RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#245 :: Thursday, 16 December 2021

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#245 :: Thursday, 16 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. Intellinews: Russian Arctic temperatures soar to new record highs. Russia set new all-time high temperature records in the Arctic last summer and recorded a spread of 85.6C between the hottest and coldest parts of the country on a single day – the second-largest spread in a single country on record.
2. rt.com: WHO official reveals when Russia’s Sputnik V jab could be approved – rt.com/russia/543397-who-sputnik-vaccine-green-light/
3. TASS: West suffers from ‘catastrophic impoverishment’ of political research, senior senator says – tass.com/politics/1376591
4. Responsible Statecraft: Andrew Cockburn, The ghost of Georgia 2008 should be haunting Kiev right now. Saakashvili thought Washington had his back, but just like today, the hawks made promises that cooler heads wouldn’t back up.
5. Krasno Analysis (UNC Chapel Hill): Jack F. Matlock, Jr., [PDF] Ukraine: Tragedy of a Nation Divided.
6. Washington Times: Edward Lozansky, The day of reckoning postponed — for now.
7. rt.com: Paul Robinson, A misunderstanding between NATO & Russia could cause a catastrophe – rt.com/russia/543249-misunderstanding-nato-cause-catastrophe/
8. Carnegie Moscow Center: Andrei Kolesnikov, How Do Russians Feel About a War With Ukraine? Militarization stopped being a way to mobilize Russians in support of the government in 2018. Russians—in particular young people—don’t want war.
9. AP: Russia hands draft security pacts to U.S., expects quick talks.
10. TASS: NATO fails to respond to numerous Russian proposals for security dialogue — diplomat – tass.com/politics/1376543
11. The Scrum: Marshall Auerbach, “NATO’s Waterloo.” Ukraine as debacle-in-waiting – thescrum.substack.com/p/natos-waterloo-139
12. Project Syndicate: Jeffrey Sachs, Avoiding the Worst in Ukraine and Taiwan. No global structure of peace can be stable and secure unless all parties recognize others’ legitimate security interests. If the brewing crises over Ukraine and Taiwan are to be resolved peacefully, the major powers will need to pause and consider the strategic perspectives of the other side.
13. The National Interest: Peter Suciu, Fears Come True: Is NATO Planning to Invade Russia? While the idea of NATO attacking Russia may seem farfetched to most Americans, the Russians have reason to fear an invasion from the west.
14. Reuters: Factbox: How rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine have grown closer to Russia.
15. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia and China unite against the West.
16. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, Putin, Xi running circles around Biden’s hybrid war. Washington hawks float expelling Russia from SWIFT but Moscow’s budding geo-economic alliance with Beijing will keep the money flowing.
17. Indian Punchline: M.K. Bhadrakumar, A Sino-Russian military alliance is gratuitous (as of now)
18. Washington Post: Emily Holland, Biden is threatening Putin with European energy sanctions. That may be difficult to pull off. Europe is counting on a new Russian gas pipeline to alleviate energy shortages.
19. Wikistrat: [PDF] THE RUSSIAN THREAT TO INVADE UKRAINE.
20. Moscow Times: Russians View U.S. More Positively Despite Soaring Tensions – Poll.
21. TASS: Russia thwarts millions of cyberattacks every day, envoy says – tass.com/society/1376509
22. rt.com: Russia reveals where World War III has already begun – rt.com/russia/543390-moscow-us-conflict-cyberspace/
23. The Barents Observer (Norway): Moscow national security chiefs fight western windmills. Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev warns against the EU’s push for renewable energy, and Council Deputy Head Dmitry Medvedev argues that Western countries’ drive for environmentally high standards in the Arctic is politically motivated and aimed at weakening Russia.
24. Forbes: Kenneth Rapoza, Putin Skipped The COP26 Climate Talks. Why Russia’s Biggest Industries Decided To Go.
25. Russia Matters: Back in the USSR: Are Residents of Former Republics Better Off 30 Years Later?
26. The Foreign Service Journal: George Krol, U.S. diplomats in the former USSR had a unique opportunity to better comprehend the world and practice their craft.

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