RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#95 :: Wednesday, 27 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-#95 :: Wednesday, 27 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. TASS: Putin: coronavirus situation stabilizing in Moscow and across Russia.
2. www.rt.com: The peak of the spread of Covid-19 in Russia has passed. Postponed Victory Day parade will be held on June 24 – Putin.
3. Moscow Times: Moscow to Start Easing Coronavirus Restrictions After Flattening Curve.
4. Moscow Times: Russians’ Confidence in Government Down, Self-Reliance Up During Virus Outbreak – Poll.
5. TASS: Vedomosti: Kremlin struggles to set constitutional vote date due to coronavirus pandemic in regions.
6. TASS: Readiness as the new reality: How COVID-19 made Russia’s healthcare system shift gears – tass.com/society/1160663
7. Paul Goble: Coronavirus Spreads More Rapidly than HIV/AIDS, Justifying Harsh Measures, Demographer Says.
8. Asia Times: Russia’s suspiciously low Covid mortality rates. Amid widespread infections, even pro-Putin media question Kremlin fatality accounting.
9. BMB Russia: COVID and Politics [link is to entire issue of that email newsletter].
10. TASS: Russian experts see possibility of coronavirus reinfection among recovered patients.
11. Intellinews: Russian policy veteran Kudrin urges seizing of the COVID moment for visionary reform.
12. Postsocialism: Jeremy Morris, Covid and ‘lay normativity’ – postsocialism.org/2020/05/26/covid-and-lay-normativity/
13. TASS: Russia’s economic activity reaches 79% of pre-crisis figure, minister says.
14. TASS: Majority of Russian businessmen negatively estimate state of economy, says survey.
15. The National Interest: Herman Pirchner, Vladimir Putin’s Increasingly Precarious Future. Since its outbreak earlier this year, the coronavirus has exacted a massive human toll around the world. The biggest political price, however, could end up being paid by none other than Russia’s long-serving strongman president.
16. Opendemocracy.net: Lucian Tion, Is totalitarianism on the rise in the East? We should distinguish between Orban’s rightfully penalized measures of ruling by decree and less stringent regulations meant to curb the unruliness of a class which has placed itself above the law.
17. www.rt.com: NATO rejects Russia’s offer to MUTUALLY freeze military drills amid Covid-19 pandemic.
18. TASS: Izvestia: Western banks expect new sanctions against Russia this fall.
19. Russian International Affairs Council: By Ivan Timofeev, Vladimir Morozov, and Yulia Timofeeva, Sanctions Against Russia: A Look Into 2020 – russiancouncil.ru/en/activity/policybriefs/sanctions-against-russia-a-look-into-2020/
20. www.rt.com: Moscow DENIES US general’s claim of ‘Russian mercenary jets in Libya’. Is this AFRICOM’s new ‘worse than ISIS’ moment? – rt.com/news/489838-moscow-denies-africom-planes-libya/
21. TASS: Nezavisimaya Gazeta: NATO to face problems in wake of US exit from Open Skies Treaty.
22. Russian International Affairs Council: Michael Lambert, CIA National Intelligence Estimates on the Cross-Strait and Sino-Russian Relations – russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/columns/political-life-of-usa/cia-national-intelligence-estimates-on-the-cross-strait-and-sino-russian-relations/
23. The Economist: Three’s a crowd. Donald Trump wants China to join a nuclear-weapons pact. Why prospects look dim.
24. The New Republic: Ankit Panda, The U.S. Can’t “Win” an Arms Race With Russia and China. Trump’s childish nuclear gambling and obsessive jingoism have combined in a strategy that could end arms control as we know it – newrepublic.com/article/157842/us-cant-win-arms-race-russia-china
25. The Spectator: Owen Matthews, Putin needs Xi more than China needs Russia. A special relationship.
26. www.strategic-culture.org: Matthew Ehret, Can NASA’s ‘Artemis Accords’ Spark a U.S.-Russia Alliance? – strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/25/can-nasa-artemis-accords-spark-us-russia-alliance/
27. Valdai Discussion CLub: Timofei Bordachev, Eurasian Integration: Is There Any Reason to Worry? – valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/eurasian-integration-is-there-any-reason-to-worry/
28. Russia Beyond: The HORRIFIC famines of the USSR – and why they happened (PHOTOS) – rbth.com/history/332225-horrific-famines-of-ussr
29. Intellinews: Ben Aris, Ukraine battered by the winds of crisis, but still standing on its feet. As one of the poorest countries in the region that is in a very weak macroeconomic position, Ukraine is one of the most vulnerable to the series of external shocks delivered in the last two months
30. Awful Avalanche: There Has Always Been a Ukraine – Part I – awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2020/05/25/there-has-always-been-a-ukraine-part-i/
31. Awful Avalanche: There Has Always Been a Ukraine – Part II – awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/there-has-always-been-a-ukraine-part-ii/
32. The New Kremlin Stooge: Mark Chapman, Trial by Blockhead. (re MH17 crisis) – thenewkremlinstooge.wordpress.com/2020/05/23/trial-by-blockhead/#more-762

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