flames of internal strife.
27. Kyiv Post: Trump puts Hunter Biden, Ukraine in center of U.S. election.
28. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, MH17 TRIAL JUDGE RULES TO KEEP EVIDENCE OF RUSSIAN GUILT SECRET; DEFENSE LAWYER AGREES RUSSIAN MUST PROVE INNOCENCE – johnhelmer.net/mh17-trial-judge-rules-to-keep-evidence-of-russian-guilt-secret-defence-lawyer-agrees-russian-must-prove-innocence/print/
29. Counterpunch; Roger Harris, NYT Releases Sequel of Putin-the-Poisoner: the Incredulous Case of Mr. N. – counterpunch.org/2020/09/29/nyt-releases-sequel-of-putin-the-poisoner-the-incredulous-case-of-mr-n/
30. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Russians Would (Unenthusiastically) Vote for Trump – unz.com/akarlin/russians-would-unenthusiastically-vote-for-trump/
31. Facebook: Fred Weir, Trump’s taxes and Russia.
32. technarrativelab.org: Defending the 2020 US Elections and beyond: Hunting Russian Trolls on Twitter and Reddit with AI.
33. scheerpost.com: Danny Sjurse, Discredited Russian Bounty Story Exposes Media’s Role in Status Quo. The military says they can’t find evidence to support it, yet the New York Times and others have not repudiated the reports or issued corrections.
34. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrey Sushentsov, The Foreign Policy Dimension of the US Presidential Election – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-foreign-policy-dimension-of-the-us/