RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2021-#6 :: Monday, 11 January 2021

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#6 :: Monday, 11 January 2021
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1. rt.com: Paul Robinson, Capitol Hill violence was not a ‘victory’ for Putin: In reality, Russia fears consequences of ongoing US political instability – rt.com/russia/512071-capitol-violence-consequences-fear/
2. Facebook: Fred Weir Russian views.
3. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, The U.S. Capitol Riot Wasn’t a Gift to Putin. Whether for propaganda or geopolitics, the value to Russia of current U.S. domestic turmoil is vastly overrated.
4. Intellinews: Ben Aris, The storming of the US Capitol was not a coup, but the shelling of the Russian White House was. At least 200 people were killed when Yeltsin ordered tanks to open up after Russia’s White House had been occupied and his opponents in the Duma tried to overthrow him in 1993.
5. The National Interest: Nicolai Petro, Joe Biden and the Challenge of Ukraine. America is trapped. It cannot abandon its current policy toward Ukraine without appearing to offer Russia an undeserved victory, yet it also cannot continue its current policy because it enhances internal divisions that stoke popular frustration and anger toward America.
6. rt.com: Ex-Soviet nations would have found it easier to become democracies if USSR still existed in some form, laments Gorbachev – rt.com/russia/512159-soviet-nations-democracies-gorbachev/
7. rt.com: Fyodor Lukyanov, American exceptionalism hurt by violent Capitol debacle, expect Biden to push aggressive foreign policy in bid to repair damage – rt.com/russia/512022-biden-policy-repair-damage/
8. Bloomberg: Would You Take Russia’s Covid-19 Vaccine? Even without seeing detailed trial data, there are reasons to be confident in the Sputnik V shot. The same can’t be said yet for China’s CoronaVac vaccine.
9. TASS: Russia may be through coronavirus pandemic by end of summer 2021, says virologist.
10. New York Times: Andrew Kramer, Why I Got the Russian Vaccine. A New York Times reporter juggled fears engendered by the politicized rollout of the Sputnik V vaccine with the urge to gain protection from the deadly virus.
11. Meduza: Making life difficult. Russian lawmakers rush to tighten legislation ahead of the 2021 State Duma elections.
12. Twitter: Alexey Navalny, “I think that the ban of Donald Trump on Twitter is an unacceptable act of censorship”
13. Vedomosti: Alexei Firsov: Why Navalny, Khodorkovsky missing out on opportunities. Empathy for them does not grow into broader support.
14. Moscow Times: Most Small Businesses Still Struggling, Warns Top Business Lobby. Small companies twice as likely to be hit by pandemic.
15. TASS: Izvestia: What’s in store for Nord Stream 2 in 2021.
16. Intellinews: German state creates foundation to circumvent US sanctions on Nord Stream 2. Parallel routes of twin Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
17. Moscow Times: Michele Berdy, Moscow Arts Scene in 2021: A Spectacular Year Ahead. A sampling of the capital’s cultural offerings in the new year.
18. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, Film Review: Leviathan (2014) – unz.com/akarlin/leviathan-2014/
19. rt.com: William Burns, ex-envoy to Russia who accused Putin of using judo-like tactics to ‘sow chaos’ in US, named as Biden’s CIA director – rt.com/usa/512136-biden-cia-director-william-burns-russia/
20. AP: Armenian, Azerbaijani leaders in Russia for talks
21. Valdai Discussion Club: Morality and Law in the COVID-19 Era: Results of Valdai’s Research Programme. Perhaps, in the run-up to the New Year, most of the Earth’s inhabitants would wish that the events of this challenging year are never repeated. However, seen from the point of view of expert analysis, it must be admitted that 2020 turned out to be surprisingly productive in terms of developing and testing a large number of radically new ideas, breaking old clichés and providing an opportunity to openly discuss many previously taboo topics, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Oleg Barabanov. – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/morality-and-law-in-the-covid-19-era-results/
22. Washington Post: Political appointees, career analysts clashed over assessments of Russian, Chinese interference in 2020 election
23. Real Clear Investigations: Aaron Mate, It’s Trump’s Last Chance to Declassify These Secrets of the Russia Collusion Dud

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