The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Illuminator]

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

This one is one of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjdeYCfE6M8

[Armenian]

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

Russia-China arms trade to continue



Russia will not sell aircraft carriers to China because it has stopped producing them, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev told Chinese netizens in an online dialogue this week. "Now China has its own advanced weapons manufacturing technology there's no need to buy outdated military equipment," said Alexeyev. But he added that Russia will continue selling up-to-date arms to China. "It is unfortunate that various threats in the world against us (Russia and China) have not decreased," said the deputy foreign minister, indicating that maintaining a high-level defense capability is in line with the common interests of the two countries.

The arms deals between Russia and China "will not become a threat to any third country, and will not endanger the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole," he added. In regard to recent actions taken by the Russian government on foreigners working and running retail businesses in Russia, Alexeyev said they were not targeted at Chinese citizens, but aimed at combating illegal immigration.

The Kremlin began a ban on immigrant vendors in markets on April 1, forcing foreign traders to pack up their stalls and dozens of kiosks are now empty. But it does not apply to Moscow. Immigrant vendors are only allowed to work as porters, cleaners and wholesalers. They are not permitted to directly sell goods to local customers. The ban has raised concerns that it was aimed at Chinese traders. "The anti-China tendency in Russia contradicts the policy of our government," said Alexeyev.

Another Russian guest engaged in the online dialogue, Nikolay Dudov, governor of Magadan Oblast, said the so-called expansion of Chinese citizens in Russia is not really taking place. "The issue has been exaggerated by sensationalist media," he said. The online dialogue, called "Dialogue with Russia", is part of a series of online interactive activities between Chinese netizens and other countries and regions sponsored by China Daily. This summer, 10 questions were picked from a pool of posted by about 150,000 netizens on the China Daily website and were transferred to several Russian politicians and experts.

"We intend to build up a high-level network platform for Chinese netizens to learn about Russia through this dialogue, as well as providing a new channel for mutual understanding between the two countries," said Zhou Xiaopeng, director of the China Daily website's Global Online Channel.

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_6167704.htm

Germany's Merkel underscores importance of relations with Russia



BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday stressed the need to work with Russia on international issues as the two countries opened a three-day conference in Germany. Speaking in her weekly podcast, Merkel said there was a "strategic partnership" between Germany and Russia. Merkel is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday on the sidelines of the Petersburg Dialogue — an regular Russian-German conference — in the western city of Wiesbaden. They are to join the forum on Monday.

"I have already had many open, honest and very intensive conversations with President Putin and I am pleased that we will be able to do this again," she said. "We can discuss differences in opinion quite openly, but we can also present many common positions."

Merkel said she would talk about the situation in Iran and the future of Kosovo with Putin, while Moscow has said the two leaders will also discuss U.S. plans to station a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. The Petersburg Dialogue was set up by Putin and previous Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2001 to bring Russian and German societies closer together.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...any-Russia.php

India, Russia likely to sign N-cooperation pact



MOSCOW: India and Russia are expected to sign several key agreements, including a comprehensive pact on nuclear cooperation, during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here next month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said on Friday. Talking to Indian mediapersons after the 13th session of Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, Zhukov underscored the significance of the traditional nuclear cooperation with India and ongoing construction of two 1000 VVER nuclear power reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Noting that Moscow views New Delhi as its strategic partner, the Minister said Russia has reaffirmed its commitment to build four more such nuclear reactors for power generation in India. Zhukov, however, did not go into the details of the nuclear pact to be signed in November. "It would be a framework agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy," he said.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/2453867.cms

[Armenian]

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

US reassures Russia on bases but issues warning over arms sales



US Defence Secretary Robert Gates reassured Russia on Saturday that the Pentagon will not put military bases in ex-Soviet Georgia and Ukraine, but he criticised Moscow for arms sales to US foes Iran and Syria. Speaking at the Military Academy of General Staff, at the end of a tense two-day visit to Moscow, Gates said there would be no US bases in either Georgia or Ukraine. The Pentagon would not station troops there ""even if we were to be invited," Gates told Russian officers. The issue is of high sensitivity in Moscow, which has seen its longtime dominance of neighbouring countries severely diminished since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Both Georgia and Ukraine now have pro-Western leaderships that desire to join NATO. However, Gates criticised Moscow's weapons sales, accusing Iran of having "made no secret of its expansionist ambitions," and claiming that Syria is a conduit for weapons to the Lebanese guerrillas in Lebanon.

"The best way to describe it, is that at the end we decided to agree to disagree," Gates said of the issue, which was raised during meetings with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov and other officials. His speech came at the end of a visit dominated by a bitter US-Russian dispute over US missile defence plans which is unsettling bedrock arms control regimes that helped stabilise Europe during the Cold War. In a conciliatory tone, Gates said that "no nation suffered more from the last century's carnage and miscalculations than Russia."

"And today, arguably no nation stands to gain more from this century's possibilities," he said. "We are prepared to work with Russia -- and with the Russian military -- to try to turn possibility into reality for the peoples of both nations."

During talks here, in which he was accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gates offered what he called "new ideas" for Russian participation in a regional missile defence system to protect both Russia and the West from ballistic missile attack. They included joint monitoring of missile early warning data and the stationing of Russian liaison officers at missile defence sites in the United States and Americans at sites in Russia, senior US officials said. Gates said Friday that cooperation at that level would represent a significant strategic shift in military relations between the United States and Russia. US officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared interested in the proposal, and the two sides have agreed to continue technical discussions. But in his only public exchange with Rice and Gates, Putin gave no indication that Russia intends to change course on missile defence or other arms control issues. These include a Russian threat to suspend participation on December 12 in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty which sets limits on troops and tanks in Europe.

Putin also warned that Russia may not be able to continue to abide by the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty which abolished shorter and medium range nuclear missiles in Europe. In his speech, Gates chose to ignore those disputes, and instead emphasise that the two countries confront similar security challenges. Gates recounted that the US military, which transformed itself into a high tech force during its Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union, has had to adapt to a different kind of conflict.

"Since September 11 (2001), the US military has been confronted with new missions in Iraq and AFghanistan -- where initially quick conventional victories have given way to long, complex and grinding campaigns against violent, adaptive insurgencies," he said.

"Though our nations and our militaries are in very different places today, we do face many of the same challenges," he said. Gates said he wanted to create "a climate of trust and transparency as our countries take on some of the thornier geopolitical issues of the day."

Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...GpSZLhqR8mhOkw

Rice encourages Russian activists

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has pledged support for human rights activists in Moscow, during a Russian visit that has been coolly received. Ms Rice said she wanted to hear from local activists about the state of human rights and democracy in Russia. She emphasised, however, that she had no wish to interfere in Russia's internal affairs. The US has accused President Vladimir Putin of rolling back democracy and xxxxxling rights, charges he denies. One of the activists who met Ms Rice told the BBC she wanted the United States to condemn what she called the Kremlin's stifling of democratic society. The activist said she would tell the secretary of state that Russia is sliding towards an authoritarian regime, where constitutional and human rights are constantly violated.

Ms Rice told the activists she wanted to support them, but was also very careful to point out that the US is not interfering in Russian domestic politics but supporting organisations that are entirely indigenous to Russia, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Moscow. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is travelling with Ms Rice, was expected to address military students at the Academy of Russia's General Staff on Saturday. On Friday, talks about US plans to base a missile shield in Eastern Europe ended acrimoniously. The secretary of state was due to have dinner later with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, while the defence secretary will meet Viktor Zubkov, the prime minister. Their trip comes as Russia prepares for parliamentary and presidential elections over the next five months. Mr Putin must step down in March after two terms in office. But he has already hinted he may become prime minister and return as president in 2012, as the constitution allows. Analysts say Ms Rice's visit to Russian non-governmental organisations could make the Kremlin wary.

The Russian Itar-Tass news agency said Mr Putin this week sounded a note of caution about NGOs in comments to visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "It gets really bad, when such organisations start to be used by some states against other states as a tool in pursuit of their foreign policy aims," the agency quoted Mr Putin as saying.

Russia is furious at US plans to base an anti-missile system in its geographical backyard, in Poland and the Czech Republic. But the White House team rejected Russian appeals at Friday's meetings in Moscow to halt the scheme. Mr Putin was not convinced by US assurances that the system would be to counteract "rogue" states such as North Korea and Iran. He threatened to abandon a key nuclear missile reduction treaty if Washington forged ahead with the plans.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7042822.stm

Russia concerned over joint Japan-U.S. missile defense effort, Russian diplomat says

TOKYO: Russia is concerned that a Japanese-U.S. missile defense plan could be an effort to preserve military superiority, Moscow's foreign minister said in a news interview published Saturday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow regarded the joint missile defense effort as an "object of concern," expressing wariness over what he called the possibility that the system could be directed against Russia and China. "We oppose the construction of missile defense systems whose purpose is to ensure military superiority," Lavrov wrote in response to questions from Kyodo News agency, ahead of a visit to Japan later this month. Citing the views of specialists, Lavrov also expressed wariness over the possibility that the system could be directed against Russia and China, Kyoto said. Tokyo and Washington have been jointly developing an advanced missile defense system, and have stepped up joint missile defense programs since North Korea's missile launches and nuclear test last year. The two countries held a regional ballistic missile defense drill in July, with another round of exercises scheduled for November. The U.S. keeps about 50,000 troops across Japan under a bilateral security pact. U.S. and Russian negotiators ended high-level talks in Moscow Friday at an impasse over a range of issues that have chilled bilateral relations, including a missile defense system the U.S. wants to build in Eastern Europe. Washington says the system is aimed at stopping possible missile launches from Iran and North Korea. Russia says the system is a strategic threat to its missile capabilities.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...-Russia-US.php

[Azad]

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

And we thought Slavery was abolished ... it just took a different form.



"MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Russian human rights activists on Saturday she wanted to help them build institutions to protect people from the 'arbitrary power of the state'.

"I think that there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin," she later told reporters."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071013/ts_nm/russia_usa_rights_dc

Bush's administration is just declaring war on Russia. The Jacobites couldn't swallow Putin kicking them out of control. They are looking for a "Yeltsin".

Have you people noticed how ALWAYS in every picture Robert Gates is spaced out in the background? I wonder if he parties with Rush Bimbo.

[Grandchild]

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

I had high hopes when Gates was chosen for the position; but there must be some sort of indoctrination when you join the administration because shortly after he went from seeming clear headed and independent to becoming a complete bushbot. And Condolezza, well, she's always had a brown nose.

[Armenian]

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

This is what he West misses. They had it so good in the 90s...

And to place all of the above into better perspective, as well as demonstrate why Putin will undoubtedly be considered one of the finest rulers to have ever walked this earth, I give you this excellent commentary written by Justin Raimondo.

************************************************** ****************

The Legacy of Boris Yeltsin - Corruption, crony capitalism, and Russia's near-demise



Communism wounded Russia, grievously, almost irreparably – and Yeltsinism delivered the death blow. The legacy of Boris Yeltsin, who presided over what Paul Klebnikov described as "one of the most corrupt regimes in history," is, quite literally, the death agony of the Russian nation. As David Satter pointed out in the Wall Street Journal: "Between 1992 and 1994, the rise in the death rate in Russia was so dramatic that Western demographers did not believe the figures. The toll from murder, suicide, heart attacks and accidents gave Russia the death rate of a country at war; Western and Russian demographers now agree that between 1992 and 2000, the number of "surplus deaths" in Russia–deaths that cannot be explained on the basis of previous trends–was between five and six million persons."

The Yeltsin era was marked by a precipitous fall in living standards, but some prospered. Given privileged access to "privatized" state property, the clique around Yeltsin amassed fantastic wealth. The one who perhaps profited the most was Boris Berezovsky, whose methods were described by Klebnikov: "Using his access to the highest officials of the Russian government and his reputation as a close friend of the Yeltsin family, Berezovsky hammered away at the privatization projects that would put key state industries in his grasp."

Yeltsin's clique, which included his daughter, was known as "the Family" – not as in "family values," or the Partridge Family, but as in the Russian equivalent of The Sopranos. The rule of the commissars had been succeeded by the reign of the gangsters, criminal elements who seized control of the national economy and engineered a complete takeover of the state apparatus, not for any ideological motive or ostensibly "patriotic" purpose, but simply to enrich themselves. Their strategy made use of the "shock therapy" approach to privatizing the economy as advocated by Harvard professor Jeffrey Sachs. The process was set up to favor Yeltsin's courtiers, who paid rock-bottom prices in a rigged auction. The industrial base of the Russian economy was sold off for a song: the whole process amounted to a spree of looting such as hadn't been seen since the sack of Rome.

Yeltsin didn't seem to notice, which is hardly surprising, since he was drunk for most of his tenure in office. And in Yeltsin's Russia, vodka was the only commodity that was cheap and plentiful. If this was an effort to calm the roiling currents of post-Soviet politics and anesthetize the populace while the oligarchs made off with the nation's assets, it didn't entirely accomplish that goal. There was an anti-Yeltsin upsurge in 1993, and the Duma threatened to impeach the Russian president: in response, Yeltsin declared the parliament dissolved and sent in his tanks to take the building, which was ringed by tens of thousands of anti-Yeltsin demonstrators.

This is the guy who is now being hailed as a great democrat and admirable leader by the Clintons, two of the old crook's biggest enablers. Bill Clinton and his cronies funneled billions in American "aid" to Yeltsin 's kleptocracy, most of which disappeared down a rabbit hole and eventually wound up in the oligarchs' foreign bank accounts. Putin is routinely blamed for the Chechen war, yet this too is part of the Yeltsin legacy. It was Yeltsin who started that war, invading Chechnya in 1994 to protect the interests of certain criminal gangs in Moscow and other major Russian cities, who had a falling out with their Chechen brethren in the homeland. Describing the group around Yeltsin who pushed for war, Gen. Aleksandr Lebed bitterly declared: "This is not the party of war. This is the party of business."

Having consolidated its hold on power, the Yeltsin clique, with Berezovsky's funding and support, proceeded to divvy up the spoils, including cementing their domination of the "private" media. Organized crime networks replaced the state security services as centers of power, with Berezovsky and his fellow oligarchs at the apex of it all. Using strong-arm tactics and engaging in not a few assassinations, the oligarchs – Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, and Leonid Nevzlin, among others – drove rival gangs out of business and established their economic and political supremacy. The oligarchy decimated the economy, demoralized the Russian people, and dissolved the rule of law in the acid of corruption and criminality. Is it any wonder that Yeltsin's death is hardly being mourned in Russia? I would venture a guess that more than a few cups are being raised to his demise.

Understanding the Yeltsin legacy and its catastrophic effect on Russia is key to grasping the Putin phenomenon. Although the former KGB officer who rose from obscurity to become the most formidable Russian leader since Peter the Great owes his present job to Yeltsin, the Yeltsin clique didn't fare so well at the hands of their fallen leaders' designated successor. Putin turned against "the Family" and drove most of the oligarchs out of power and into exile, where they are even now scheming to make a comeback. The ersatz "privatizations" arranged under the previous regime were overturned, to a large extent, and the "entrepreneurs" of the Russian Mafia were reined in, if not eliminated entirely, to the point where they no longer threatened the state's monopoly on coercion. The reintegration of formerly state-controlled assets into the "private-public" arrangements mapped out by the Putin administration is widely seen in the West as evidence that Russia is "backsliding." Similarly, the takeover of major mass-media outlets by pro-Putin businessmen is cited as proof that Putin represents a new "authoritarianism." Yet all that has happened is the passing of power from the oligarchs to the latter-day czarists of Putin's United Russia party.

Gregory Yavlinsky, the liberal parliamentary leader, had this to say about Yeltsin's regime: "The government that was formed was without any clear ideology. It was neither red, nor white, nor green. It was based solely on personal greed. You got a system that was corporatist, oligarchic, and based on monopolized property rights and semi-criminal relationships."

With the oligarchic and semi-criminal elements purged by Putin, what remains is the corporatist structure, which is now in different hands. Railing at the Russian president from their posh places of exile in Londongrad, Switzerland, and the French Riviera, the oligarchs' indictment of Putin boils down to one principal complaint: they are no longer in power. Flush with cash, and intent on revenge, exiled oligarchs such as Berezovsky pour their money into phony "human rights" front groups that regularly denounce Russia's "reversion" to authoritarianism. Some, like Andrew Illarionov of the Cato Institute, go so far as to accuse Russia of launching a military bid to regain its lost empire and advise the West to "consider itself in a new Cold War-like era."

The goal of this rather motley crew is to restore Yeltsinism without Yeltsin, but the oligarchs and assorted "dissenters" – ranging from Eduard Limonov and his National Bolsheviks to Illarionov and chess-champion-turned-politician Gary Kasparov – have little support outside the editorial offices of Western newspapers and U.S. government agencies engaged in "democracy promotion." The "color revolutions" that occurred in former Soviet satellites such as Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan have faded to black, and Putin's popularity in Russia has so far foiled the oligarchs' attempts to subvert the country from within. Berezovsky has to content himself with calling for the violent overthrow of the Russian government from his palatial London headquarters, hoping that the professional regime-changers in Washington and London will lend a sympathetic ear and, perhaps, some material support.

In the meantime, however, with the ill-gotten gains of several oligarchs stashed in Swiss bank accounts and sloshing around Londongrad and Washington, there are plenty of think-tank presidents who wouldn't mind getting a cut of that particular action. Expect the propaganda assault on Putin's Russia to get more vociferous and the drumbeat to "do something" about the rising "threat" of Russia to get louder and more serious. Yeltsin's legacy to Russia – poverty, privation, and a renewed adversarial stance by the West – is the "gift" that just keeps on giving.

Source: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=10867

[Armenian]

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

And they miss this... A lot.

Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism



Book Review

Mr. Paul Klebnikov makes a rather unusual declaration at the beginning of his book by stating that what is about to be read may be difficult to believe. As this work is non-fiction the comment would seem misplaced. However once the reading has begun it not only proves to have been appropriate, but is a fact you will keep reminding yourself of. The Author relates what is arguably the greatest theft in History, and if he had decided to change some detail, he could have had an outstanding novel. That the events he relates actually took place makes for a reading experience no novel can compete with. I have been following Mr. Klebnikov's stories in Forbes, since December of 1996 when he introduced Mr. Boris Berezovsky as Russia's Godfather. That first article in Forbes brought the wrath of Mr. Berezovsky to bear on Forbes and the Author, but he continued with his research and lived to write this book. Whatever his personal motivation was, and continues to be, is remarkable. This man worked for years on the home field of a variety of people who were capable of removing him from the living, with a glance, and without any fear of consequence to themselves.

The dysfunctional, amoral, nothing is out of bounds world, that was Boris Yeltsin's Russia, truly is difficult to get your mind around. Some minor details that will prepare you for the real story; when Gorbachev was still in power the government budget received 25% of its revenues from where, from the Government monopoly on Vodka! The ruble of Gorbachev was worth approximately one U.S. dollar. At the close of 1992 one dollar would cost 415 rubles, and when Yeltsin finally left office in an alcoholic haze, if you wanted a dollar you needed 28,000 rubles! The "Voucher Auctions" that took place in 1993 and 1994 would not have been condoned much less implemented by a student with a semester or two of Economic study. Gazprom, which owns one third of the planet's Natural Gas, was "auctioned" for $250 million dollars, the truer value, if valued as a Western Company, would have had its gas reserves alone valued at between $300 and $700 BILLION. These numbers do not take into account that the company was basically a monopoly supplier to the entire former Soviet Union, and much of Western Europe as well.

To put a more familiar face on these numbers, at the very lowest estimate, you could have bought Exxon and had $12 billion left over, at the high end you could have bought General Electric, the most valuable company as I write, and since you might be thirsty after the effort, you could pick up Coca Cola with the change left from the GE purchase. You will learn how Mr. Berezovsky privatized the cash flows of companies like Aeroflot, companies he did not own, and by using little money, if any at all, and if he needed any the seller, The Government would supply it. He was not the only man to take advantage of Yeltsin and his hand picked group of incompetents but he surely was the master at the game.

This book will leave you stunned. How much to buy the election for Yeltsin, read the book, how often Yeltsin was sober, the facts will alarm you, how Tanya his beloved daughter who knew nothing that qualified her for Government, became the power behind her Father, often doing the bidding of Mr. Berezovsky, who are you ready for this, was appointed to the Government by good old Yeltsin himself. The wholesale rape of Russia's assets is worse than any damage that Russia has ever been through. Those who dared to challenge the system of "Kleptocracy" were easy to identify, they were either already buried, were bleeding, or about to be assassinated. You played by the rules of thieves or you were removed, it was that simple.

I have read many metaphors in other places that compare the Mafiyas' in Russia today to the Robber Barons of this Country of a century or more ago. Anyone who puts forth this argument is painfully ignorant of History. It is true that the men who carried the sobriquet Robber Baron were not individuals whose paths you would have wished to cross, for as businessmen they were ruthless. That is where the comparison ends, for the bottom line is that they built this country, and while there were times violence took place it is only the inept that would compare it to the thousands murdered, and the millions who died as the result of Russia being taken apart and given away. Russia was eviscerated with the Government's consent and its participation, and the consequences to the citizenry at large had not been as premeditative in their design or as destructive since Stalin.

I liked this quote from a top Russian Official, "it is very difficult to determine whether it's incompetence or embezzlement".

Source: http://ftrreading.blogspot.com/2006/...f-kremlin.html

[Armenian]

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

Now, the West has to put up with this...

Not only did not "allow" it to happen but they also assaulted the participants. One of whom was a British human rights advocate, the other a famous British singer. A German and an Italian European Parliament members were also assaulted. It is quite obvious that certain street elements in Russia are being directly and indirectly used for political purposes. This event, where the state authorities basically gave the Ultra-Orthodox and racists groups a free hand to do as they pleased, was a glaring example of this.

Here are some pictures of the days event:


The unknown assailant about to punch Peter Tatchell in Moscow during Gay Pride


British musician Richard Fairbrass, who supported gay activists in Moscow, was beaten by members of ultra-nationalist groups opposed to the gay parade.


A member of the European Parliament Volker Beck, left, at a demonstration of gay parade activists in Moscow.

[Armenian]

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

And this...

Has anyone been following news coming out of Russia during the last several days? Simply stated, what's going on in the Russian Federation is astounding. And notice that they have decided to flex their military muscles over the Arctic by conducting strategic bomber flights over the North Pole (see following news report). Does anyone here think they are not serious about "privatizing" the natural resources said to be located there? Nevertheless, all these new military exercises and deployments are an unmistakable message to the West - stay away.

Armenian

Russia's strategic aviation to conduct 6 exercises in August



The Russian strategic aviation will fly over the North Pole and conduct test launches of cruise missiles during a series of exercises in August, the Defense Ministry said on its website Tuesday.

Units of the 37th Air Army of the Strategic Command will conduct a total of six tactical exercises in August as part of an annual training program, the ministry said in a statement. "During the exercises, strategic bombers will test launch cruise missiles, conduct simulated bombing raids, and fly over the North Pole, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans," the statement said. The exercises will involve Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers, and Tu-22M3 Backfire-C theater bombers - the mainstay of the air component of Russia's strategic nuclear triad. According to various sources, the Russian Air Force currently deploys 141 Tu-22M3 bombers, 40 Tu-95MS bombers, and 14 Tu-160 planes. Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov, the newly appointed chief of the Air Force Main Staff, said in March that Russia's strategic aviation had sufficient potential to suppress elements of a U.S. missile defense shield should it be deployed in Central Europe.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070731/70022257.html

Russia's Navy gets ambitious



The Russian Navy will become the world's second largest in 20 years' time, said its commander-in-chief, Admiral Vladimir Masorin, speaking ahead of Navy Day. He said the navy's core would consist of the newest strategic nuclear-powered submarines and six squadrons of aircraft carriers. For Russia's navy, this will be its third modernization program, said the admiral. The previous two, although giving it a boost, were never completed. Now, said the admiral, there is such a chance. Recently approved, a rearmament program until 2015 for the first time in Soviet and Russian history puts the development of the navy on an equal footing with strategic nuclear forces. Out of 4.9 trillion rubles ($192.16 billion) allocated for military rearmament, 25% will go into building new ships. "We are already building practically as many ships as we did in Soviet times," First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a visit to Severodvinsk. "The problem now is not lack of money, but how to optimize production so that the navy can get new ships three, not five, years after laying them down."

[...]

Of special note are plans to build six aircraft carriers, which would make the Russian Navy the world second in terms of combat capability. The government program, however, does not provide for their construction before 2015. Nor is there mention of them in plans for the period until 2030. But during his recent trip to Severodvinsk, Ivanov was shown plans for a new $500 million dock designed to build large-tonnage ships at the Zvyozdochka ship repair yard. Earlier such large ships could only be built in Nikolayev, Ukraine. The dock, the Russian shipbuilding agency said, is needed to build gas carriers - ships to transport Russian liquefied natural gas to Western partners.

The same dock could also build aircraft carriers. At any rate, the project is already on the drawing board. Masorin said the craft would be a nuclear-powered ship not less than 100 meters long and would carry an air wing of 30 combat fighter jets and helicopters. But this is not going to be soon. The outlook is best for submarines. Recently two Project 667BDRM boats have been modernized, and two more submarines are being repaired and upgraded at Severodvinsk. A new sonar system is being installed to enable them to "see" and "hear" better. Other equipment includes new fire fighting systems, nuclear reactor protection devices, and the RSM-54 Sineva strategic missile system. Unlike its predecessor, the Skif, the Sineva carries 10 independently targetable re-entry vehicles instead of four. The new missile has a longer range and a modern control system.

[...]

But modernization of existing vessels is only part of the rebuilding program. The Sevmash engineering plant at Severodvinsk is currently building a series of new fourth-generation submarines. These are Project 955 Borei boats. It is for them that the new Bulava sea-launched ballistic missile is being developed.

"Three nuclear submarines of the fourth generation are currently under construction," Masorin said. "They are the Yury Dolgoruky, Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh. In comparison with previous boats, they will have much better armaments and equipment."

A Project 885 Yasen-class multi-purpose attack nuclear-powered submarine is preparing to hit the water at Severodvinsk. It is another new fourth-generation submarine able to replace several classes of submarines used in the Russian Navy. Professionals say this ship will cause a revolution in submarine building. Russia's third-generation Project 971 Akula submarines are already undetectable in ocean depths. The Yasen will outperform even the latest American Sea Wolf in the underwater noise level. In addition, it will be a multi-purpose boat. Thanks to its armaments (several types of cruise missiles and torpedoes), it will be able to carry out diverse missions. It will be able with equal ease to chase enemy aircraft carriers and deliver massive missile strikes on coastal targets.

Experts believe the new nuclear submarines and "floating airfields" will mean a quantum leap for the Russian Navy and its combat capabilities.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070731/70008268.html

Russia begins large-scale military exercises in North Caucasus



Russia begins large-scale military exercises in North Caucasus
Russia began Monday large-scale military exercises in five regions of the North Caucasus, involving at least 8,000 personnel, an aide to the commander of the North Caucasus military district said Tuesday.

The exercise involves units of the North Caucasus Military District, the 4th Air Force Army, Interior Ministry troops, border guards, and the Caspian Flotilla. "The total number of personnel involved in the command-and-staff exercise is over 8,000," Andrei Bobrun said. The main goal of the exercise is to practice interoperability between federal troops, interior ministry's troops, border guards, the Air Force and the Navy in special operations against militants and the defense of Russia's state borders.

The exercise, which involves at least 350 combat vehicles and aircraft, will be conducted until August 9 on the territory of North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Daghestan, the Chechen Republic, and the Stavropol Territory. Air Force spokesman Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky earlier said aircraft and helicopters would practice reconnaissance, lock-on and destruction of air and ground targets. Although the active phase of the antiterrorism campaign in Russia's troubled North Caucasus region officially ended in 2001, periodic bombings and clashes between militants and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions, including Daghestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachayevo-Circassia.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070731/70012347.html

Strategic Missile Forces to conduct over 100 exercises in fall



The Strategic Missile Forces will conduct more than 100 exercises this summer and fall, the SMF press service said Friday. Part of the exercises will include rehearsing command and control operations involving the mobile Topol-M ICBM complex.

The SMF commander said last month Russia will commission three Topol-M ICBMs this year. "By the end of the year we will arm another missile battalion with advanced Topol-M ICBMs at the Teikovo missile base, Ivanovo Region," Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov said. Gen. Solovtsov said earlier the deployment of silo-based Topol-M systems in the Saratov Region and road-mobile systems in the Ivanovo Region (central Russia) would be completed in 2010. As of December 2006, the Strategic Missile Forces operated 44 silo-based and three mobile missiles. The SMF press service said that, while 48 silo-based systems would be on duty by late 2007, the Teikovo base is shifting to cutting-edge road-mobile missiles.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070727/69799517.html

Russia to equip two air regiments with Su-34 strike planes soon



Two regiments of the 16th Air Army will be equipped with new Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers in the near future, the army commander said Thursday. Designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, the Su-34s will replace the Su-24 Fencer frontline bombers. Experts said the new bomber has the potential to become the best plane in its class for years to come. "The schedule for re-equipment of air regiments [in the Russian Air Force] with new and modernized aircraft has been determined," Major General Alexander Belevitch said. "Two of our air regiments will be re-armed soon."

The $36 million Su-34 fighter-bomber is a two-seat strike aircraft equipped with twin AL-31MF afterburning turbojet engines. It is designed to deliver high-precision strikes on heavily-defended targets under any weather conditions, day or night, and fields weaponry that includes a 30mm GSh-301 cannon, up to 12 Alamo or Archer AAMs, ASMs, and bombs. The first serial-production Su-34 has been procured by the Defense Ministry and will soon be deployed at the Lipetsk pilot training center for practical training of military pilots. General Belevitch said the 16th Air Army would also receive MiG-29SM Fulcrum fighters to replace outdated MiG-29s and modernized Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft, which showed outstanding performance during operations in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other "hot spots."

The 16th Air Army, headquartered at Kubinka, is essentially a tactical air force component of the Moscow Military District, with zone of responsibility of up to 1.3 million square kilometers, including the country's capital, Moscow.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070802/70212524.html

Russia aims to increase number of submarines in Black Sea Fleet -1



Russia would like to increase the number of submarines in its Black Sea Fleet, but has so far been held back by Ukraine, Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Masorin said.

"In the future Russia's Black Sea Fleet [based in Ukraine's Crimea] should have a brigade consisting of 12-15 diesel submarines," Masorin said. The fleet currently has two diesel subs. "We have been asking Ukraine to transfer a sub from the Northern Fleet to the Black Sea Fleet, but we have yet to resolve the issue," he said. Masorin said in July that the construction of a new base for the Black Sea Fleet at the Russian port of Novorossiisk would be completed by 2012.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in 2003 setting up the alternative naval base for the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiisk, after Ukraine demanded the base in Sevastopol, Crimea, be withdrawn by 2017. The commander said that in Soviet times, there were about 60 diesel subs in the Black Sea Fleet. "There is no longer any need for such a number," he said. Masorin said the construction of a third diesel sub named Sevastopol, from the Lada family, had recently been started. He also said the Black Sea Fleet would receive two new ships this year - The Admiral Zakharyin minesweeper and a Serna air-cavity landing craft.

Kiev has been pushing for the withdrawal of Russia's naval base in Sevastopol by 2017, in compliance with a previous bilateral agreement. Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in 1997 stipulating that the Black Sea Fleet's main base in Sevastopol be leased to Russia for 20 years, with the possibility of extending the term. The annual rent of about $100 million is deducted from Ukraine's debt for Russian energy supplies. In addition to the main base, the Black Sea Fleet maintains two airfields and a ship re-supply facility on the Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said in July the current rent could be increased in the future.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070802/70232773.html

[Armenian]

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

And this...

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.