RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#113 :: Sunday, 30 May 2021

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#113 :: Sunday, 30 May 2021
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. The independent (UK): Mary Dejevsky, Russia could find itself a whole lot warmer, but once again out in the cold. Mary Dejevsky remarks on how cooperative and compliant the Kremlin has become in recent years on the issue of global warming – far more than the U.S.
2. rt.com: Natalie Baldwin, Navalny’s revolutionary zeal feeds global headlines but most Russians prefer stability & steady change using local civic activism – rt.com/russia/525073-navalny-russians-disapproval-poll/
3. rt.com: Russia’s industrial production surges over 7% in April – rt.com/business/524819-russia-industrial-production-growth/
4. Intellinews: Russian unemployment falls to 5.2%, almost back to pre-coronacrisis levels
5. rt.com: Exports of Russian crude to US soared to 12-year high despite ongoing political tensions – rt.com/business/525216-russia-exports-oil-us-record/
6. The National Interest: Nikolas Gvosdev, The Intent Behind Russia’s New Cyber Hacking Against America. The hacks are a potent reminder that Moscow does not trust in the goodwill of the Biden administration, and is warning against efforts to weaponize unrest in Russia. Understanding this mindset will be important as the U.S. prepares for the Geneva summit.
7. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65699
8. Financial Times: Biden’s US foreign policy commitment to democracy called into question. Critics decry plan to hold summit with Putin despite Moscow’s backing of Lukashenko.
9. Carnegie Moscow Center: Maria Shagina, How Disastrous Would Disconnection From SWIFT Be for Russia? Seven years after threats were first made to cut Russia off from SWIFT, how well is Russia prepared to cope with disconnection from Western payment systems? – carnegie.ru/commentary/84634
10. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, MORE THOUGHTS ON BELARUS – irrussianality.wordpress.com/2021/05/28/more-thoughts-on-belarus/
11. Facebook: Fred Weir, Lukashenko.
12. Wall Street Journal: Isolation Pushes Belarus’s Lukashenko Closer to Russia’s Putin. Belarusian leader’s predicament gives the Kremlin a chance to advance long-held plans to deepen integration with the ex-Soviet republic.
13. Responsible Statecraft: Anatol Lieven, What’s in a name? NATO’s ‘Steadfast Defender’ is exercise in doublespeak. Bombastic phrases for military ops like the anti-Russia one today strikes this author as masking an underlying lack of confidence.
14. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Paul Stronski and Andrew Weiss, Why Isn’t Russia Talking About Great Power Competition?
15. Washington Post editorial: Russia has not been deterred
16. gilbertdoctorow.com: Gilbert Doctorow, A reductionist approach to the forthcoming Biden-Putin summit in Geneva – gilbertdoctorow.com/2021/05/30/a-reductionist-approach-to-the-forthcoming-biden-putin-summit-in-geneva/
17. The Hill: New Russian hacks spark calls for tougher Biden actions.
18. Russia Beyond: Have Russians started to smile more? – rbth.com/lifestyle/333839-have-russians-started-to-smile-more
19. Moon of Alabama: ‘Like An Amoral Infant’ – How ProtonMail Contributes To False Media Claims About Belarus. (excerpt) – moonofalabama.org/2021/05/like-an-amoral-infant-how-protonmail-contributes-to-false-media-claims-about-belarus.html#more
20. Eurasianet.org: Sopo Japaridze, Dam protests demonstrate bankruptcy of Georgian politics. The rural protesters’ straightforward demands for economic and environmental justice are challenging the political class’s narratives of the free market.

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