RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2020-#191 :: Friday, 23 October 2020

St. Basil's Domes

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-#191 :: Friday, 23 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.
JRL Home: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi
Support for JRL is provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to the George Washington University and by voluntary contributions from readers.

1. Meduza: Cold War, coronavirus, climate change. Putin’s speech at the annual Valdai Discussion Club, in a nutshell.
2. Kremlin.ru: Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64261
3. rt.com: Putin says he personally asked Russian prosecutors to allow opposition figure Navalny to travel to Germany for medical treatment – rt.com/russia/504307-putin-navalny-treatment-germany/
4. AP: Putin: Russia-China military alliance can’t be ruled out.
5. Moscow Times: Putin: Russia’s Rise in Coronavirus Deaths Due to Improved Methodology.
5a. BBC: Nagorno-Karabakh: Nearly 5,000 dead in conflict, Putin says.
6. Paul Goble: Muscovites More Attached to Their City than They were a Decade Ago, Polkanov Says.
7. Stalker Zone: BRITS GET POORER WHILE RUSSIANS GET RICHER – stalkerzone.org/brits-get-poorer-while-russians-get-richer/
8. BMB Russia: Khabarovsk.
9. Meduza: Confident but not uncontested. Internal campaign documents show that Russia’s ruling political party has a plan hold onto the State Duma and beat Alexey Navalny’s strategic voting initiative.
10. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 22 OCTOBER 2020 – patrickarmstrong.ca/2020/10/22/russian-federation-sitrep-22-october-2020/
11. The National Interest: Peter Such, Is the Russian Army Downsizing? The Finance Ministry’s proposed downsizing included cutting free vacancies and transferring medics, lecturers, HR specialists, financiers, lawyers, and logistics personnel to civil service.
12. Indian Punchline: M.K. Bhadrakumar, New START: Putin’s “win-win” with Trump
13. The Unz Review: Pepe Escobar, Russia and the EU: “Business as Usual” Is Over – unz.com/pescobar/russia-and-the-eu-business-as-usual-is-over
14. Intellinews: Mark Galeotti, If Lavrov goes, can we hope for better from Russia’s diminished foreign ministry? Is Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s time really up? And what will it mean for Russia’s foreign policy if he finally leaves?
15. TASS: Third parties to engage in Karabakh talks only upon Baku’s, Yerevan’s consent – Kremlin.
16. Asia Times: Gas war with Russia drives Turkey in the Caucasus. Ankara says EU allies seeking to diversify from Russian gas should see Karabakh hostilities as a wake-up call.
17. Intellinews: KIIS’ survey of Ukraine’s perceptions of parties and politicians
18. rt.com: NPR says it ‘won’t waste readers’ time’ on Biden emails ‘non-story’ – after happily parroting anti-Trump agitprop – rt.com/usa/504290-npr-waste-time-biden-story/
19. Foxnews.com: FBI in possession of Hunter Biden’s purported laptop, sources say. The FBI and Justice Department concur with DNI Ratcliffe that the laptop is not part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
20. R.Politik: Tatyana Stanovaya, An interesting discussion is developing about Mishustin. Has he been tapped to be the successor? – t.me/rpolitik/183
21. Government.ru: Mikhail Mishustin attends special meeting of the 17th Annual Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club – government.ru/en/news/40649/
22. Valdai Discussion Club: Timofei Bordachev, The World Composes Itself: What Was Impossible Yesterday May Become Reality Tomorrow. Review of meeting –  valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/the-world-composes-itself-what-was-impossible-yesterday-may-become-reality-tomorrow/?sphrase_id=1144082

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Map of CIS Central Asia and Environs

Eurasia Map

Comment