RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2020-#183 :: Friday, 9 October 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#183 :: Friday, 9 October 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. rt.com: 12,126 new infections: Russia experiences worst-ever day for Covid-19 cases, beating record from height of spring lockdown – rt.com/russia/503011-russia-covid-worst-record/
2. Russia Matters: Putin’s Domestic Approval Rebounds; Numbers for Mishustin Less Clear.
3. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russia losing its influence? Nagorno-Karabakh fighting tests limits. The outbreak of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh shows that the disruption in global order isn’t limited to the West. Russia is seeing its “near abroad” neighbors being tugged from its influence.
4. AFP: Moscow Hosts Armenia-Azerbaijan Talks as Hopes Rise for Truce.
5. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Moscow pursues peacemaker role in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
6. Asia Times: M.K. Bhadrakumar, Turkey, Russia entente under fire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia and the West have rare opportunity to corner Turkey in a ‘Caucasian chalk circle’ of chaos and chance.
7. The Armenian Weekly: Russian Colonel Zhilin: “This is Erdogan’s war against Russia for the Caucasus” – armenianweekly.com/2020/10/08/russian-colonel-zhilin-this-is-erdogans-war-against-russia-for-the-caucasus/
8. Foreign Policy: Robert Cutler, Without Russian Aid to Armenia, Azerbaijan Has the Upper Hand in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has overplayed his hand by spouting belligerent nationalist rhetoric and refusing to negotiate-and Putin isn’t coming to his rescue.
9. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexander Baunov, Why Russia Is Biding Its Time on Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia may have reasons to help its ally Armenia, but it has no reason at all to punish Azerbaijan, which has been an example of model behavior among the former Soviet states, as far as Russia is concerned.
10. Asia Times: Richard Giragosian, Russia checkmates Turkey on Caucasus chessboard. Turkey’s military aid to Azerbaijan is approaching a red line that could put it on a collision course with Russia.
11. The Economist editorial: Lessons of Nagorno-Karabakh. Why “America First” makes wars in other places more likely. A vacuum of global leadership lets local conflicts expand.
12. Moscow Times: Russia’s Billionaires Grow Richer, But Fall Behind International Peers.
13. Wall Street Journal: Russia’s Siberian Waters See Record Ship Traffic as Ice Melt Accelerates. The Northern Sea Route is becoming a highway to move Russia’s oil and natural gas exports while some global carriers shy away.
14. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 8 OCTOBER 2020 – patrickarmstrong.ca/2020/10/08/russian-federation-sitrep-8-october-2020/
15. New York Times: From Hiding, Kyrgyzstan’s Leader Declares State of Emergency. Earlier on Friday, after protesters besieged government buildings, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said he was willing to leave office. His new decree raised concerns about an orderly transfer of power.
16. Intellinews: Russia frowns on Kyrgyzstan “chaos”, warns it has “obligations” to prevent total breakdown in country.
17. TASS: Izvestia: Kyrgyz opposition rift deepening.
18. Creators.com: Patrick Buchanan, Putin’s Got His Problems, Too
19. Meduza: The regime changers . Russia now rejects such talk as ‘color revolution,’ but Vladimir Putin and Bill Clinton discussed removing Slobodan Milosević from power 20 years ago. (excerpt)
20. Facebook: Ivan Katchanovski, Maidan shootings.
21. Kyiv Post editorial: Zelensky hoodwinks EU
22. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: EU sets sights on punishing Kremlin for alleged poisoning of Navalny.
23. TASS: OPCW says will share info on Navalny only if Berlin permits – Russian foreign ministry.
24. rt.com: Siberian investigators dispute claims that Navalny’s team transported Novichok-laced water bottle to Berlin – rt.com/russia/502986-investigators-navalny-novichok-bottle-berlin/
25. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, “I AM RUSSIA” – NAVALNY STORY COLLAPSES IN SELF-CONTRADICTION – johnhelmer.net/i-am-russia-navalny-story-collapses-in-self-contradiction/print/
26. rt.com: Helen Buyniski, WSJ ‘investigation’ of aggregator that dared include RT scares other members into ditching the network. Democracy at work! – rt.com/op-ed/502990-wsj-investigation-rt-network-censorship/
28. Intellinews: Ben Aris, Putin launches damage control, as Biden looks set to win US elections.
29. Ira Straus: Stephen Cohen, memories of my teacher

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