… Zelenskiy has urged the Ukrainian military to remain on alert despite Russia’s drawdown of its troops from the country’s borders, saying they could return “at any moment” […]
Headlines
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP
“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Bid to Ditch Dollar Picks Up as Exports Move to Euro” – Bloomberg
“… [Amidst] Putin’s multi-year push to reduce Russia’s exposure to the dollar … [Russian] exports sold in [dollars] fell below 50% for the first time[,] […]
RUSSIALINK: “Is Russia Entering a Third Coronavirus Wave? Despite the Kremlin denying a hidden rise in cases, figures for Moscow and reports from hospitals paint a worrying picture.” – Moscow Times
… Russia’s coronavirus statistics have been heavily questioned since the start of the pandemic […]
RUSSIALINK: “Moscow City Court prohibits certain FBK activities as part of prosecution service’s motion for ban on FBK” – Interfax
MOSCOW. April 27 (Interfax) – The Moscow City Court has upheld the prosecution service’s motion and imposed interim measures on the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Navalny supporters face full force of Kremlin wrath” – Financial Times
“Aggressive intimidation tactics and court move suggest bid to silence opposition leader for good.” “… Navalny [supporters] … are facing unprecedented pressure … [with] a […]
RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#91 :: Wednesday, 28 April 2021
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 […]
RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#90 :: Tuesday, 27 April 2021
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 […]
RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#89 :: Monday, 26 April 2021
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 […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Raises Rates Amid Standoff With West, Signs of Covid-19 Economic Recovery; Central bank increases its main interest rate by 50 basis points to 5%” – Wall Street Journal
“… The Bank of Russia raised its main rate to 5% from 4.5% …. [saying] it expected inflation to be higher than previously anticipated, citing […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Under siege; The Kremlin has isolated Russia’s economy; It has protected the country from shocks but is choking any growth” – The Economist
“… Since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin has commanded the economy like a fortress under siege, building up reserves, […]
EU ‘Rejects’ Russian Labeling Of Meduza Media Outlet As ‘Foreign Agent’
The [EU] has dismissed Russian authorities’ labeling of Latvia-based independent news outlet Meduza as a “foreign agent” and urged Moscow to end its “systematic infringement” of basic rights and freedoms […]
U.S.-Russian Relations, U.S.-Ukrainian Relations
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Bid to Ditch Dollar Picks Up as Exports Move to Euro” – Bloomberg
“… [Amidst] Putin’s multi-year push to reduce Russia’s exposure to the dollar … [Russian] exports sold in [dollars] fell below 50% for the first time[,] […]
Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP
“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be […]
Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Bid to Ditch Dollar Picks Up as Exports Move to Euro” – Bloomberg
“… [Amidst] Putin’s multi-year push to reduce Russia’s exposure to the dollar … [Russian] exports sold in [dollars] fell below 50% for the first time[,] […]
Assassinations, Assassination Attempts, Beatings, Threats
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Jailed Russian Dissident Alexei Navalny Ends Hunger Strike” – Wall Street Journal
“Opposition leader says doctors advised him to end the hunger strike because it was threatening his life.” “… Navalny announced Friday that he would end […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “House of the dead: Does the Kremlin want Alexei Navalny to die in prison? It is beginning to look like it” – The Economist
“… Putin may have hoped that locking up … political opponent [Navalny] in a harsh [Pokrov] penal colony would finally put him out of sight […]
Cybersecurity
In the Wake of SolarWinds: Making and Breaking a Rules-Based Global Cyber Order
… there is a great deal we still do not know about the SolarWinds hack […]
Population Disaster, Demographics
RUSSIALINK: “Exodus of Russian Researchers Grew Fivefold Since 2012” – Moscow Times
The number of scientists and highly qualified specialists leaving Russia has risen fivefold in nearly a decade, Russia’s Academy of Sciences (RAS) said […]
Space
Russia Extends Space Cooperation With U.S. Until 2030
The original cooperation agreement, signed in 1992 and extended four times previously, laid the groundwork for wide-ranging, space-related projects and research between NASA and Roskosmos […]
Arctic
Above The Arctic Circle, A Soviet-Era Metropolis Battles A ‘Drawn-Out Death’
… close to a century after its founding, a city whose population approached 250,000 in the late 1980s now has fewer than 60,000 residents and is shrinking faster than any other in Russia […]
Russia & Ukraine
Zelenskiy Warns That Russian Troops Can Return At ‘Any Moment’
… Zelenskiy has urged the Ukrainian military to remain on alert despite Russia’s drawdown of its troops from the country’s borders, saying they could return “at any moment” […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia withdraws troops from Ukraine’s border” – bne Intellinews
“… Fears of an imminent invasion have been stoked by the large build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s eastern border and additional forces sent to […]
RUSSIALINK: “Russia to Withdraw Troops From Ukraine Border, Crimea; The buildup had raised alarms in the West of renewed clashes in eastern Ukraine” – Moscow Times
Russia will begin withdrawing … military forces from the Ukrainian border starting Friday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced … after the buildup … raised alarms … of renewed clashes […]
The Russian Military Buildup on Ukraine’s Border | An Expert Analysis
In the spring of 2021, Russia stationed the highest number of troops along Ukraine’s border since 2014 […]
Oil, Gas, Energy
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations [Excerpt]” – Congressional Research Service
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rise to leadership more than 20 years ago, tensions have increased steadily between Russia and the United States […]
Nuclear, Missile Defense
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden faces first foreign policy test with Russian balancing act; White House seeks arms control pact even as it warns of consequences for Navalny arrest” – Financial Times/ Katrina Manson, Henry Foy, Lauren Fedor
“… the White House said … it wanted a straight extension of [New START for five years,] a nuclear arms control agreement … fac[ing] imminent […]
Media, Internet
EU ‘Rejects’ Russian Labeling Of Meduza Media Outlet As ‘Foreign Agent’
The [EU] has dismissed Russian authorities’ labeling of Latvia-based independent news outlet Meduza as a “foreign agent” and urged Moscow to end its “systematic infringement” of basic rights and freedoms […]
RUSSIALINK: “Filmmaker Vitaly Mansky on Artdocfest and Russia on Film” – Moscow Times
Film director Vitaly Mansky … was in the news throughout the festival in Moscow and St. Petersburg as he was closed down by the authorities and attacked by pro-Kremlin activists […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations [Excerpt]” – Congressional Research Service
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rise to leadership more than 20 years ago, tensions have increased steadily between Russia and the United States […]
RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Top Online Retailer Targets U.S. Market; Wildberries launches on Amazon’s home turf in latest international expansion” – Moscow Times
… Russia’s online retail space, which for years had lagged the U.S. and Europe, exploded during the pandemic […]
Belarus
The State of Disunion in Belarus
The key descriptor for Belarusian society at the moment may be “disintegration” […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Multinational firms under pressure to break ties with Belarus” – bne Intellinews
“The West has imposed sanctions on Belarus’ elite, but they are not enough to oust President Alexander Lukashenko. Increasingly the opposition and its supporters are […]
U.S. Lawmakers Call For New Sanctions If Russia Moves Forward With Fines On RFE/RL
… Republican and Democratic lawmakers called for new sanctions against Moscow if the Kremlin moves to enforce stringent restrictions and punishing fines that threaten RFE/RL’s news operations in Russia […]
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Energy deals point to thawing of Belarus-Russia relations” – Financial Times
“Moscow’s attitude towards Minsk had cooled in wake of protests against Lukashenko” “… Lukashenko[,] … rul[ing] Belarus since 1994, has faced massive street protests and […]
Europe, EU
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Bid to Ditch Dollar Picks Up as Exports Move to Euro” – Bloomberg
“… [Amidst] Putin’s multi-year push to reduce Russia’s exposure to the dollar … [Russian] exports sold in [dollars] fell below 50% for the first time[,] […]
Health, Alcohol, Smoking, AIDS, Epidemics
RUSSIALINK: “Is Russia Entering a Third Coronavirus Wave? Despite the Kremlin denying a hidden rise in cases, figures for Moscow and reports from hospitals paint a worrying picture.” – Moscow Times
… Russia’s coronavirus statistics have been heavily questioned since the start of the pandemic […]
Human Rights
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP
“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be […]
Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP
“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be […]
Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus
Navalny’s Movement Faces Tough Obstacles To Expanding Into Russia’s North Caucasus
Although Navalny’s team has long touted ambitions to become a truly national movement in opposition to the rule of longtime authoritarian President Vladimir Putin, the movement has made no inroads in the North Caucasus […]
Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP
“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be […]
Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
RUSSIALINK: “Filmmaker Vitaly Mansky on Artdocfest and Russia on Film” – Moscow Times
Film director Vitaly Mansky … was in the news throughout the festival in Moscow and St. Petersburg as he was closed down by the authorities and attacked by pro-Kremlin activists […]
Religion
More than Half of Russians Consider Extra-Marital Sex and Divorce Morally Acceptable, Levada Center Poll Finds
… Americans are still more inclined to accept divorce than Russians are. Only 36 percent of Russians consider it morally acceptable […]
