The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

RAF fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian bombers


(Close call: An RAF Typhoon intercepts a Russian bomber that had approached UK airspace)

This is the moment when the growing tension between Britain and Russia became almost tangible. Bombers approached British airspace at the weekend - and defence chiefs scrambled supersonic Eurofighter Typhoon jets to counteract the potential threat. The close encounter follows an announcement from Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, that bombers should resume the tactics of the Cold War, when incursions by long-range Soviet bombers testing UK air defences were a familiar routine. Yesterday, the Ministry of Defence released the picture of a Typhoon intercepting the Russian Bear-H bomber as proof of the Russian spy flights. It is the first time the Typhoon, Britain's most advanced warplane, has been seen in action against a potentially hostile target. The MoD would not specify the number of bombers, although there were thought to be more than one.

The Russian planes had been detected approaching British airspace on Friday across the North Atlantic, at high altitude. Unlike commercial airliners, they filed no flight plan in advance. And as ground controllers grew increasingly concerned about their intentions, two Tornado fighters took off from RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire, armed with air-to-air missiles. But the Russians refused to leave the area and the Tornadoes, running short on fuel, were replaced by a second pair. Then two of the Typhoons, from XI Squadron at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, were sent up. Eventually,the Russian aircrew turned for home - without crossing the line into UK air space.

One RAF insider said: "It seems to be largely political - almost a statement of pride by the Russians, or Putin telling us not to take him for granted. "It's an old, old game which we played for years during the Cold War and now we're playing it. You can glean a certain amount of information about our defences this way, particularly if some helpful Russian chap stands outside the wire at Leeming or Coningsby and notes what time our aircraft take off. "Quite how all this really helps the Russians is another matter, but we take it seriously." The first known incident of this type in recent years was in May, when Russian spy planes flew from their base at Murmansk to watch a Nato naval exercise off the Scottish coast.

Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ace/article.do

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Georgia Accuses Russia of Second Incursion



By VOA News 22 August 2007

Georgia has accused Russia of violating its airspace for the second time this month.

The Georgian foreign ministry said Wednesday that the country's air defense system had tracked an incursion of a Russian aircraft on Tuesday near the pro-Russian breakaway Abkhazia region. Georgia accused Russia of violating its air space on August 6 and dropping a missile near Georgia's other breakaway region, South Ossetia. On Tuesday, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin accused Georgia of planting evidence of a Russian attack in an act of "provocation." Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze accused Russia of resorting to brazen, Soviet-style methods. A special envoy of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Miomir Zuzul, was to hear the Russian side Wednesday in Moscow. The envoy, a former Croatian foreign minister, spent two days in Georgia and heard reports from the country's top political and military leaders on the August 6 incident. He also visited the village of Tsitelubani near South Ossetia where the missile was found The missile failed to explode and no one was hurt. International investigators who examined the evidence in Georgia confirmed that the aircraft had entered the country's airspace from Russia. Russia denies that its military aircraft played a role in the incident.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-08-22-voa43.cfm

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

You hold a little too much regard for "Putin's Russia". Putin is nothing special. He hasn't done a dam thing with the J-e-w and he is the same as his predicesors -- a money grubber. Russia is a nation rich is history and tradition and soul, but right now she is sick. Completely sick, as are her inhabitants -- including the armos. As far as the deployment to Syria -- I'll believe it when I see it. From what I remember "Yeltsin's Russia" made a lot a of noise about NATOs aggression on Yugoslavia -- but in all their noise they ended up backing down on everything. Even accepting the demeaning role of operating as part of the US forces on the very southern, completely Albanian populated tip of Kosovo. So hype is all it is.

Enker Skhara, I was looking for an appropriate time to bring up this post of yours. I guess now is as good of a time as any. So, have you had a change of heart yet?

I know that your heartfelt comments was a result of your personal disappointments, but has observing the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin more closely for the last year or so changed your mind regarding this matter? Honestly, had I paid attention to the mainstream news media and the so-called "political scientists/analysts" in this country I would have thought the same way as you. Generally speaking, people in the US think that Russia is a vast hopeless wasteland, and those who fled the chaos after the Soviet collapse, such as your family, were not able to observe firsthand the evolution of Russian nationalism. Incidentally, when I say Russian nationalism at no time do I mean the criminal/psychotic elements known as the "skinheads" or the "neonazis."

Nevertheless, until Putin's rise to power I saw no hope for the Russian Federation either. As a result, the future prospects for nations such as Armenia, Iran, Syria and Serbia looked quite bleak to me. Who would be able to stop the West's gargantuan economic/military power? Could China do it? Hardly. First of all, China's armed forces was many-many years behind the West for China to be able to militarily oppose the West's geopolitical interests. China was also geopolitically isolated, it politically influenced only its immediate region. What's more, economically, China's very future was directly dependent upon its trade with the West.

On the other hand, even with the disaster that followed the Soviet collapse Russia had a great 'potential' to be a massive superpower again. The Russian Federation had a massive potential militarily, economically and politically. Unlike the West, Russia controlled vast territories bursting with natural resources; Unlike the West, Russia had an abundance of scientists and specialists within its military industry; And much like the West, Russia also had close strategic relations with pivotal nations around the globe. And the aforementioned potentials of the Russian Federation was precisely the reason why the West tried very hard for many years to undermine it and contain it.

However, by the late 90s there were clear signs of an nationalistic up-serge, a 'quiet' behind the scenes coup d'état, within the halls of the Kremlin. The spearhead of this coup were the inner 'core' elements of the NSB (KGB). They more-or-less forced Yeltsin the Drunk to go back to war in Chechnya (perhaps by blowing up a few buildings in southern Russia and blaming it on the Chechens much like what occurred couple of years later in the US on September 11, 2001) and accept Vladimir Putin as his successor. And that action of the NSB, in essence, changed the course of history for the world desperately needed a balancing power.

And note that the above events - the final Chechen war and the rise of Russian nationalism - occurred more-or-less around the time of NATO's eastward expansions and it's criminal attack on Serbia in 1999. Thus, I think what occurred in Kosovo at the time, as well as the situation in Chechnya, was a massive wakeup call for Russian nationalists.

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Enker Skhara, I was looking for an appropriate time to bring up this post of yours. I guess now is as good of a time as any. So, have you had a change of heart yet?

I certainly did. I saw what perceived to be inaction at the time I posted that. However, now I think Russia was biding her time. Waiting for her caufers to fill; and allowing America to keep digging her grave deeper in Iraq while at the same time becoming an international thug on the eyes of many people worldwide. And so, as it turns out Russia is being looked up to in much of the developing world.

I didn't think Putin was anything special at the time I posted that, but in all honesty, I never thought that Russia would be kept down for the foreseeable future. The misery and humiliation that followed the Soviet collapse wasn't the first such time this happened to her.

She still has a long way to go, but she is on her way to regaining her Soviet status, and now I believe she could be even more powerful, since some of her NATO foes are actually helping finance her power.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

We are currently seeing an unprecedented amount of activity by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.


President Vladimir Putin with leaders from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) overseeing military exercises in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region

The armed forces of the Russian Federation, especially their air forces, have been quite busy as of late. Just within the last several weeks, Moscow has flexed its military muscles in various locations across the entire stretch of the Eurasian continent and beyond. Their theater of operations has been the Pacific Ocean, Central Asia, the southern Caucasus, the northern Arctic and the British Islands. This show of force has essentially taken place along the entire circumference of their geographic borders, specifically the most geostrategically sensitive areas. Having observed the political and military developments coming out of the Russian Federation for several years, I can undoubtedly say that I have not seen as much activity as I'm currently seeing.

I believe this may be due to several geostrategic calculations as outlined below.





Foremost, Moscow is finally signaling, quite loudly, that they are definitely back into the game. Second, there are various unresolved geopolitical issues on Moscow's "to do" list: Namely, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Arctic, etc. Third, Moscow is currently in the process of monopolizing the vast oil/gas distribution networks of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Fourth, Moscow is currently in the process of establishing military/economic alliances with China, India, and various Central Asian "stans." Fifth, Moscow is in the process of expanding and modernizing its armed forces. Sixth, Moscow is attempting to thwart any future attempts by NATO to expand into its spheres of influence, including the contentious issue regarding the US missile station in eastern Europe. Finally, with its aggressive posturing I believe Moscow is attempting to deter attacks against Iran.



Thus, with its muscle flexing and the gradual consolidation of its national wealth along with the establishment of strategic alliances with various nations across the globe, Moscow is clearly signaling the West to stay far away from its neighborhood.

In other words - we are back in town, keep your distance and get used to the new geopolitical status quo.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

And the show continues...

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Russia unveils pilotless 'stealth' bomber



Russia has unveiled the mock-up of a pilotless bomber plane that its constructors say will be even better than the famous US stealth fighter at evading enemy radars and anti-aircraft fire. NTV television showed a full-sized model of the bat-like plane known as Skat, which means "stingray," at an airshow just outside Moscow - the first public glimpse of the project run by Russia's MiG corporation. NTV reported that the aircraft has a flattened, swept-back profile reminiscent of the US air force's stealth aircraft, with a bubble-like xxxxpit area, although the plane will not have a pilot. According to the report, the Skat's constructors claim the stealth technology will make it even less vulnerable than the US version to radar detection. "Many firms are trying to work in this area, but few so far have achieved results. Today we have begun real work on building an assault craft," director of MiG's Mikoyan design bureau, Vladimir Barkovsky, said on NTV television. RIA Novosti news agency quoted Mr Barkovsky saying that the Skat will be able to attack land and sea targets, particularly enemy anti-aircraft sites, even if coming under heavy fire.

Source: http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/...?section=world

Russia repays $83.6Mln debt to Portugal ahead of time

Russia has fully repaid its debt to Portugal 13 years ahead of the agreed term, the Bloomberg agency reports, with reference to the Portuguese Finance Ministry. Over all, $83.6 million were repaid: $65.6 million to the Portuguese government and the remaining to Portuguese companies. Under bilateral agreements signed in 1997 and 2001, Russia was to repay its debt to Portugal in 2020.

Source: http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/...issue=11844147

RUSSIA WARNS CZECHS AGAINST MISSILE SHIELD

In a warning remarkable for its timing, Russia's military chief of staff used yesterday's anniversary of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslavakia to caution the Czech Republic against hosting a component of the proposed U.S. missile shield on its territory. The Czech Republic is considering whether to accept a radar station that would form part of the missile shield. The system is designed to intercept and destroy missiles from "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea, but Moscow sees it as a threat to its security. "We say it will be a big mistake by the Czech government to put this radar site on Czech territory," General Yuri Baluyevsky told reporters after meeting a delegation from the Czech Republic. General Baluyevsky said Prague should hold off making a decision until after the U.S. presidential election, scheduled for late 2008, to replace President George W. Bush.

Source: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/n...c1993b7&k=8493

Russia shows off might with huge flag

THE world's largest Russian flag, covering 400 square metres, was unveiled on the banks of the Moskva river today to celebrate Russia's recovered influence on the world stage. "The authority of our country is increasing, the authority of our national flag is too," Boris Gryzlov, head of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party and of the Russian parliament, was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency. Overnight was a national holiday marking the day in 1991 when after a failed Soviet coup then president Boris Yeltsin announced that a new blue, white and red Russian flag would replace the Soviet Union's old red standard.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...-23109,00.html

Russia Challenges West With Nomination to IMF

Russia said Wednesday that it has nominated a former Czech prime minister to head the International Monetary Fund, challenging the European Union's traditional prerogative to fill the post. The Russian Finance Ministry said in a statement that it was proposing Josef Tosovsky, chairman of the Financial Stability Institute at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, to head the 185-nation organization. The E.U. has put forward former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who, until Tosovsky was nominated, was the sole official candidate for the job of managing director. The Washington-based IMF provides loans and economic advice to member countries. Critics have accused it of exacerbating economic crises in debt-plagued countries through some of the policies it advocates. "We believe that Mr. Tosovsky would be the right person at the right place at the right time," the Russian ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site Wednesday. "Increasing globalization of the world economy and the changing configuration of the international finance system makes it vital the operations of the Fund undergo substantial reforms." The Czech Republic, which is an E.U. member, quickly rejected the initiative and said it would continue to back the E.U.'s choice.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...202487_pf.html

Russia Pessimistic About Kosovo Deal

Russia acknowledged on Thursday that getting Serbs and Albanians to compromise on Kosovo in upcoming talks would be "unbelievably difficult." The comment came in an interview with Russian diplomat Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Moscow's man in a troika of diplomats making a last-ditch bid to break the deadlock over Serbia's breakaway province. The assessment is in line with Western warnings that bridging the gap between Albanian demands for independence and Serbia's total rejection of it could be impossible. But Botsan-Kharchenko insisted that the new talks, which get under way in Vienna next week and which Moscow forced on the West, be open-ended and not subject to a December 10 deadline favored by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. Kosovo has been run by the U.N. and protected by a NATO peace force since 1999, when the West bombed Serbia to compel the withdrawal of its forces during a counter-insurgency war. The troika was set up last month after Russia, Serbia's main ally, repeatedly blocked Western drafts of a U.N. resolution based on a plan by United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari to give Kosovo independence under EU supervision. "The troika itself will not offer any solutions - we are waiting for the sides to find them," he said.

Source: http://mnweekly.ru/world/20070823/55269599.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia builds highly effective Pechora surface-to-air missiles



The final stage of the Combat Commonwealth 2007 military exercise will be held at the Ashuluk firing range in the Astrakhan Region (southern Russia) on August 22. Defense ministers from ten CIS states will fly to the range after the opening ceremony of the MAKS 2007 aerospace show, which opens in Zhukovsky near Moscow on August 21. They will see the operation of the S-125 Pechora (NATO reporting name SA-3 Goa), S-300PMU (SA-10 Grumble) and other air defense missile systems, as well as the flights of the Su-27 Flanker interceptors and Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft.

In fact, the ministers will see in action in the lower reaches of the Volga what they saw on stands in Zhukovsky. The Joint Air Defense System includes the absolute majority of CIS states, even Ukraine, which is not a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Seeing it in action makes a strong impression on air defense specialists and defense ministers, who are political leaders rather than generals. However, some systems will not take part in field firing exercises. One of them is the Pechora-2M SAM system, which Egypt has bought after a long period of dealing with other countries' military exporters. About a dozen countries outside the CIS want to buy Pechora. Among the former Soviet republics Tajikistan has bought it, Uzbekistan is negotiating the acquisition, and Armenia is considering a deal. What attracts them?

Vyacheslav Korotayev, deputy director general of the Defense Systems company that produces Pechora-2M, said it is a revamped version of the S-125 Pechora, which seven CIS countries still have, along with missiles for it. Although Pechora-2M is supplied together with new 5V27D and 5V27DE missiles, which have an improved radio detonator and warhead, it can also use the older 5V27 missiles, which is quite economic for any army. The new Pechora is mobile and can be redeployed within 20-25 minutes, compared with three hours needed to move the old version. This is of crucial importance for an air defense system, because air battles do not last long, and the system also needs to evade return enemy fire. The sooner it moves away, the more chances it has to survive until the next battle.

Besides, Pechora-2M has cutting-edge microprocessors, with their service life advanced from 30-40 to 2,000 and even 10,000 hours. Moreover, the new jam-resistant system can successfully cope with enemy ECM (Electronic-Counter-Measures) systems and missiles. Experts recall that the United States had used Shrike anti-radar missiles against targets in Vietnam. But things have changed since then, and even the sophisticated HARM anti-radar missile is unable to hit Pechora-2M aerial posts because they simply vanish off the screen. Unlike its predecessor, which had a 26 km (16 miles) range, the new SAM system can hit enemy aircraft 35 km (22 miles) away.

The new system's aerial and command posts are located up to 300 meters from missile launchers. Commanders relay orders via telecode and optronic networks, which shield telecommunications and engagement control equipment from enemy ECM systems and enhance personnel survival in case of air strikes. The Pechora-2M features an optronic network comprising one TV channel and one thermal imaging channel, allowing it to attack and destroy aerial targets day and night in conditions of electronic warfare. Consequently, the Pechora-2M can hit F-16 fighters at a 30-km (19-mile) range and larger aircraft at a range of up to 35 km (22 miles).

The revamped Osa-AKM, Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 SAM systems have similar optronic networks, but one Pechora-2M can cover an area assigned to six or eight Osa or Tor systems. This is a serious advantage in terms of the price-combat efficiency ratio. It is for the latter reason that the CIS countries are buying Pechora-2M, rather than S-300 or more expensive S-400 systems. Military experts claim that it is more profitable for Russia to sell the cheaper Pechora to its CIS and CSTO partners. Why?

To begin with, Russia does not have enough modernized S-300 and the cutting-edge S-400 systems for its own armed forces. Second, Pechora-2M can deal with many air targets, including some types of ballistic and cruise missiles, no less effectively than S-300 or S-400, and for less money. And lastly, a fence of modernized Pechora SAM systems along the Russian border (Belarus has a similar system) deprives the potential air aggressor or terrorist of the surprise factor. The incoming targets can be destroyed long before they reach the country's industrial, economic or cultural centers.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070820/72632288.html

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In related news:

Russia unlikely to export S-400 SAM systems any time soon - source



Russia will not export advanced S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler) antiaircraft missiles in the foreseeable future, a source in the military-industrial complex said Thursday. For objective reasons, no S-400 SAM systems will be delivered abroad, including to CIS countries, in the next few years. A decision to export such systems may only be made by the country's top leadership," the expert said, commenting on a recent statement by Belarus's defense minister about his country's intention to buy S-400 systems. Russia first displayed the S-400 system at an ongoing air show outside Moscow. The S-400 Triumf is a new air defense missile system developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. Russia has deployed an S-400 battalion to guard the airspace around the capital, Moscow. The S-400 has been designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles), or twice the range of the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot, and 2.5 times that of the S-300PMU-2. The system is believed to have high capability to destroy stealth aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles with an effective range of up to 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles), and a speed of up to 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) per second. Experts believe that the ability to intercept and destroy cruise missiles and ballistic missiles makes the S-400 Triumf a crucial part of theater missile defenses. A regular S-400 battalion comprises at least eight launchers and 32 missiles and a mobile command post, according to various sources.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070823/73849589.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Putin Hails ‘Allied’ Ties With Armenia



President Vladimir Putin welcomed the “truly allied character” of Russia’s relationship with Armenia as he received his Armenian counterparty Robert Kocharian in his summer retreat in the Black Sea city of Sochi on Thursday. “It is very pleasant to note that our relations are developing well, that our trade is growing, not to mention our relations in the political sphere,” Putin told Kocharian at the start of their meeting, in remarks broadcast by Russian television. Kocharian agreed with Putin, singling out growing economic and military-technical cooperation between the two countries. He said the two leaders need to meet regularly to “review their positions” and “consult” on issues of mutual interest. No further details were reported. Neither the Kremlin, nor official Yerevan detailed the agenda of the Sochi talks when announcing them on Wednesday. Observers expected Russia’s growing economic presence in Armenia to feature large during the talks. Meeting with Kocharian in Moscow in October last year, Putin publicly deplored the fact that Russia’s is not Armenia’s number one foreign investor. Sergey Markov, a Russian political analyst, was quoted by a Russian news agency as saying that he believes the “issue of the handover of power” in Armenia will also be discussed in Sochi. Kocharian, who will complete his final term in office early next year, has sought and relied on Moscow’s support throughout his nine-year presidency. His most likely successor, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, is also thought to consider such support essential for winning Armenia’s approaching presidential elections.

Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...85F48AABFD.ASP

Armenian, Russian Presidents Meet In Sochi

Russian President Vladimir Putin today hosted his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, on a working visit to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Putin praised what he described as warm ties between Moscow and Yerevan. "I am very pleased to say that our relations are developing well, that trade is growing, not to mention the relations in the political sphere. These relations truly have become like those between allies," Putin said. RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported that Yerevan has been tight-lipped about details of the talks. A short statement by Kocharian’s office said only that they will center on “prospects for the development of Russian-Armenian relations.” Kocharian’s press secretary, Victor Soghomonian, said separately that the Armenian president plans to hold a number of other meetings in Sochi, but did not elaborate. Political analysts expect Putin and Kocharian to discuss the pipeline pumping Iranian gas to Armenia. Russia's state-run gas monopoly Gazprom last year took control of the pipeline's Armenian section in exchange for setting gas prices at half of European levels until January 1, 2009. Until that date, Armenia will pay $110 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas. Analysts say weapons purchases are also likely to top Kocharian's agenda. As a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Armenia is entitled to buy Russian weapons at preferential prices. Putin and Kocharian previously met in Sochi in January. The one-on-one talks reportedly focused on Russian-Armenian commercial relations, with the two presidents praising Russia’s increased economic presence in Armenia and agreeing to boost it further this year. At that meeting, Putin noted the absence of “unresolved problems or difficult issues” in Moscow’s ties with Yerevan, and welcomed growing Russian-Armenian trade.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle...67883ae83.html

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And on a slightly related news:

ARMENIA MAY NOT HAVE US AMBASSADOR FOR SOME MORE TIME

Until the issue of the Armenian genocide is resolved or the adoption of Resolution 106 finishes, it is possible that there will be no U.S. ambassador to Armenia for some more time, Shaharist Melkumyan, member of the Armenian Cause Office, shared her opinion with reporters today. ''USA understands that this process will still go on since it has raised a lot of noise. They have not decided yet who to send as an ambassador and future developments are unforeseen,'' she said. ''Our disposition on this issue is very clear – an anti-Armenian ambassador who rejects the genocide or is prone to do so must not be in Armenia,'' office member said.

Source: http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2007/08/23/haydat/

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia conducts Tu-22 strategic bomber drills in the south



Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers successfully conducted a series of tactical exercises in the south of the country and in Kazakhstan this week, an Air Force spokesman said Friday. The Tu-22M3 Backfire-C is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic bomber that Russia uses mainly to patrol the skies over its southern borders, Central Asia and the Black Sea region.

"We held a series of strategic bomber exercises [involving Tu-22M3 bombers] Tuesday and Friday to practice penetrating the air defenses of a potential adversary," Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said. "The crews also conducted simulated bomber raids at the Guryanovo testing range in the Saratov Region [southern Russia], and practiced launches of cruise missiles at the Emba testing range in Kazakhstan," he said. President Vladimir Putin announced August 17 that Russia had permanently resumed long-range patrol flights of strategic bombers, which were suspended in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Speaking on the final day of large-scale military exercises involving Russia, China, and four Central Asian countries in the south Urals, Putin said: "Air patrol areas will include zones of commercial shipping and economic activity. As of today, combat patrolling will be on a permanent basis. It has a strategic character." The announcement gained substantial coverage in British and other Western media, which called the Kremlin's move a return to the Cold War era. It also apparently triggered serious concerns in NATO, which recently increased its monitoring of Russian bomber flights in neutral airspace.

Last Friday, the British Defense Ministry reported an alleged incident, the second this summer, in which the Royal Air Force had to scramble its Typhoon fighters to intercept a Russian Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bomber that approached British air space during a flight over the North Atlantic. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, saying its planes never violate foreign airspace, and their actions have no aggressive intent against other countries. However, the Kremlin's assurances did not stop attempts by foreign media to further fuel fears that a new military buildup is underway in Russia.

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper said Friday on its Web site that NATO vessels are closely monitoring sea trials of the latest Russian diesel missile submarine with enhanced stealth capability in the Baltic Sea. The Project 677 Amur submarine features a new anti-sonar coating for the hull, an extended cruising range, and advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry. The newspaper speculated that Russia could be testing NATO's "ability to defend territorial waters in much the same way that bomber flights can test its ability to defend airspace."

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070824/74204305.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Why Russia Is Flexing Its Muscles



Time, By Mark Thompson/Washington

Moscow's latest saber-rattling — flying long-range bomber patrols toward the U.S. and Britain, launching planes from its sole aircraft carrier, redeploying the Russian fleet to the Mediterranean, engaging in war games with China and several central Asian nations — doesn't mean the Cold War has returned. What it does signal is Russia's willingness, emboldened by the oil wealth once again flowing to the government, to begin reasserting its historic role as a strategic counterweight to Washington. And if it can't quite muster the heft to do that alone, Moscow is increasingly allying with other nations to challenge America's global hegemony.



Geopolitical rivalry long predates the United States and the Soviet Union, of course; it dates back to the days of the Roman Empire. And the revival of such competition between Washington and Moscow is no surprise given Russia's recovery from its weakened position in the 1990s, which saw its regional and global influence dramatically reduced. But an oil price of $70 a barrel oil has filled the Kremlin's coffers and allowed it to pump money into its military. And the increased spending comes on the heels of a series of moves by Washington that has upset Russia anew, ranging from NATO enlargement and proposed missile-defense sites in the Czech Republic and Poland, to the Iraq war. At least partly in response, Russia recently planted a titanium reproduction of its flag at the North Pole, test-fired a new ballistic missile supposedly capable of thwarting Washington's fledgling missile shield, and has blocked moves at the U.N. aimed at granting Kosovo formal independence from Russia's ally, Serbia.



"Russia is back," says Cliff Kupchan, a Russia expert at the Washington-based Eurasia Group, a political risk advisory and consulting firm. "The Russian elites have more spring in their step than at any time since my first visit there in 1981, and they've had enough of U.S. unilateralism."

Officially, Washington isn't peeved by Russia's latest moves. "Militaries around the world engage in a variety of different activities," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in response to news that Russia's long-range bomber missions were resuming after a hiatus of 15 years. "It's not entirely surprising that the Russian Air Force, the Russian military, might engage in this kind of activity." Could it be seen as a security threat to the U.S.? "I don't think our military has those concerns about it," Johndroe said.



But there is a sense inside the U.S. government that relations with the Russians have suffered as a result of the Administration's preoccupations with its "global war on terror" and the conflict in Iraq. "The old saw is that Washington is a one-crisis town," says Ariel Cohen, a Russia expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington. Beyond that, Cohen says, the U.S. has long misconceived the nature of a post-Soviet Russia. "They thought that Russia would just be a larger, colder France, huffing and puffing but not really doing anything," Cohen says. "But instead, Russia has decided to flex its oil-fed muscle and to go a happy place from which its elites came from: the Cold War."



Kupchan believes the Russians have a reason to gripe: While President Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to call Bush following the 9/11 attacks and offer assistance, Russia got little in return for its support and cooperation in the campaign against al-Qaeda. "They believe they were the first in the door after 9/11, and they've got an empty bag to show for it," he says. "Most of the current European security architecture," he adds, is built "on Russian weakness," and Moscow has had enough.

One response has been to cozy up to China — a strategic rival during the Cold War — through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which recently held a war game in Russian involving 6,500 troops. The six-year old group, sometimes called a "club of dictators" — its members also include the authoritarian governments of former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — is seen by some in the U.S. government as a retooled Warsaw Pact that could serve to balance NATO. The SCO rejected Washington's request for observer status, while welcoming Iranian participation. The SCO "is an incipient counterweight" to the U.S. and NATO, Kupchan says. "If they spike it with Iran, you've got something ugly."

Source: http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...655521,00.html