RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#22 :: Friday, 31 January 2020

January 31, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL Tables of Contents

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#22 :: Friday, 31 January 2020
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1. www.rt.com: First two cases of coronavirus confirmed in Russia, both Chinese citizens.
2. Interfax: Aeroflot to keep all regular flights to China despite coronavirus.
3. Interfax: Russia divided over goals of constitutional reform – Levada Center.
4. AP: Putin vows to give voters a say on constitutional changes.
5. TASS: Putin can opt not to sign constitutional amendments if citizens don’t back them.
6. Moscow Times: 1 in 4 Russians Want Putin Presidency Beyond 2024 – Poll.
7. Vedomosti: Putin’s constitutional proposals seen weakening authoritarian system.
8. BBC Monitoring: About half of Russians approve of new premier – poll.
9. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Russian PM Mishustin and Finance Minister Siluanov move to curb powers of First Deputy PM Belousov.
10. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrei Kolesnikov and Denis Volkov, Russians’ Growing Appetite for Change. If the thirst for political change continues to gain momentum in Russia, a full-scale demand for political freedoms and alternatives may emerge quite soon.
11. The American Prospect: Robert Kuttner, Was Putin Inevitable?. How policy blunders under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush helped bring about a post-communist Russia hostile to democracy, free markets, and the West. (excerpt)
12. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Our Russia in Data.
13. Meduza: By the numbers: The real scope of domestic violence in Russia.
14. Moscow Times: Russia to Drop Murder Charges Against Sisters Who Killed Abusive Father, Lawyers Say.
15. Interfax: ROC supports idea of defining marriage as union between a man and a woman in Constitution – synodal dept head.
16. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 30 JANUARY 2020.
17. Moscow Times: 30 Years of Big Mac Prices Shine Light on Russia’s Economy. From the most expensive burger in the world to the cheapest: What do Big Mac prices tell us about the Russian economy?
18. RFE/RL: McDonald’s Cancels Big Mac’s 30th Birthday In Russia Over Virus Fears.
19. Washington Post: McDonald’s made its Soviet debut 30 years ago. Its golden arches were a gateway to Western influence.
20. Kennan Institute: Victoria Pardini, Russian Higher Education’s Identity Crisis.
21. Intellinews.com: Russian winter crop in unusually good shape, on course to harvest 122mn tonnes of grain.
22. Moscow Times/Barents Observer: Russia Steps into Oil-Free Future With New Arctic Research Station. The Snowflake research station will be fully fueled by hydrogen and is being built as Russia prepares to take over the chair of the Arctic.
23. Financial Times: Sophy Roberts, Into the unknown: could Siberia be travel’s hot new destination? A region long synonymous with exile and imprisonment is now attracting willing – and wealthy – visitors.
24. Financial Times: Coronavirus: closure of Russia-China border sparks trade fears. Move intended to stop spread of coronavirus risks hitting bilateral trade worth $110bn last year.
25. AP: Russian government suspends troubled track federation.
26. Russia Beyond: Russians in the UK are greeting Brexit with a mixture of hope and concern.
27. Russian Insider/Chronicles: Srdia Trifkovic, US Policy of Confronting Both Russia and China Has Backfired, the Solution Is to Repair Relations With Russia.
28. Indian Punchline: M.K. Bhadrakumar, Moscow pips Pompeo at the Syrian post.
29. Moscow Times: Vladimir Frolov, Goodbye, Palestine! Why Trump’s ‘Peace Deal’ Is Good for Moscow. Trump’s Middle East peace plan pushes for recognition of annexed territories – a welcome precedent for Russia’s hold over Crimea.
30. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI): Russian Reactions To The ‘Deal Of The Century’
31. www.thekomisarscoop.com: Lucy Komisar, Danish Press Board says report on Browder lies & tax evasion is true. (excerpt)
32. Dances With BearsL John Helmer, NEW POLICE DISCLOSURE: SERGEI SKRIPAL’S HOME ISN’T HIS CASTLE, IT’S THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S. (excerpt)
33. Project Syndicate: Konstantin Sonin, Ukraine Beyond the Impeachment Headlines. Ukraine’s image is suffering from negative coverage surrounding the impeachment hearings of US President Donald Trump. Yet, while the country remains poor and corruption is rife, voters have overwhelmingly backed far-reaching political and economic change, and a new generation of leadership is committed to delivering it.