RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#39 :: Thursday, 5 March 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#39 :: Thursday, 5 March 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. TASS: Putin spotlights Kaspersky as Russia’s potential answer to Elon Musk.
2. Kremlin.ru: On support to talented youth (TASS interview) [http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/62937] [Video with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=33&v=brS_o-PKcfk&feature=emb_title]
3. www.rt.com: ‘We’re beating the competition & outperforming everyone’ – Putin praises Russia’s nuclear technology prowess – rt.com/russia/482395-putin-russia-nuclear-technology-competition/
4. TASS: Russia does its utmost to create conditions for young specialists, Kremlin says.
5. TASS: Putin says economic situation not ideal, but stability serves as basis for development.
6. No Yardstick: András Tóth-Czifra, Russia’s territorial integrity and the constitution.
7. TASS: Bogus stories start coming from overseas when Russia faces emergencies – Kremlin.
8. Riddle: Ivan Davydov, Sometimes, even Russia’s protesters can win. Ivan Davydov considers why and how protests against political repressions sometimes work.
9. Foreign Affairs: Stephen Sestanovich, The Day After Putin. Russia’s Deep State Holds the Key to Succession.
10. Russian Life: Ranking Russia’s Regions.
11. TASS: Russian scientists plan to study permafrost thawing in coastal Arctic.
12. Reuters: Coronavirus Hits Russian Tourism for $400M Loss. Tour operators warn of an “unprecedented situation” which could put industry on brink of collapse.
13. Moscow Times: Ben Aris, Russian Businesses Show Few Signs of Coronavirus Hit, For Now. Bellwether PMI readings show business conditions holding steady, but deterioration still likely.
14. Riddle: Coronavirus and the rouble. Vladislav Inozemtsev on how the coronavirus is affecting the Russian economy.
15. S&P Global: Russian oil companies, state budget more resilient to oil price volatility than in 2016.
16. www.rt.com: OPEC agrees biggest oil production cut since 2008 financial crisis, but only if Russia joins.
17. Wall Street Journal: Russia Opposes Saudi Plan for Drastic Oil Cuts. OPEC and its chief oil market ally remain far apart on a possible response to coronavirus.
18. Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (Israel): Emil Avdaliani, Russia’s Troubles in 2020 Will Be Close to Home.
19. TASS: Izvestia: Moscow hopes to put an end to escalation in Idlib.
20. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Can Putin and Erdoğan once again keep their countries from going to war? Both in Russia and in Turkey, decision-making comes down to the man at the top. So with the two countries alarmingly close to war in Syria, it will be up to Mr. Putin and Mr. Erdoğan to ease tensions once again.
21. www.rt.com: Neboisa Malic, Putin-Erdogan summit: Prelude to Russo-Turkish clash or last best hope for Syrian peace? – rt.com/news/482359-putin-erdogan-summit-idlib/
22. The National Interest: Dimitri Alexander Simes, Can Russia and Turkey Step Back from the Brink in Syria? Moscow has sometimes miscalculated Ankara’s reaction to the conflict next door. That oversight has created friction between the two countries in the past. But those grievances are likely to be set aside when Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan meet on March 5.
23. Valdai Discussion Club: Andrei Baklanov, Idlib: When the Objectives of the Parties Do Not Coincide. – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/idlib-when-objectives-of-the-parties/
24. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, Empires of the steppes fuel Erdogan Khan’s dreams. As Putin meeting looms, no one in Moscow believes any word, promise or cajoling from Erdogan anymore.
25. London Review of Books: Like a Ball of Fire. They mean to deploy a weapon that doesn’t work against a threat that doesn’t exist that was in turn developed to counter an equally non-existent threat. Andrew Cockburn on hypersonic weaponry. (excerpt)
26. Meduza: On the border . How the Russian region most intertwined with China is coping economically amid the coronavirus outbreak.
27. Russia Matters: Steven Pifer, Contending With-Not Accepting-Spheres of Influence.
28. Eurasianet.org: Ivan U. Klyszcz, Book review | Piketty on Eurasia. Every society in history has justified inequality. In today’s Russia the ideological framework was adopted in a hurry, argues the famed economist.
29. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, NEW MH17 LEAK – DUTCH PROSECUTORS HAVE RECEIVED NO US SATELLITE EVIDENCE OF THE SHOOT-DOWN BY A BUK MISSILE – johnhelmer.net/new-mh17-leak-dutch-prosecutors-have-received-no-us-satellite-evidence-of-the-shoot-down-by-a-buk-missile/print/
30. TASS: No evidence of Russia’s involvement in Salisbury incident seen two years later – embassy.
31. OffGuardian: Kit Knightly, The Skripal Case – Two Years On.
32. www.rt.com: Simon Rite, Salisbury poisoning unleashed Russian bogeyman … but where are the Skripals 2 years on? – rt.com/op-ed/482319-skripals-britain-russia-poisoning-spy/
33. Intellinews.com: Zelenskiy shakes up Ukraine’s parliament, Prime Minister Honcharuk ousted.
34. Atlantic Council: Melinda Haring, Ze end?
35. http://thesaker.is: G.J. Eliason, LDNR State Building- Education Series- Interview with Donetsk National Technical University Deputy Director Sergey Dzhura – thesaker.is/ldnr-state-building-education-series-interview-with-donetsk-national-technical-university-deputy-director-sergey-dzhura/
36. Washington Examiner: Eddie Scarry, Democrats have benefited from Russia more than Republicans.
37. The Hill: As Biden surges, GOP Ukraine probe moves to the forefront.
38. The Federalist: Hemingway: If Bloomberg Couldn’t Buy 2020, How Could Russia Buy 2016?
39. AP: Report: Russian Social Accounts Sow Election Discord-Again.
40. London Review of Books: Sheila Fitzpatrick, Emigrés on the Make. Perhaps Soviet dissent was always less remarkable as an actual political movement in the domestic context than for the magnified reflection it gained in international media.
41. Twitter: Sabra Ayres, Los Angeles Times closing Moscow bureau.

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