RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#4 :: Thursday, 7 January 2021
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 2021-#4 :: Thursday, 7 January 2021
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. Kremlin.ru: Christmas greetings.
2. Kremlin.ru: Answer to a journalist’s question.
3. Moscow Times: Russians’ Economic Optimism at Two-Decade Low – Poll
4. Meduza: ‘Of course I like Putin’. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s ‘Solovyov Live’ interview, in brief
5. TASS: West does not see Russia as equal partner: this is fracture point in relations – Peskov – tass.com/politics/1242441
6. Moscow Times: Jake Cordell, Russia in 2021: Will the Economy Recover? Russia’s economy is handling the coronavirus better than most. But austerity, bruised businesses and cautious consumers set the stage for a slow recovery.
7. rt.com: Germany may set up special fund to fend off Russia’s Nord Stream 2 from sweeping US sanctions – rt.com/business/511774-germany-fund-nord-stream/
8. TASS: Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction to resume in Danish waters January 15.
9. TASS: Russia’s coronavirus spread rate plunges to lowest level since this spring – tass.com/russia/1242497
10. The Times (UK): Angela Merkel mulls Russian answer to EU coronavirus vaccine bottleneck.
11. Paul Goble: Moscow Drops Plans for Foreign Language Requirement for Secondary School Graduation
12. Andrei Liakhov: PUTIN AND THE WEST. A view of an unengaged observer.
13. Intellinews: Mark Galeotti, Scope for limited progress under Biden, so long as the past remains the past. Joe Biden is drawing heavily on the Obama-era team to staff the US State Department. That could be a good thing or a bad thing.
14. Valdai Discussion Club: More Government Needed: Top International Trends in 2021. The trend over the past few years has been towards the return of nationalism, protectionism and great-power rivalry based on power and geopolitical struggles. The pandemic only reinforces this trend, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Andrey Sushentsov – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/more-government-control-in-need-top-international/
15. Valdai Discussion Club: 2020: Stable Trends in an Unstable World. The attack on China can be considered one of the pillars of outgoing President Trump’s foreign policy. At the same time, the policy of containing the PRC was formed even before Trump’s arrival at the White House. Key problems that stimulate the US containment policy towards China have existed openly or latently before, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Ivan Timofeev – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/2020-stable-trends-in-an-unstable-world/
16. Reminiscence of the Future…: Andrei Martyanov, Still Sending Messages – smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2021/01/still-sending-messages.html
17. Moon of Alabama: How Trump ‘Appeased’ Russia – moonofalabama.org/2021/01/how-trump-appeased-russia.html
18. Twitter: Ben Rhodes, “This is the day that Vladimir Putin has waited for since he had to leave East Germany as a young KGB officer at the end of the Cold War.”
19. rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, Renowned ABBA fan Putin tipped by Western media to invade Sweden. Will he start WWIII just to force legendary group to reunite? – rt.com/russia/511683-putin-abba-invade-sweden/
20. Wall Street Journal: Russian Aggression Spurs Neighbors to Rebuild Defenses. Sweden has overturned decades of its own defense and foreign policy to strengthen its military and tighten ties with the U.S.
21. rt.com: Russia says American system ‘archaic’ & not up to ‘modern democratic standards’ after rioters raid Washington’s Capitol building.
22. Moscow Times: Putin Silent on Washington Unrest as Russian Foreign Ministry Calls U.S. Electoral System Archaic.
23. Newlines Magazine: Simon Ostrovsky, How Azerbaijan Won the Karabakh War. And how Russia won the peace, if it can keep it – newlinesmag.com/reportage/how-azerbaijan-won-the-karabakh-war/
24. Financial Times: Energy deals point to thawing of Belarus-Russia relations. Moscow’s attitude towards Minsk had cooled in wake of protests against Lukashenko.
