What's that thing bobbling between the two cosmonauts?

The cosmonauts are also using sticks to operate some controls, I
assume because of the high g forces. Have US astronauts routinely
done the same, or are the controls arranged to make that unnecessary?

I just realized that the video of the launch seems to have been taken by
someone with a hand-held video camera from about 1000' away. How nuts is
that!

I could just imagine NASA authorities going ape if anyone tried doing that
on a shuttle launch!