RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#81 :: Monday, 4 May 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#81 :: Monday, 4 May 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. Russia Beyond: How are Russians different to other nationalities? (we asked the Russians) – rbth.com/lifestyle/332111-russian-differences
2. Bloomberg: Coronavirus Has Exposed Putin’s Brittle Regime.
3. CNN: As coronavirus hits record numbers in Russia, this is a dangerous moment for Putin.
4. Financial Times: Russia: Pandemic tests Putin’s grip on power.
5. The Express (UK): End of Putin? Public anger and defiance grows as popularity ratings plummet.
6. JSTOR Daily: Was Russia Destined to Be an Autocracy? The most important factors that steered Russia away from democracy, says one scholar, weren’t inevitable. (re Michael McFaul)
7. The New Kremlin Stooge: Mark Chapman, Comment.
8. Paul Goble: First Russian Opposition Online Meeting Attracts Widespread Interest and 4800 Participants.
9. Washington Post: Russia has a huge fund for times of crisis. But Putin is hesitating on a sweeping rescue plan.
10. New York Times: As Putin Dallies, Russia’s Small Businesses Are Withering Away. The Russian president, who seems to share the traditional Soviet view of entrepreneurs as “swindlers,” is doing little to help them through a coronavirus lockdown.
11. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin 100 days of servitude. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin completes his first 100 days in office, but the job has changed radically.
12. www.rt.com: Over 10,000 for the 1st time: Russia hits new daily record for fresh coronavirus cases.
13. TASS: Actual number of Moscow’s coronavirus cases amounts to two percent of population – mayor.
14. TASS: Spread of COVID-19 cannot be fully stopped now, Russia’s chief sanitary doctor says.
15. RFE/RL: Russia To Adjust Spending On Putin’s ‘National Projects’ As Economy Hit By Coronavirus.
16. New York Times: Too Cold for an Oil Cut? Russia’s Move Reveals a Long-Running Bluff. Moscow long rejected OPEC’s pleas to reduce output, citing its frosty climate as an excuse. Now, facing a glut, the country is closing wells, many in the Arctic.
17. The National Interest: Dimitri Alexander Simes, Will Russia Be the Real Loser in the New U.S.-China Cold War? Although Moscow has previously benefited from increased tensions between Washington and Beijing, recent developments threaten to go too far.
18. The National Interest: James Holmes, Why Warlike One-Upmanship Works to Russia’s Benefit. Russia is less an enigma than a product of its unique history combined with basic human passions that endure from age to age. These forces shape politics and strategy in Moscow.
19. www.rt.com: Bryan MacDonald, NATO-backed group admits it doesn’t care about Orban’s disregard for ‘Western values,’ so long as Hungary helps oppose Russia – rt.com/op-ed/487674-orban-disregard-west-oppose-russia/


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