RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#137 :: Thursday, 30 July 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#137 :: Thursday, 30 July 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. UnHerd: Mary Dejevsky, Is Putin loosening his grip on Russia’s regions? Protests in Khabarovsk could herald big changes to the way the nation is run.
2. Russia Matters: Benjamin Denison, Where U.S. Sees Democracy Promotion, Russia Sees Regime Change
3. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, The ultimate high ground: Russia and US try to set rules for space weapons. When it comes to combat in space, there are no agreed-upon rules. Last week’s alleged anti-satellite weapon test by Russia highlights the need for space-going nations to reach an understanding on orbital militarization.
4. Wall Street Journal: Russia Seeks to Register First Covid-19 Vaccine in August. Country has tested soldiers, shortened trial times to be first to create a vaccine.
5. TASS: Izvestia: Second COVID-19 wave in Russia could start at universities.
6. RFE/RL: Ex-Trump Adviser Says Putin Living In A ‘Bubble,’ Out Of Fresh Ideas To Move Russia Forward. (Fiona Hill)
7. Kennan Institute: The Putin Profile: A Conversation with Dr. Fiona Hill. (Video)
8. Wall Street Journal: In Russia’s Far East, Putin Faces Protests From People Who Rarely Protested Before. Khabarovsk residents demonstrate over what they see as Moscow’s heavy hand, following the arrest of a popular governor.
9. stalkerzone.org: Why Are Bandit Governors Being Removed Only Now, And Not 10-15 Years Ago? – stalkerzone.org/why-are-bandit-governors-being-removed-only-now-and-not-10-15-years-ago/ [See also “The Truth About “Massive Protests” in Khabarovsk”: stalkerzone.org/the-truth-about-massive-protests-in-khabarovsk/]
10. Opendemocracy.net: How Russia’s doctors are dealing with the psychological strain of COVID-19. For several months, Russian medics have been living with the constant stress of coronavirus. The Ministry of Health is talking about providing psychological help, but most doctors aren’t ready to talk to specialists.
11. rt.com: Half of all Russians believe NASA faked moon landings & 2% think Earth is flat – new study.
12. Russia International Affairs Council: Vasily Kuznetsov, Are We Closer to Justice When We Are Further Away from Freedom? – russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/are-we-closer-to-justice-when-we-are-further-away-from-freedom/
13. The Guardian: Liberalism is facing a crisis and it’s a cop-out to blame China and Russia, analyst claims. Western leaders like to blame the global disorder on an increasingly assertive China and disruptive Russia but ‘the principal threat lies closer to home’, the Lowy Institute’s Bobo Lo writes.
14. Asia Times: Russia may be withholding missile deliveries to China. Moscow has reputedly stalled on shipping S-400 mobile missile defense systems to Beijing as ties strained by various controversies.
15. Intellinews: Who are the 33 Russian mercenaries arrested in Minsk?. There is a lot of confusion over what 33 Russian mercenaries were doing in Minsk. Were they there to destabilise the country ahead of the presidential elections or just on their way to a war in Africa?
16. Meduza: Belarus arrested 33 Russian mercenaries outside of Minsk today. Here’s what we know, so far.
17. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Belarus Arrests 32 Wagnerites – unz.com/akarlin/belarus-arrests-32-wagnerites/
18. stalkerzone.org: Why 33 Russian Citizens Were Detained in Belarus – stalkerzone.org/why-33-russian-citizens-were-detained-in-belarus/
19. BMB Ukraine: [link goes to entire archived email newsletter issue:] Rating Group: 68% of Ukrainians believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
20. Kyiv Post: David Kirichenko, Ukrainian Americans should rethink their support for Trump
21. European Council on Foreign Affairs: Kadri Liik, Why analysts in Moscow dismiss the UK Parliament’s Russia report.
22. War on the Rocks: Mark Galeotti, TEN SUGGESTIONS FOR A ‘RUSSIA STRATEGY’ FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM – warontherocks.com/2020/07/ten-suggestions-for-a-russia-strategy-for-the-united-kingdom/
23. Facebook: Fred Weir, Re “Report: U.S. Officials Say Russia-Backed Websites Spread Coronavirus Disinformation”
24. Moon of Alabama: U.S. Officials Disseminate Disinformation About ‘Virus Disinformation’ – moonofalabama.org/2020/07/us-officials-disseminate-disinformation-about-virus-disinformation.html#more
25. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, MI6 CHIEF YOUNGER FOLLOWS CABINET AND NATIONAL SECURITY CHIEF SEDWILL OUT THE DOOR – SECOND SKRIPAL PLOTTER HAS BEEN OUSTED – johnhelmer.net/mi6-chief-younger-follows-cabinet-and-national-security-chief-sedwill-out-the-door-second-skripal-plotter-has-been-ousted/print/
26. Consortium News: Tony Kevin, Bellicose anti-China and anti-Russian Rhetoric is Meant for Us, Not Them . As in the dystopian novel 1984, Western propaganda that seems aimed at Moscow and Beijing is really intended for the citizens of the so-called Free World – consortiumnews.com/2020/07/29/opinion-bellicose-anti-china-and-anti-russian-rhetoric-is-meant-for-us-not-them/
27. Washington Post: Max Boot, In a new interview, Trump again shows that he’s Putin’s puppet.
28. Just Security: Michael Carpenter, Why is Trump Turning a Blind Eye to Russia’s Covert Warfare? [Biden’s Russia expert: justsecurity.org/author/carpentermichael/]

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