RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2020-#230 :: Sunday, 20 December 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#230 :: Monday, 20 December 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: Moscow refuses Christmas Covid-19 lockdown: Festivities to go ahead with curfews & tests as mayor says end to pandemic in sight – rt.com/russia/510244-moscow-christmas-covid-festivities/
2. TASS: Russia plans to vaccinate elderly people against COVID-19 next week.
3. Bloomberg: For Some in Russia’s Elite, Putin’s Future Is Again a Hot Topic.
4. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Corruption Cuts Both Ways in Russia’s Surveillance State. The same tech-based methods that governments use to track and persecute citizens also enable citizens to fight back.
5. rt.com: American analysts downbeat as Washington chooses to withdraw its diplomatic presence in Siberia & Russia’s remote Far East – rt.com/russia/510212-analysts-downbeat-washington-consulates/
6. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, WHY VOTE FOR YELTSIN? – patrickarmstrong.ca/2020/12/18/why-vote-for-yeltsin/
7. Harper’s Magazine: Aris Roussinos, Letter from Kyiv. The Armies of the Right. Inside Ukraine’s extremist militias.
8. rt.com: Ukraine’s Zelensky warns he cannot justify rejecting Russia’s Sputnik V unless West supplies Kiev with other Covid-19 vaccines – rt.com/russia/510251-ukraine-zelensky-coronavirus-vaccine/
9. New York Times: With Trump Fading, Ukraine’s President Looks to a Reset With the U.S.. “They roped us in, but I think we behaved with dignity,” Volodymyr Zelensky said of his encounter with American politics.
10. The Sunday Times (UK): Matthew Campbell, We condemn Putin but still dance to his tune. Moscow will not stop its cynical attacks on the West until we make it.
11. TASS: Pompeo concedes Russia is among US enemies.
12. FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting): Alan MacLeod, A CIA Officer Has a Headache. Media Blame Russia.
13. The America Conservative: Sean Lawson and Brandon Valeriano, The Russian ‘Cyber Pearl Harbor’ That Wasn’t. The recent SolarWinds hack is no excuse for doomsday rhetoric, especially from those who have been leveling it for decades.
14. Moon of Alabama: To Blame Russia For Cyber-Intrusions Is Delusional – A Treaty Is The Only Way To Prevent More Damage – moonofalabama.org/2020/12/to-blame-russia-for-cyber-intrusions-is-delusional-a-treaty-is-the-only-way-to-prevent-more-damage.html#more
15. Consortium News: Ray McGovern and Joe Lauria, A Pandemic of ‘Russian Hacking’. Neither the actor, nor the motive, nor the damage done is known for certain in this latest scare story – consortiumnews.com/2020/12/19/a-pandemic-of-russian-hacking/
16. Consortium News: VIPS MEMO: To Biden: Don’t Be Suckered on Russia – consortiumnews.com/2020/12/20/vips-memo-to-biden-dont-be-suckered-on-russia/
17. Strategic Culture Foundation editorial: U.S. Deep State Preempts Reset in Relations With Russia – strategic-culture.org/news/2020/12/18/us-deep-state-preempts-reset-in-relations-with-russia/
18. The Dispatch:” Jack Goldsmsith, Self-Delusion on the Russia Hack. The U.S. regularly hacks foreign governmental computer systems on a massive scale.
19. The Insider: ‘Biden has no illusions about Putin — he knows him too well.’ Michael McFaul on why there won’t be a ‘Reset 2.0’ with the Kremlin – theins.ru/en/other-languages/237836
20. Kremlin.ru: Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference. (exchange with BBC’s Steve Rosenberg)
21. Kremlin.ru: Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference. (transcript concluded) – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64671

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