RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#240 :: Thursday, 9 December 2021

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#240 :: Thursday, 9 December 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. NYU Jordan Center: Ivan Katchanovski, The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: Revelations from Trials and Investigations.
2. The Independent (UK) editorial: If Putin thought he could get away with it, he’d invade Ukraine in the morning.
3. Intellinews: Putin wins concession from Biden for Russia-Nato security deal talks.
4. Indian Punchline: M.K. Bhadrakumar, Biden White House spoofs the Kremlin – indianpunchline.com/biden-white-house-spoofs-the-kremlin/
5. Carnegie Moscow Center: Alexander Baunov, Will Putin Get What He Wants on Ukraine? For now, Biden is the leader who prevented a war, but that’s not to say that the summit will be followed by a rapid de-escalation: not until Moscow sees new steps being taken by Washington on Ukraine. First and foremost, that means progress on implementing the Minsk agreements.
6. Russian & Eurasian Politics: Gordon Hahn, NATO Expansion, Maidan Ukraine, and the Donbass War.
7. Washington Post: Kremlin sees expanded talks with U.S. on Ukraine crisis after Putin call with Biden.
8. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, What Good Could the Putin/Biden Conversation Really Do? While no big results came out of the Putin-Biden talks, it would be a mistake to consider the conversation futile and fruitless.
10. Meduza: Sterilizing KPRF. Behind the Kremlin’s effort to rein in Russia’s increasingly unruly Communist Party.
11. Moscow Times: Moscow Metro Opens 10 New Stations on the Big Circle Line.
12. Financial Times: Kremlin penetrates deeper into online world of Russians. Pressure grows on foreign social media platforms after state-run group’s takeover of Russia’s Facebook.
13. Vedomosti: Is it really possible to disconnect Russia from SWIFT? Talking about it encourages the search for alternatives – zen.yandex.ru/media/vedomosti/realno-li-otkliuchit-rossiiu-ot-swift-61b08e7a781cc81fb6167abb?&utm_campaign=dbr&
14. New York Times: U.S. Threat to Squeeze Russia’s Economy Is a Tactic With a Mixed Record. Sanctions, like aiming to cut oil exports, could also hurt European allies. “It’s a limited toolbox,” one expert said.
15. Intellinews: Joshua Tulgan, U.S. expats homeless in Russia. The US has closed its consulates in Russia, making life hell for US expats living in Russia.
16. ClubOrlov: Dmitry Orlov, Russia’s Greatest Weapon is not a Weapon – cluborlov.wordpress.com/2021/12/01/russias-greatest-weapon-is-not-a-weapon/
17. Strategic Culture Foundation: Patrick Armstrong, Americans Need a Conspiracy Theory They Can All Agree on. A deeply divided country: there is no common conversation in the United States today – one person’s conspiracy theory is another’s truth. – strategic-culture.org/news/2021/12/08/americans-need-conspiracy-theory-they-can-all-agree-on/
18. Russian International Affairs Council: Aleksei Zakharov, Russia-India Summit: Is the Strategic Partnership Still Afloat? – russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/russia-india-summit-is-the-strategic-partnership-still-afloat/
19. Valdai Discussion Club: Ivan Timofeev, Knights Close the Ranks: New Sanctions Against Belarus. The Belarusian leader faces two basic scenarios. The first is to “swallow” Western sanctions, to keep a low profile and, at least temporarily, not to carry out similar demarches. The second way would entail a new round of escalation, playing on other topics that are painful for the West. But this scenario could lead to a new escalation of sanctions. – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/knights-close-the-ranks-new-sanctions/
20. Intellinews: FPRI BMB Ukraine: War talk weights on Ukraine’s people sentiment.
21. New York Times: Ukraine Commanders Say a Russian Invasion Would Overwhelm Them. If Russia opts for an invasion, Ukraine’s generals say, they would have no hope of repelling it without a major infusion of military help from the West.

22. Antiwar.com: David Stockman, Sleepy Joe Cradles the Dead Hand of the Soviet Presidium.

Sleepy Joe Cradles the Dead Hand of the Soviet Presidium


23. rt.com: Russians hate Gorbachev even more than Stalin, poll reveals – rt.com/russia/542570-gorbachov-low-ratings-poll/
24. rt.com: Paul Robinson, The plot to kill off the Soviet Union – rt.com/russia/542533-soviet-union-history-independence/
25. Inkstick: Yelena Biberman and Zachary Troyanovsky, HOW TO KILL A SUPERPOWER. Do you remember the Belavezha agreement?
https://inkstickmedia.com/how-to-kill-a-superpower/
26. Intellinews: Theo Normanton, DEATH OF THE SOVIET UNION: Mountain-dwelling Old Believer reflects on the USSR that passed her by. Living a quiet life of devotion in the mountains, modernity has left Agafya Likova largely untroubled, and governments – Soviet and contemporary – have had little imprint on her life, with a few crucial exceptions.
Text with photos: https://intellinews.com/death-of-the-soviet-union-mountain-dwelling-old-believer-reflects-on-the-ussr-that-passed-her-by-229243/?source=russia

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

 

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