Category: Far East, Siberia, APEC

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Asia’s commercial heft helps keep Russia’s war economy going; That holds future lessons for America” – The Economist

Caucasus, Central Asia, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Sanctions, Taiwan, Turkey
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

“… [M]ore than three dozen countries … slapped economic sanctions on Russia … unprecedented in … scope for a target of its size, covering energy and other commodities, finance, technology, travel, shipping and more … to raise the cost … of continuing the war [in Ukraine]. … China … has done the most to undermine the West’s sanctions. Trade between […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “China’s Xi Doubles Down on Belt and Road as Path to New World Order” – WSJ

Central Asia, China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

“Chinese and Russian leaders tout trillion-dollar initiative as a model for international cooperation at summit in Beijing, but Western leaders weren’t there to hear it.” “… [O]ne war raging in Ukraine … another unfolding in the Middle East …Xi Jinping is promoting his signature foreign-policy project as a force for unity, cooperation and prosperity around the globe. At a summit […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Is Russia Losing Its Grip on Central Asia? What China’s Growing Regional Ambitions Mean for Moscow” – Foreign Affairs/ Temur Umarov, Alexander Gabuev

Central Asia, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Map of CIS Central Asia and Environs

“Last month … [in] a diplomatic milestone … Chinese President Xi Jinping[] … invited … leaders of five Central Asian states to … Xian for their first-ever joint summit with China. … [part of] China’s foray into a region … often referred to … as Russia’s backyard. … [P]raise … Xi and his guests from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and […]

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Émigré Politicians, Russian and Non-Russian, Mired in Wishful Thinking, Vintsevskaya Says

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Headlines, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Russia Regions Map

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, June 14, 2023) Many émigré politicians, Russian and non-Russian, talk about the looming collapse of Russia, a position that is understandable but fundamentally defective because it is a classic example of wishful thinking, of believing that what one wants to happen is what will, Tatyana Vintsevskaya says. The Siberian activist, who herself […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Beijing Fears Russia Becoming ‘Minor Power’ Under ‘Crazy’ Putin – FT” – Moscow Times

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Headlines, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

(Moscow Times – Jan. 11, 2023) Beijing is planning to reorient its foreign policy away from Moscow fearing a decline in Russia’s economic and political clout as a direct result of its disastrous invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s eventual downfall, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous Chinese officials and regional experts. [ft.com/content/e592033b-9e34-4e3d-ae53-17fa34c16009] Though Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader […]

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Still ‘No Limits’? The China-Russia Partnership After Samarkand

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Headlines, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Elizabeth Wishnick – Sept. 22, 2022) Elizabeth Wishnick is a senior research scientist at CNA and a professor of political science at Montclair State University.This month’s meeting between the Chinese and Russian presidents on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan has led to renewed scrutiny of the scope and depth of […]

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View From The Ground: Russia’s Ulyanovsk Region Highlights Limits Of China-Russia Ties

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

From big gas projects to closer military cooperation and improved bilateral trade that reached a record of more than $110 billion in 2019, the China-Russia relationship has reached new heights [. ..]

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RUSSIALINK: “Biggest Names Among Russia’s Election Winners: A first female mayor, a TV host and Chechnya’s strongman” – Moscow Times

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russia Regions Map

Russia held controversial parliamentary elections last weekend that were marred by claims of mass fraud […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s 2021 Wildfires Now Largest in Recorded History” – Moscow Times

Disasters, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC
Forest Fire file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Aug. 17, 2021) Russia’s 2021 wildfires are already the largest in the history of satellite observations, burning across 17.08 million hectares of land, the Greenpeace Russia environmental group has said. The new record beats the previous record set in 2012, when fires burned 17 million hectares of land, and comes with weeks left to go […]

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The Week In Russia: The Dangerous Summer

Coronavirus, Covid-19 Pandemic, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Forest Fire file photo

As September elections approach, COVID-19 takes a mounting toll and wildfires burn across huge swaths of the country …. The Kremlin crackdown on dissenters, civil society, and independent media continues […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Along Russia’s ‘Road of Bones,’ Relics of Suffering and Despair” – New York Times/ Andrew Higgins

Far East, Siberia, APEC, History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

“The Kolyma Highway in the Russian Far East once delivered tens of thousands of prisoners to the work camps of Stalin’s gulag. The ruins of that cruel era are still visible today.” “… [P]risoners, hacking … through insect-infested summer swamps and winter ice fields, brought the road … [which] then brought yet more prisoners … a torrent of slave labor […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Khabarovsk [Protests]” – BMB Russia

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Far Eastern Russia and Environs, with Khabarovsk Pinpointed, adapted from image at cdc.gov

“… [Khabarovsk] protests … against the arrest of former local governor Sergei Furgal have … been ongoing for … 100 consecutive days … remarkable … [for] Putin era protests. … [On] October 10 … for the first time[] [there was] … a crackdown by riot troops and the arrest of about 30 …. [T]he numbers … have significantly dwindled … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Alexei Navalny Supporters Probe How the Russian Opposition Leader Was Poisoned” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove, Ann M. Simmons

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chemical Weapons, Biological Weapons, ChemBio, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

“Team scoured his hotel room and found a water bottle they say has traces of Novichok, a nerve agent” “… [A]fter … Navalny collapsed … on a plane over Siberia with signs of poisoning, his supporters rushed to [his] hotel room ….. bagg[ing] everything they could find … in the hopes of solving the mystery …. Days later, German doctors […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why Russia’s alliance with China is improbable, but not impossible” – Fondation pour la recherche stratégique/ Simon Saradzhyan

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Military, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

“Abstract: [A]re Russia and China already in a de facto military alliance (against the U.S.), or may they soon enter one? … [This article] reviews … academic literature on alignments … and alliances … infers criteria … [and] sets out to … [assess that] relationship …. Introduction[:]  The [Russia-China] relationship … is getting stronger …. Xi Jinping[] and … Putin[] […]

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On Russia’s Far Eastern Frontier, Vast Stretches Of Free Land, But Little Interest

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Siberian River, Forest, Mountain

… The Russian state has made 220 million hectares of land available under its program, double the total amount allotted under the Homestead Act. But only around 80,000 Russians have taken advantage. […]

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China, Russia Deepen Their Ties Amid Pandemic, Conflicts With The West

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Reid Standish – Sept. 1, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/china-russia-deepen-their-ties-amid-pandemic-conflicts-with-west/30814684.html) Russia has begun work on one of the world’s largest polymer plants, an $11 billion project that has its sights set on the Chinese market as economic ties between Beijing and Moscow grow. With ground […]

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RUSSIALINK: “As Discontent Grows at Home, Russia’s Opposition Is Watching Belarus” – Moscow Times

Belarus, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Despite massive protests continuing in the Far East, all eyes in Russia are on its western neighbor. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich – Aug. 18, 2020) During his weekly YouTube talk show Thursday, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny summed up how Russia’s opposition feels about the protests that are raging on either end of the post-Soviet space with one […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s electoral testing ground; Welcome to Novosibirsk, where multiple opposition parties are battling for real power and setting the stage for Russia’s nationwide elections” – Meduza

Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

“In … Novosibirsk[,] … not one but two opposition groups are building … a serious challenge to the ruling party. … [T]he Communist Party (KPRF) … part of … the systemic opposition … recognized by the Russian government and permitted to hold elected seats across the country. … currently controls Novosibirsk City Hall[;] Communist Mayor Anatoly Lokot … push[ing] for […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Siberia’s ‘gateway to the underworld’ grows as record heat wave thaws permafrost” – Science Magazine/ Richard Stone

Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“… Known to locals as the ‘gateway to the underworld,’ Batagay is … [earth’s] largest thaw slump …. Once just a gully … the scar has expanded … as … permafrost thaws and meltwater carries off … sediment. Now more than 900 meters wide, it epitomizes the vulnerability of permafrost in the Arctic …. Outbursts of pent-up methane gas in […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Nearly Half of Russians Support Anti-Kremlin Protests in Far East – Poll” – Moscow Times

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Far Eastern Russia and Environs, with Khabarovsk Pinpointed, adapted from image at cdc.gov

Nearly half of Russians say they approve of … anti-Kremlin protests in the Far East … [breaking] out … after the arrest of the Khabarovsk region’s popular governor … and his replacement with a Putin-appointed lawmaker …. People have taken to the streets of Khabarovsk near the Chinese border … 18 days in a row … an unprecedented show of opposition to the Kremlin in the region […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russia’s Far East, a New Face of Resistance to Putin’s Reign” – New York Times/ Anton Troianovski

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Far Eastern Russia and Environs, with Khabarovsk Pinpointed, adapted from image at cdc.gov

“As the protests swell in the city of Khabarovsk, 4,000 miles from Moscow, residents who had never before found a public outlet for anger are becoming activists.” “… [P]rotests in Khabarovsk reached well into the tens of thousands … establishing this distant city – some 4,000 miles from Moscow – as the site of the biggest popular challenge to … […]

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RUSSIALINK: “‘Russia, Wake up’: Far East Protesters Seek to Set Example for Entire Country; Some local Khabarovsk activists and experts, however, wonder if the protest movement can be sustained.” – Moscow Times

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Far Eastern Russia and Environs, with Khabarovsk Pinpointed, adapted from image at cdc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich – Khabarovsk, July 27, 2020) As they have for nearly three weeks, the first protesters started to gather at Lenin Square in the city of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East at 7 pm on a recent weekday evening. They were soon joined by independent Russian journalists and a small army of YouTube bloggers, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “There Is No Arctic Axis; Russia and China’s partnership in the north is primarily driven by business, not politics.” – Foreign Policy/ Elizabeth Buchanan

Arctic, China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy
Arctic Map

“… [C]ommercial realpolitik is at the heart of [Russia and China’s Arctic] engagement. … [even as it] navigates existing fault lines, such as Beijing’s failure to acknowledge Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Moscow’s nonalignment in the … India-China conflict. … [R]egional cooperation is due to … shared interest[s] in maintaining domestic stability. Long-term economic development ventures and the viability of […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Khabarovsk Region Tasted Democracy. Now Voters Feel It Was Ripped Away.” – Moscow Times

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Far Eastern Russia and Environs, with Khabarovsk Pinpointed, adapted from image at cdc.gov

Protesters told The Moscow Times they will continue rallying until their governor’s murder trial is held in Khabarovsk. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich – July 15, 2020) For as long as Valery Nechayev could remember, the ruling United Russia party had been in charge of his home region of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East. And, for a while, […]

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Protesters in Khabarovsk Now Talking about Independent Far Eastern Republic of the 1920s

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Far Eastern Republic, History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Far Eastern Russia and Environs, with Khabarovsk Pinpointed, adapted from image at cdc.gov

… What began as protests against the removal of their governor, Khabarovsk residents have transformed into something more and attracted the attention of others across the Russian Far East …. [B]y talking about a possible restoration of the Far Eastern Republic, they beyond doubt have attracted the attention or and possibly repressive actions by the Russian authorities in the capital […]

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Siberia’s ‘Poles Of Cold’ Are Obliterating Heat Records, And Alarming Climate Scientists

Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

.. The rapid pace of warming has stunned climate scientists, despite years of gradually rising temperatures. […]

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Protesters In Russia’s Far East Demand Release Of Regional Governor Charged With Murders

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

Demonstrators have continued to peacefully protest in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, demanding the release of the region’s governor Sergei Furgal of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Far-Reaching Consequences of Siberia’s Climate-Change-Driven Wildfires” – Smithsonian Magazine/ Theresa Machemer

Arctic, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Smoke from the blazes is now reaching the West Coast of the United States.” “… [S]moke from the fires … spans over 1,000 miles … causing hazy skies [in] the northwestern United States …. Permafrost is rich in organic material that froze before it could completely decompose. Melting permafrost releases greenhouse gases on top of the pollution released by the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Arctic Circle’s record temperatures heighten global warming concerns” – Financial Times/ Leslie Hook, Max Seddon

Arctic, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“Wild anomalies such as the 38C recorded in northern Russia this week underline climate change threat.” “… [N]orthern Russia has produced the highest temperature ever recorded inside the Arctic Circle …. [R]esidents of Verkhoyansk, north-east of Siberia in … Yakutia … have … been sunbathing in a town that at other times of the year shares the record as the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia cannot afford another 15 years at war with the west” – Financial Times/ Philip Stephens

China, Europe, EU, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“Vladimir Putin should brush off the cold war cobwebs in pursuit of a hard-headed look at national interests.” “… Putin is proposing … the option of another 15 years in office. He could … continu[e] to shake his fist at the west. Alternatively, he could brush away the cobwebs of the cold war and begin to recognise the challenge to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Weary Russia Tries to Avoid Entanglement in U.S.-China Spat” – Wall Street Journal/ Yaroslav Trofimov, Thomas Grove

China, Coronavirus, Covid-19 Pandemic, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

“As its dependence on Beijing grows, virus-hit Russia seeks to walk its own line.” “… With [Covid-19] … escalating the conflict between Washington and Beijing, Moscow faces a tough challenge: how to preserve its Chinese economic lifeline without getting dragged into the … looming clash. … In a way, it is a reversal of the dynamic that powered China-Russia relations […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Tanker crosses Russian Arctic route without icebreaker assistance; Commercial shipping on the Northern Sea Route starts earlier than ever before.” – Barents Observer/ Atle Staalesen

Arctic, China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy
Arctic Map

By late May, a carrier had set out on the icy route without icebreaker escort. “… [S]ea ice along the Russian Arctic coast is quickly vanishing as temperatures … have been reaching record highs. With the retreating ice comes tanker traffic. … [T]he ‘Christophe de Margerie’ … on May [19th] kickstarted this year’s shipping season across the eastern part of […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Academician Arbatov advises Russia to keep distance in relations with China” – Interfax

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC
Asia Map

MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) – Russia and China have common interests, but they are not strategic allies, Academician Alexei Arbatov, who heads the International Security Center of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said. “We currently have wonderful relations, but Russia needs to keep its distance,” Arbatov said during an online […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The United States Should Not Align With Russia Against China; Authoritarians make bad allies-and Washington already has the stable and democratic friends it needs” – Foreign Policy/ Matthew Kroenig

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Asia Map

“… The growing Russian and Chinese strategic relationship is worrying. The two autocratic powers have cooperated on major energy deals, including a blockbuster $55 billion arrangement to pipe Siberian natural gas into China. … and Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping … [having] high-level summits … Xi … declared Putin ‘his best friend and colleague.’ Perhaps most troubling … have […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “China Tightens Russia Border to Stem Surge of Coronavirus Cases; Officials move to contain new outbreak as infected Chinese nationals return from Moscow” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove

China, Coronavirus, Covid-19 Pandemic, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, JRL NewsBlog
Asia Map

“China raced to contain a new outbreak of coronavirus in communities along its northern border with Russia …. seal[ing] off parts of its border with Russia … establish[ing] a field hospital …. Newly imported infections threaten to trigger a second wave of contagion in China …. The jump in infections also added to the uncertainty about the state of the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin wants new connection between Arctic coast and Indian Ocean; The construction of a railway line to Sabetta is what is needed, the president argues” – The Barents Observer/ Atle Staalesen

Arctic, Central Asia, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Transportation
Asia Map

“… ‘The idea is to connect the ports on the Northern Sea Route with the ports of the Pacific and Indian Oceans by means of transport arterials through Eastern Siberia, the heartlands of Eurasia,’ … [Putin said to Valdai] conference participants. … [such as] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, King of Jordan Abdullah II, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Filipinian leader […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Radical warming in Siberia leaves millions on unstable ground” – Washington Post/ Anton Troianovski, Chris Mooney, Michael Robinson Chavez, Trish Wilson, Brian Murphy, Brian Malasics

Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“… The permafrost that once sustained farming – and upon which villages and cities are built – is in the midst of a great thaw, blanketing the region with swamps, lakes and odd bubbles of earth …. In Yakutia … cattle and reindeer herding have plunged 20 percent …. Siberians … are being driven to migrate …. An international team […]

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Russian Population Decline in Spotlight Again

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics
File Photo of Crowd in Russia Including Person Waving Russian Flag with Eagle

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Daniel Shapiro, Natasha Yefimova-Trilling – September 13, 2019) Last week, in a meeting with top advisors, Russian President Vladimir Putin lamented the population decline in the country’s Far East, saying it falls in an “alarming, red zone.” While this sparsely populated region, which shares a border with far more densely populated Chinese provinces, may raise […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s $150 Billion Bet on Arctic Warming; France’s Macron slams the northern shipping route as an ecological disaster in the making, but Asian and European companies are lining up for a share of its (potential) riches.” – Transitions Online/ Ky Krauthamer

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Far East, Siberia, APEC, France, JRL NewsBlog, Norway
Arctic Map

“… [Russian has high hopes for] the [Arctic’s] Northern Sea Route [NSR] … owing to the long-term thinning of the ice pack. … [Use of the route] could shorten the journey from East Asia to Europe by up to two weeks. Norway … is skeptical[,] … has concerns about the environmental dangers of increased shipping in the fragile northern environment, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Liberal-Democrats to hold 34 of 35 seats in Khabarovsk City Duma – election results” – Interfax

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

KHABAROVSK. Sept 9 (Interfax) – Nearly all seats in the Khabarovsk City Duma will belong to the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPR) following the elections on Sunday, the city hall said citing the territorial elections commission. “The 7th Khabarovsk City Duma has completely changed its composition. Following the vote count, 34 mandates went to LDPR candidates and one to a member of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Arctic leader warns of ‘dramatic’ climate change impact; Head of remote Yakutia region expresses concern about effects of rising temperatures” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy

Arctic, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“The head of Russia’s largest Arctic territory has warned of ‘very dramatic’ impacts from climate change … Moscow comes under increasing pressure …. [with climate] emerg[ing] as an important domestic issue … due to … large-scale melting of permafrost in the north of the country and temperature increases … outpac[ing] global averages. … creat[ing] serious knock-on effects for Russia, including […]

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Trump Calls Putin To Offer Help Battling Siberian Fires

Disasters, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – August 1, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-army-called-in-to-fight-siberia-forest-fires/30085889.html) U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to help Russia battle widespread forest fires in Siberia as he seeks to repair Washington’s fractious relationship with Moscow. Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to make the offer, the Kremlin said […]

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Russian Plane Draws Shots from South Korea in First Air Patrol with China: Belfer Experts Weigh In

China, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Japan, Military, South Korea

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff- July 25, 2019) South Korean fighter jets fired over 300 warning shots at a Russian Air Force A-50 Mainstay Airborne Early Warning aircraft on July 23 after the Russian plane twice violated South Korea’s airspace above the East Sea, according to South Korean authorities cited by The Aviationist. Earlier that day, Russian and Chinese […]

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Are Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin Partners? Interpreting the Russia-China Rapprochement

China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Military
Map of China and Environs, adapted from image at cdc.gov

(PONARS Eurasia – Hilary Appel – July 19, 2019 – Hilary Appel is the Podlich Family Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College) (PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The blossoming of relations between the Russian and Chinese presidents has been prominently on display. Images have been widely distributed of Xi Jinping awarding Vladimir Putin the newly […]

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