RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#84 :: Thursday, 7 May 2020

St. Basil's Domes

To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net

Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php
Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter]

Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#84 :: Thursday, 7 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.
JRL Home: russialist.org – JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist – JRL on Twitter: @JohnsonRussiaLi
Support for JRL is provided in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to the George Washington University and by voluntary contributions from readers.

1. Russia Beyond: ‘3 stages for easing coronavirus lockdown’ revealed in latest Putin video address – rbth.com/lifestyle/332139-putin-russia-coronavirus-lockdown-quarantine
2. www.rt.com: Putin approves first steps for Russia to loosen coronavirus lockdown, warns regional governors to tread carefully – rt.com/russia/487956-covid19-lockdown-lift-phases/
3. Kremlin.ru: Meeting on implementing measures to support the economy and the social sphere – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/63303
4. www.rt.com: Moscow has THREE TIMES more Coronavirus cases than officially accounted-for – Mayor – rt.com/russia/488038-moscow-understate-coronavirus-cases/
5. TASS: Moscow mandates masks, gloves in public from May 12, self-isolation till May 31 – tass.com/society/1153895
6. TASS: Russia may have no obvious COVID-19 incidence peak, scientist says.
7. Russia Matters: Thomas Graham, Kto-Kogo: Putin vs. COVID-19
8. Intellinews.com: Ben Aris, Russian President Vladimir Putin approval rating falls to a two-decade low, but support for extending his rule is up.
10. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, RUSSIA’S NOT SO RADICAL YOUTH – irrussianality.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/russias-not-so-radical-youth/
11. Carnegie Moscow Center: Tatiana Stanovaya, The Putin Regime Cracks. The pandemic has revealed a truth of the Russian government. Vladimir Putin has become increasingly disengaged from routine matters of governing and prefers to delegate most issues.
12. Washington Post: Putin knows how to rule Russia as an autocrat. But he seems on the sidelines amid coronavirus crisis.
13. New York Times: As Local Health Systems Buckle, Russia’s Oligarchs Take Charge. The growing role of business tycoons in the fight against the coronavirus highlights the weaknesses of the state apparatus built by President Vladimir V. Putin.
14. The Bell: Rosneft and Putin’s daughter lead search for ‘Russian gene’ – thebell.io/en/rosneft-and-putin-s-daughter-lead-search-for-russian-gene/
15. Moscow Times: Russia’s Economic Woes Continue to Mount During Coronavirus Outbreak. As the Kremlin resists pressure to spend, official statistics show economic activity down by a third and tax revenues crashing.
16. Luis Alcala: Re: “Three Russian doctors fall from hospital windows”
17. The Economist: Stop the press. Russia’s leading business paper is being gagged. Vedomosti wasn’t very political, but it was independent.
18. Interfax: Putin, Trump discuss anti-coronavirus efforts, situation on global oil market – Kremlin.
19. TASS: World faces new Cold War between US, China, says expert. (Fyodor Lukyanov)
20. Responsible Statecraft: Mark Katz, Is Putin really not worried about a rising China?
21. www.rt.com: US ambassador hails cooperation with Russia on Covid-19 crisis, but crucial nuclear weapons differences remain – rt.com/usa/487961-ambassador-russia-coronavirus-nuclear-weapons/
22. Kennan Institute: Peter Zwack, Arms Control in the COVID-19 Era: No Next Step without New START
23. Russia Matters: Domitilla Sagramoso, Who ‘Defeated’ ISIS? An Analysis of US and Russian Contributions (excerpt)
24. The Barents Observer (Norway): U.S. Sixth Fleet enters the Barents Sea with missile defense destroyer. Without any Norwegians participating, the group of one British and four U.S. warships sailed into the Barents Sea for “maritime security operations.” The U.S. Navy has not operated in the Barents Sea with surface vessels since the mid-1980’s. Russia’s Northern Fleet assets have begun tracking NATO’s surface action group.
25. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia thwarts NATO’s Arctic push.
26. CNSNews.com: Dimitri Simes, U.S., Russian Navies Flex Muscles in Arctic
27. The Arctic Institute (Washington DC): Mariia Kobzeva, A Framework for Sino-Russian Relations in the Arctic.
28. Meduza: Andrei Kolesnikov, Did Gorbachev want to destroy the USSR? Could the Soviet Union still exist today? Might Putinism end in reforms? Questions about Perestroika that you’re too embarrassed to ask, 35 years later.
29. Infobrics: Ukraine Has Asked Russia to Fill Its Budget Holes – infobrics.org/post/30846/
30. Foreign Policy: How Putin Changed Russia Forever. President Vladimir Putin has transformed his country and its relations with the world. We asked 11 leading experts to look back at his 20-year reign and predict what the future may bring. (YEVGENIA ALBATS, CATHERINE BELTON, IRINA BOROGAN, SUSAN GLASSER, VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, VLADIMIR MILOV, MICHAEL MCFAUL, OLGA OLIKER, ANDREI SOLDATOV, ANGELA STENT)
31. The National: U.S. expects Russia to target Covid-19 vaccine in disinformation campaign. US Special Envoy Lea Gabrielle has said the Kremlin has a track record for disinformation on public health issues.

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

Comment