Tag: Russian News
How Improved U.S.-Russian Relations Could Weaken Putin’s Case for Remaining in Kremlin Until 2036
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Paul Saunders – July 8, 2020) Paul Saunders is a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy at the Center for the National Interest. Considering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated preferences and Moscow’s reputation for “managing” Russia’s voting, it hardly seems surprising that the Central Election Commission (CEC) claimed an overwhelming level of public support for constitutional […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “British court rules against Christopher Steele, orders damages paid to businessmen named in dossier” – JustTheNews/ John Solomon
“Court rules Steele’s firm violated Britain’s data privacy law by failing to aggressively check allegations in his dossier.” “A British judge ruled … that Christopher Steele violated a data privacy law by failing to check the accuracy of information in his infamous dossier, ordering the former spy’s firm[,] … Orbis Business Intelligence, to pay … [the equivalent of] about $22,596 […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Tie for warmest 12-month period globally as Siberia sizzles (Update)” – PhysOrg/ Marlowe Hood
“Temperatures soared 10 degrees Celsius above average across much of permafrost-laden Siberia last month …. Earth’s average surface temperature for July 2019-June 2020 was 1.3C above pre-industrial levels …. In the Arctic … an hourly temperature record for June … was set on the 21st near Verkhoyansk in northeastern Russia …. [P]reviously registered Arctic hourly highs in 1969 and 1973 […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Famous ex-defence reporter arrested, accused of treason” – bne Intellinews
“In what appears to be an escalating crackdown on Russian journalists by the Federal Security Service (FSB), famous defence reporter Ivan Safronov was arrested … and charged with treason. He faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. The arrest is only the latest of a series of arrests and cases brought against leading Russian journalists who have simply […]
» Read moreHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs: “Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops: Why Hasn’t the Administration Responded?”
RUSSIALINK: “Economic crisis likely not to be protracted; not all risks from coronavirus removed yet – Manturov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 7 (Interfax) – The current signs of recovery suggest that the economy will not become bogged down in a protracted phase of the crisis, Industry and Trade Minister, Denis Manturov, said on Tuesday during the online international industrial marathon, Innoprom, which is a platform uniting exhibition events, online sessions and congresses, as well as educational workshops. “Of course, […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#122 :: Wednesday, 8 July 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#122 :: Wednesday, 8 July 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Here’s why statisticians are calling Putin’s constitutional plebiscite the most fraudulent vote in Russia’s recent history” – Meduza
“Researchers who study Russia’s electoral statistics believe … the recent nationwide plebiscite on constitutional amendments is the most dishonest vote the country has seen since the year 2000. … [F]rom a statistical point of view, … official results in many precincts can’t be attributed to fair voting processes. … According to official data from Russia’s Central Election Commission, a little […]
» Read moreOil Price Crash Causes Major Recession In Russia
The oil price crash that Russia helped create, along with the coronavirus-driven global recession, will result in Russia’s economy shrinking this year by the most in 11 years, the World Bank said […]
» Read moreJuly 1 Vote Energized Opposition to Putin and Intensified Succession Struggle, Pavlovsky Says
By asking Russians to vote yes or no on Putin’s proposals, the Kremlin made a serious mistake […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Most Russian Doctors Mistrust Official Coronavirus Data – Poll” Moscow Times
Around half of Russia’s doctors believe … official statistics undercount the number of coronavirus cases … one in 10 say the numbers are too high … Vedomosti … reported […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “How Putin Views the Iranian Role in Syria: Insights from Bolton’s Memoir” – Mark N. Katz
“[According to Bolton’s new book] … Putin … told Bolton to convey … to Trump [that –] … Moscow did not need Iranian forces … in Syria… [and gained] no advantage [from it] …. Iran’s policy agenda … regard[ing] … Lebanon and the Shi’a were not [Russia’s] … [and] Iranian policy was causing problems …. Russia [wanted] … an Iranian […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Why we need a little skepticism, and more evidence, on Russian bounties” – The Hill/ David B. Rivkin, Jr., George S. Beebe
“… [1][H]ow credible are the sources? … not very. … militants and criminals captured and interrogated by Afghanistan’s government. … Captured militants frequently tell … interrogators things they hope … [bring] lenient treatment. Others relate … little more than hearsay. … [2][W]hat other information might support or disconfirm the allegations? …. [I]f the Times report of large financial transfers … […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Idle Moscow Stores Reveal Emerging Economic Scars” – Moscow Times
Shop vacancy rates in the Russian capital are set to hit a record high, and the end of the year will see a wave of bankruptcies in Russia’s services sector […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#121 :: Tuesday, 7 July 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#121 :: Tuesday, 7 July 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “How Kremlin’s View of U.S.’s War in Afghanistan Has Shifted” – Wall Street Journal/ Alan Cullison
“Deteriorating U.S.-Russian ties adversely affect a once-shared goal, leading to a U.S. intelligence assessment of bounties paid to Taliban.” “For years … the U.S. and Russia shared a goal of deposing the Taliban government and hunting down its remnants …. [T]hat … crumbled … amid mutual suspicion and U.S. plans to leave Afghanistan with the Taliban undefeated. Today… [there is] […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Denmark Paves Way for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Restart” – Moscow Times
Russia could restart construction on final pipeline stretch, while U.S. mulls super sanctions bill against project […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “World Bank forecasting 2020 Russian GDP decline of 9.6% under adverse scenario compared to 6% drop in baseline scenario” – Interfax
The depth of the recession in the Russian economy in 2020 in an adverse scenario could approach 10%, World Bank experts said in their traditional Russian Economic Report […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Breaks Heat Records in First Half of 2020” – Moscow Times
Russia broke all recorded heat records in the first six months of the year, and the head of the country’s weather service has warned of “dangerous weather events” to come in July […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#120 :: Monday, 6 July 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#120 :: Monday, 6 July 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreThe Map of Political Forces in Today’s Ukraine
“In contemporary Ukraine, political parties rarely survive more than one electoral cycle. The super-electoral year 2019 changed the party structure once again …. A year later, there is already palpable interest on the part of the citizenry in new parties, as people have started losing trust in the current ones […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Evidence of massive ballot stuffing emerges in Russia’s referendum on constitutional changes” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris
“Evidence of massive ballot stuffing emerged in a mathematician[‘s] … statistical study of … the referendum on constitutional changes that would allow … Putin to remain in office until 2036. As bne IntelliNews reported before the vote …. Russian statistician Sergey Shpilkin … made a name for himself … highlighting vote rigging in past elections in Russia … studying … […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Parade’s end; A phoney referendum shows Putin’s legitimacy is fading” – The Economist
“A proposal to extend his rule passes, buried in a huge package of feel-good measures.” “… [Following voter-luring with offers of prizes and pressures from employers, some of the week-long voting utilized cardboard boxes and other voting was online, creating opportunities to rig the vote.] … [N]ot a proper referendum[,] [i]t had no precedent or legal basis. … did not […]
» Read moreUnplugging the Baltic States: Why Russia’s Economic Approach May Be Shifting
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Emily Ferris – July 1, 2020) Emily Ferris is a research fellow in the international security studies department at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Russia’s approach to the Baltic states is occasionally framed as an imminent territorial takeover. This view has become salient since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, when other nearby countries […]
» Read moreIn Russia, a new generation of activists are taking on climate crisis
… It’s hard to judge how successful this new environmental activism can be in a country so dependent on natural resources exports, but scientists’ concerns are slowly reaching Russia’s general public […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin gets Russians’ mandate to reset power – expert” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 2 (Interfax) – The results of the nationwide vote on changes to the Fundamental Law reflect a high level of public trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin, the head of the Foundation for Civil Society Development with close links to the Kremlin, Konstantin Kostin, said. “Many experts are talking about total support by Russian citizens for the constitutional […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#119 :: Friday, 3 July 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#119 :: Friday, 3 July 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “The Theatrical Method in Putin’s Vote Madness” – New York Times/ Andrew Higgins
“The outcome in Russia’s constitutional ‘referendum’ is preordained, but an elaborate spectacle of public affirmation is vital to the leader’s legitimacy.’ “Russia’s seven-day national plebiscite … to keep … Putin in power until at least 2036, delivered the expected verdict …. Less clear … was why … Putin even needed voters to approve … constitutional amendments that, already ratified by […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Where Can I Travel in Russia This Summer?” – Moscow Times
Russia opened its domestic tourist season … as it continues to grapple with the deadly coronavirus pandemic … the world’s third-highest number of infections […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#118 :: Thursday, 2 July 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#118 :: Thursday, 2 July 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreWhat Does Russia Want In Afghanistan?
… Trump tweeted that the intelligence reports were not deemed credible and the Kremlin and the Taliban have rejected reports alleging that officers of the GRU – Russia’s foreign military intelligence — either paid or offered money for killing American soldiers […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Intelligence officials cast doubt on Times’ Russia-Taliban bounty scheme: report” – New York Post/ Ebony Bowden
“Intelligence officials say a news report about Russia paying the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan does not match ‘verifiable’ Taliban activity and was never presented to … Trump because it was not deemed credible. The National Security Agency reviewed the claims contained in the New York Times report but found it did ‘not match well established and verifiable […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin a Step Away From Goal as Constitutional Vote Nears End” – AP
“… Putin is just a step away from completing his main political project of the year – constitutional changes that would allow him to extend his rule until 2036. … For the first time in Russia, polls were open for a week to help reduce crowds and to bolster turnout amid the coronavirus pandemic. Putin is all but guaranteed to […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Arctic sets ‘fantastical’ heat records: weather chief” – AFP
“The Russian Arctic set record temperatures in June that sparked abnormal tundra fires … Russia’s weather service [director] said … blaming climate change for … ‘fantastical’ anomalies. Russia’s northern territories, including parts of Yakutia region which borders the Arctic ocean, have faced a heat wave … with some districts declaring a state of emergency. … He noted one record in […]
» Read moreRussians Increasingly Angry that They Live in Poverty in a Country So Rich in Natural Resources
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 28, 2020) The pandemic and associated economic crisis have exacerbated widespread anger among Russians that they live in poverty despite the enormous natural wealth of their country and its sale earlier abroad for more than six trillion US dollars. Had even a small part of that money gone to the people, […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Arctic Environmental Disasters” – Moscow Times
Russia’s Arctic has been hit by three separate environmental disasters linked to mining giant Norilsk Nickel in the span of a month […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia reports 6,693 new Covid-19 cases, 154 deaths in past 24 hours – HQ” – Interfax
MOSCOW. June 30 (Interfax) – Russia has recorded 6,693 new Covid-19 cases and 154 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the coronavirus response headquarters said in a statement on Tuesday. “Over the past day, 6,693 cases of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus infection were confirmed in 84 regions of Russia, including 2,019 active asymptomatic cases (30.2%),” the headquarters said. The […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Q&A: What Does the Russia Vote Mean for Putin?” – Wall Street Journal/ Georgi Kantchev
“The result of [the] vote isn’t in much doubt, but the outcome could mean far-reaching changes for Russia as he lays plans to prolong his reign.” “Russians are casting … ballots in a [referendum] vote … expected to pave the way for … Putin … to remain … until 2036. … [T]he parliament and … highest court have already approved […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Coronavirus Crisis Strains Russia’s Soviet-Era Regional Health System” – Wall Street Journal/ Ann M. Simmons
“Doctors, equipment and basic supplies run short as cases climb; some facilities lack running water.” “… The episode at Karabanovo hospital offers a glimpse into the dysfunction and inefficiency that plagues Russia’s health-care system as the country fights the new coronavirus … the world’s third-highest caseload after the U.S. and Brazil. Many front-line medical workers in Russia say their safety […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Return to Kabul? Russian Policy in Afghanistan” – David G. Lewis/ George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
“… Moscow has publicly supported the current U.S.-Taliban peace talks … [yet] has a very different perspective from the U.S. … influenced by geography and history. Russia’s current strategic posture is informed by a long history of relations with Afghanistan and above all … the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, a strategic and military failure … still fresh in […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Minister sees Russian GDP recovering to 2019 level by Q4 2021, then growing 3%” – Interfax
… The Economic Development Ministry projected in the latest version of its forecast that Russian GDP will contract by 4.8% in 2020 […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#117 :: Tuesday, 30 June 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#117 :: Tuesday, 30 June 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreRussia’s Broken Constitution
… The primary beneficiary is, of course, Vladimir Putin, who can now contemplate another two terms and 16 uninterrupted years in power. […]
» Read morePutin Driving Russia to Where the USSR was in 1991, Zyuganov Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 22, 2020) Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the KPRF which is the only parliamentary party that has come out against approving the constitutional amendments by referendum, says that Vladimir Putin’s recent actions have been “not simply disappointing but depressing.” In the course of a wide-ranging 3,000-word interview with Anastaya Melnikova of […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Surpass 640K” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 29, 2020) Russia confirmed 6,719 new coronavirus infections Monday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 641,156. The country’s one-day increases in new cases have fallen to their lowest levels since April. Over the past 24 hours 93 people have died, bringing the total toll to 9,166 – a rate considerably lower than […]
» Read moreRussia and the West
From: David C. Speedie <davidcspeedie@gmail.com> Date: Sun, Jun 28, 2020 Subject: Russia and the West To: <letters.editor@ft.com> (Financial Times) Philip Stephens [“Russia cannot afford a war with the west”, 26 June] contains some home truths about Russia under Vladimir Putin, but comes significantly short of the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To focus on but a few illustrations: […]
» Read moreRUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#116 :: Monday, 29 June 2020
To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#116 :: Monday, 29 June 2020 A project sponsored through […]
» Read moreOverall Turnout At 9.2 Percent On First Day Of Russia’s Weeklong Constitutional Vote
Russia’s Central Electoral Commision … says overall turnout was about 9 percent on the first day of a weeklong vote for constitutional amendments that could pave the way for an extension of … Putin’s rule by 12 years. … [J]ournalists and opposition figures already are complaining about irregularities […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Criminal Group Finds New Target: Americans Working at Home” – New York Times/ David E. Sanger, Nicole Perlroth
A hacking group calling itself Evil Corp., indicted in December, has shown up in corporate networks with sophisticated ransomware. American officials worry election infrastructure could be next […]
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