RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#55 :: Thursday, 26 March 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#55 :: Thursday, 26 March 2020
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1. Russia Beyond: Overcoming the crisis, the Russian way – rbth.com/lifestyle/331893-overcoming-crisis-russian-way
2. TASS: At the helm: 20 years ago, Putin was elected as Russia’s president for first time – tass.com/politics/1135625
3. Reuters: Putin Says Russia Can Defeat Coronavirus in Less Than Three Months.
4. Meduza: Russia’s government cabinet asks Parliament for the power to declare a national emergency in an epidemic.
5. TASS: No need to impose lockdown in Russia, WHO official says.
6. TASS: All shops except grocery stores to be closed in Moscow until April 5.
7. www.rt.com: Moscow bans all regular, charter flights starting March 27, except those bringing Russians home.
8. TASS: Kommersant: Putin postpones nationwide vote on constitutional amendments.
9. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Putin Sends Russians on One Week Holiday. But What Next? – unz.com/akarlin/putin-sends-russians-on-one-week-holiday-but-what-next/
10. www.rt.com: Artyom Lukin, Covid-19 is Putin’s perfect storm – his response, not the constitutional referendum, will decide his political future – rt.com/op-ed/484152-covid-putin-political-future/
11. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Is Russia’s healthcare system up to dealing with the coronavirus? The number of hospitals in Russia has halved over the last decade as part of a healthcare reform. Now the Kremlin is rushing to build new ones to cope with an expected explosion of coronavirus infections.
12. Opendemocracy.net: Coronavirus could crash Russia’s already overstretched healthcare system. Russia’s healthcare system was already working at full capacity before coronavirus. We spoke to one of the people organising Russian healthcare workers on workloads, optimisation and wages.
13. www.rt.com: Russian experts warn of increase in domestic violence & other crimes during coronavirus quarantine.
14. Moscow Times: ‘Nuclear Reaction’: Russian Medics Warn of ‘Explosive’ Coronavirus Spread.
15. Meduza: Bankrolling Russia’s relief program . Putin has proposed sweeping tax cuts to shore up vulnerable businesses as coronavirus cripples the economy, but a lot more might be needed and it’s unclear who would foot the bill.
16. RFE/RL: Contagious Solidarity: As Russia Faces Growing COVID-19 Crisis, Independent Activists Gear Up To Help.
17. TASS: Izvestia: Russia’s economy may be headed downhill in 2020.
18. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, Moscow’s Mayor, Not Putin, Is Leading Russia’s Coronavirus Fight. Will He Be Allowed to Do the Job? The coronavirus is an interesting – if somewhat depressing – case study of late Putinist crisis management.
19. Moscow Times: ‘The Government Doesn’t Believe in Small Businesses. The Feeling’s Mutual’: Russia’s Entrepreneurs Scramble For a Lifeline. Coronavirus has hit Russia’s smallest businesses hard. Putin’s support package could be too little, too late.
20. NYU Jordan Center: How to make precarious Russia habitable – or, what Russians want in Putin’s fourth term? (Jeremy Morris)
21. Moscow Times: Russia Overturns First Jehovah’s Witnesses Convictions.
22. Meduza: Let it burn. Russia has a new climate plan. None of the scenarios in it involve decreasing greenhouse gas emissions at all between now and 2050.
23. Oilprice.com: Russia’s Unexpected Advantage In The Oil Price War.
24. Oilprice.com: The Cost Of The Oil Price War Is Growing For Russia.
25. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, RUSSIA’S MEDICAL AID OPERATION TO ITALY AVOIDED, NOT JUST POLISH AIRSPACE, BUT US ATTEMPTS TO STOP IT – johnhelmer.net/russias-medical-aid-operation-to-italy-avoided-not-just-polish-airspace-but-us-attempts-to-stop-it/print/
26. NBCNews.com: Protesters defy lockdown as coronavirus threatens Ukraine-Russia peace push. The spread of the coronavirus is affecting how Ukraine resolves the war still raging in its eastern fringes.
27. Russia in Global Affairs: “RUSSIA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD ARE HEADING INTO A STORM”. Interview with Dominic Lieven. – eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/russia-and-the-rest-of-the-world-are-heading-into-a-storm/
28. www.rt.com: World Health Organization believes it’s too early to introduce STRICT quarantine in Russia, Kremlin agrees.
29. Science: The new coronavirus is finally slamming Russia. Is the country ready?