RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#121 :: Tuesday, 7 July 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#121 :: Tuesday, 7 July 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. TASS: Kommersant: Coronavirus pandemic remains biggest fear of Russian citizens.
2. The Hill: David Rivkin and George Beebe, Why we need a little skepticism, and more evidence, on Russian bounties
3. Intellinews: Ben Aris, U.S. intelligence memo admits there is “no evidence” of Russian payment of bounties to Afghans for killing US soldiers
4. Meduza: Here’s why statisticians are calling Putin’s constitutional plebiscite the most fraudulent vote in Russia’s recent history
5. Reuters: Investors in Russian Bonds Relaxed About Extended Putin Rule.
6. Paul Goble: July 1 Vote Energized Opposition to Putin and Intensified Succession Struggle, Pavlovsky Says.
8. Awful Avalanche: Prez-For-Life Putin Takes Pot Shot At Lenin – awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2020/07/07/prez-for-life-putin-takes-pot-shot-at-lenin/
9. Moscow Times: Most Russian Doctors Mistrust Official Coronavirus Data – Poll.
10. www.rt.com: George Szamuely, It’s NOT ‘rehabilitating Stalin,’ but mainstream media portrays Russia as VILLAIN to trigger alarm – rt.com/op-ed/493667-rehabilitating-stalin-msm-russia/
11. New York Times: In Russia, They Tore Down Lots of Statues, but Little Changed. “Waging war on bronze men doesn’t make your life any more moral or just,” one observer noted. “It does nothing really.”
12. rt.com: ‘It is not clear’: Putin says Russian tourists are no closer to going abroad as world governments can’t figure out what to do.
13. TASS: Russia only now enters the most difficult period of crisis, expert says.
14. Oilprice.com: Oil Price Crash Causes Major Recession In Russia.
15. Intellinews: Russia’s Watcom Shopping Index regains three quarters of ground lost to coronacrisis
16. Moscow Times: Idle Moscow Stores Reveal Emerging Economic Scars. Shop vacancy rates in the Russian capital are set to hit a record high, and the end of the year will see a wave of bankruptcies in Russia’s services sector.
17. Valdai Discussion Club: Ivan Timofeev, Deripaska v. Mnuchin and Gacki: Political Implications – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/deripaska-v-mnuchin-and-gacki/
18. www.rt.com: ‘None of it is true’: Russian biathletes sue Rodchenkov for libel over years-long doping scandal – rt.com/news/493980-russian-biathletes-rodchenkov-libel-doping/
19. AP: Russia still to decide whether to stay in overflight treaty.
20. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Sara Z. Kutchesfahani, Three arms control negotiators walk into a café …
21. Russian International Affairs Council: Russian Mamedov, Russia in Syria: A “Path Dependence Hybrid Warfare” – russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/russia-in-syria-a-path-dependence-hybrid-warfare/
22. katzeyeview.wordpress.com: Mark Katz, How Putin Views the Iranian Role in Syria: Insights from Bolton’s Memoir
23. The Economic Times (India): How Russia’s ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ helped in reducing tensions between India and China – economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/how-russias-quiet-diplomacy-helped-in-reducing-tensions-between-delhi-and-beijing/articleshow/76802915.cms?from=mdr
24. The National Interest: Olga Puzanov, It’s Time to Solve the Kuril Islands Dispute. The territorial dispute over the islands, referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, has been a toxic influence on Russian-Japanese bilateral relations ever since the end of World War II. What is really holding back progress?
25. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, Kazakhstan Holds the Secret for Greater Eurasia – unz.com/pescobar/kazakhstan-holds-the-secret-for-greater-eurasia/
26. Transitions Online: David R. Marples and Uladzimir Padhol, When Dictators (Almost) Fall. Lukashenka will likely hold on to the presidency in August, but it won’t be nearly as easy as in the past.
27. AP: In Russia and Ukraine, no social distance on crowded beaches
28. E-International Relations: David Marples, The Maidan Revolution in Ukraine (excerpt)
29. The National Interest: Medlina Haring, Five Reasons Why Zelensky is Failing in Ukraine. Zelensky faces a political future that is no laughing matter
30. Dances With Bears: John Helmer, THE DUTCH WRITING ON THE UKRAINIAN WALL – STEENHUIS RULING IN MH17 TRIAL PREJUDGES VERDICT – johnhelmer.net/the-dutch-writing-on-the-ukrainian-wall-steenhuis-ruling-in-mh17-trial-prejudges-verdict/print/
31. rt.com: Neil Clark, We need the truth on MH17: The court’s decision to investigate ALL versions is a welcome break from finger-pointing – rt.com/op-ed/493952-truth-mh17-investigation-versions/
32. The Unz Review: Philip Giraldi, Russia-Baiting Is the Only Game in Town. Washington again becomes hysterical – unz.com/pgiraldi/russia-baiting-is-the-only-game-in-town/
33. TASS: Russian-American dialogue on Afghanistan irked some political circles in US, official says.
34. FAIR: Alan MacLeod, In ‘Russian Bounty’ Story, Evidence-Free Claims From Nameless Spies Became Fact Overnight.
35. The Economist: Home Entertainment. Chekhov’s trip to Sakhalin puts lockdown in perspective. When he crossed the strait to the island prison colony, the writer felt he was entering hell.
36. Russia Beyond: How the Soviets fought against the Americans in Vietnam (PHOTOS) – rbth.com/history/332396-how-soviets-fought-against-americans

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