RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#102 :: Monday, 8 June 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#102 :: Monday, 8 June 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.
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1. Intellinews: Ben Aris, Something for everyone in Russia’s National Plan for Economic Recovery. The Kremlin has been very cautious in rolling out an economic stimulus package to deal with the coronacrisis, but the new plan calls for 10% of GDP spending and tax breaks.
2. TASS: Most Russians support amendments to Constitution, Kremlin says.
3. Bloomberg: Putin Plan to Extend Rule Played Down in Kremlin Vote Pitch.
4. Moscow Times: Which Coronavirus Restrictions Is Moscow Lifting?
5. www.rt.com: Russia’s airlines plan to resume international flights from July 15 – reports.
6. AP: Russian Orthodox priest tends to Moscow’s COVID-19 patients.
7. ORF (Observer Research Foundation-India): Viktoriia Ivanchenko, Fatigue and slow return to normal life: Russia in a new phase of epidemic.
8. Interfax: Heat, sun unlikely to have strong effect on coronavirus – academy member.
9. TASS: Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Cleanup of Arctic oil spill may take months.
10. Bloomberg: Giant Spill in Russia Offers a Glimpse of the Arctic’s Future. A diesel spill that has been likened to the Exxon Valdez disaster could accelerate the thaw of permafrost in the region.
11. TASS: Kommersant: Loosened lockdown leads to boost in Russia’s consumer demand.
12. Moscow Times: Russia’s Shops Reopen Their Doors, But Customers Only Trickle In. Tills are starting to ring as Russia’s lockdown eases, but business owners expect revenues to stay lower for longer.
13. Valdai Discussion Club: Yaroslav Lissovolik, New Economic Paradigms on the Back of the Global Crisis – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/new-economic-paradigms-on-the-back/
14. www.rt.com: ‘US, Europe getting back SAME CHAOS they’ve sown around the world’ – Russia’s FM spokeswoman on riots in America.
15. Foreign Policy: MARIA SNEGOVAYA, DENIS VOLKOV, STEPAN GONCHAROV, The Coronavirus Could Hit Putin Most of All. New surveys show a surprising decline in the Russian president’s popularity. The pandemic will accelerate a trend of mistrust in the Kremlin.
16. Wall Street Journal: Putin’s Global Ambitions Are Upended by Coronavirus’s Heavy Toll in Russia. Russian president’s efforts to showcase the country’s strength abroad backfired amid virus troubles at home.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/putins-global-ambitions-are-upended-by-coronaviruss-heavy-toll-in-russia-11591444801?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=11
17. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: NATO could target Russia from the Arctic.
18. Moskovsky Komsomolets: Daily views Russian General Staff response to US, Nato ‘provocation’
19. Defense One: Russia Puts Defensive Face on Its Nuclear Doctrine Ahead of Arms-Control Negotiations. Moscow’s new strategic-arms decree appears to be an attempt to win advantage whether New START lives on or not.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/06/russia-puts-defensive-face-its-nuclear-doctrine-ahead-arms-control-negotiations/165974/
20. The National Interest: Dimitri Alexander Simes, Is Putin Planning for an Arms Control Showdown? Amid the uncertainty surrounding the New START Treaty, nuclear tensions between the United States and Russia are starting to rise.
21. Russia in Global Affairs: Anton Khlopov and Anastasia Shavrova, FIVE STEPS TOWARDS A NEW START EXTENSION. SPECIFICS OF THE RUSSIAN EXTENSION PROCEDURE. (excerpt) – eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/five-steps-new-start/
22. TASS: Germany under colossal pressure from US over energy policy towards Russia – diplomat.
23. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, A Pipelineistan fable for our times. Ukraine was supposed to prevent Russia from deepening energy ties with Germany; it didn’t work out that way.
24. Awful Avalanche: Today’s Geography Lesson: The Vistula Spit – Part I – awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2020/06/08/todays-geography-lesson-the-vistula-spit-part-i/
25. Infobrics: Russian diplomats expelled from Czechia because of likely fake news story – infobrics.org/post/31070/
26. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, REMINISCENCES OF SOVIET HISTORY – irrussianality.wordpress.com/2020/06/06/reminiscences-of-soviet-history/comment-page-1/#comment-32815
27. Indian Punchline: M.K. Bhadrakumar, ‘German question’ back on centerstage
28. The American Conservative: Andrew Bacevich, Party Leaders: Comrade Leonid, Comrade Donald. Recently released papers by Leonid Brezhnev’s top Soviet advisor reads like a foreshadowing of our current moment.
29. Forbes: David Axe, Before Donald Trump, Russia Needed 60 Hours To Beat NATO – Now Moscow Could Win Much Faster.
30. Moscow Times: Skripals Relocate to New Zealand Following Russian Poisoning Attempt – Reports.
31. www.rt.com: ‘They’re still at Porton Down’: Skripal’s niece doesn’t trust reports of poisoned ex-spy & daughter moving to New Zealand.
32. Consortium News: Joe Lauria, Facebook Singles Out State Media of US Adversaries for a Warning . Ignoring state-owned media in nations allied with the U.S., Facebook is attaching a warning label to state media from countries the U.S. doesn’t like. – consortiumnews.com/2020/06/06/facebook-singles-out-state-media-of-us-adversaries-for-a-warning/

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