The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[ZORAVAR]

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

The Kremlin is getting back what it lost to Oligarchs during the tumultuous nineties.
One of my favourite sentences in English is "The chicken will come home to roost".

ZORAVAR
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Oligarchs Seek $78 Billion as Credit Seizure Empowers Putin

By Yuriy Humber and Torrey Clark

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Russian oligarchs are lining up for $78 billion of Kremlin loans to survive the credit squeeze, handing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the opportunity to increase government control of the nation’s biggest companies.

Just 12 years after they gained ownership of the former Soviet Union’s industries by bailing out the government, the tables have been turned. More than 100 business leaders are vying for loans from Putin and the administration of President Dmitry Medvedev because Russian companies have about $110 billion of foreign obligations due next year, according to the central bank, double the total owed in Brazil, India and China.

Business leaders who tripled international debt in the past three years are putting up part of their stock as collateral for government support because they’ve been hobbled by tumbling commodity prices and the biggest drop in the ruble since Russia’s default in 1998. Putin already is aiding billionaires Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska and considering requests from Dmitry Pumpyansky of pipemaker OAO TMK, OAO Severstal’s Alexei Mordashov and AFK Sistema’s Vladimir Yevtushenkov.

“Some of them will definitely lose their property, either to the state or to investors,” billionaire Alexander Lebedev, 49, said in a Dec. 8 interview, 11 days before Deutsche Bank AG demanded early repayment of a loan guaranteed by 3 percent of Moscow-based ZAO National Reserve Corp.’s 29 percent stake in OAO Aeroflot, the national airline. “They’ve been over-borrowing and sales of their companies have been falling.”

Loans-for-Shares

The oligarchs, Russian business leaders who used their political influence to help gain assets after the collapse of communism, essentially dictated the policies that allowed them to gain control of the nation’s biggest companies in the 1990s by providing financing to the government that was never repaid.

Anatoly Chubais, who oversaw the government’s sale of assets through the so-called loan-for-shares program, said in an interview in 2000 that the plan was necessary to create “big private capital” and help then-President Boris Yeltsin win reelection in 1996 to prevent a return to communism. Chubais, 53, is now chief executive officer of Moscow-based Russian Nanotechnology Corp.

Vnesheconombank, the Russian state lender known as VEB, is responsible for handling the bailouts. In return for one-year loans, VEB is requiring a representative at the company and the right to veto any debt or major asset sale, according to the bank’s Web site. Putin, 56, is head of its supervisory board. Borrowers offer shares, assets or export revenue as collateral.

“It’s extremely unlikely they’ll all be able to repay in a year,” said Zina Psiola, a money manager at Clariden Leu AG in Zurich with $220 million in Russian equities. “Some oligarchs will no longer be oligarchs.”

Margin Calls

At least 10 of the 25 wealthiest owners have faced margin calls from lenders since August as Russia’s worst financial crisis since 1998 wiped $230 billion from the value of their equity, according to data compiled by Deutsche Bank and Bloomberg.

Profits for four of Russia’s largest steel producers as well as Moscow-based TMK, the biggest maker of pipes for the oil and gas industry, will fall by about 50 percent to $10.5 billion next year as prices of the metal plunge, according to Clemens Grafe, an economist at UBS AG in London. That may leave the companies unable to pay for anything beyond their $10.3 billion of debt in 2009.

“If they have to pay this then they have no money for capital expenditure, no nothing,” Grafe said.

Prospects for refinancing debt are dwindling. Russia’s war with Georgia, a 75 percent drop in oil and the worsening credit crisis led investors to pull $211 billion from the country’s stocks, bonds and currency since August, according to BNP Paribas SA. The withdrawals weakened the ruble by 17 percent against the dollar, forcing the government to drain $163 billion, or 27 percent, from foreign-currency reserves.

Defaults

Russian companies have about twice as much foreign debt due in 2009 than the $56 billion total owed by companies and the governments of China, India, and Brazil combined, according to data compiled by Commerzbank AG and RBC Capital Markets.

Greater state involvement may reassure investors, said Jerome Booth, head of research at Ashmore Group Plc in London, which manages $32 billion of emerging-market assets including Russian corporate debt.

“There’s less chance of mass defaults in Russia than in Western Europe,” Booth said. “There’s a degree of state control in the economy already, so this will be more of the same.”

The prime minister, saying he has no intention of nationalizing the economy, pledged on Dec. 4 to offer loans and buy stakes in companies that solicit help, releasing collateral and selling back the holdings later.

Abramovich, Deripaska

Putin, who served eight years as president before becoming prime minister, provided $12 billion of loans since October to companies such as those backed by Abramovich, 42, and Deripaska, 40, and pledged $38 billion more. That covers only half the amount sought. Among the applicants is Pumpyansky, 44, of TMK, which owes $1.7 billion in 2009, more than forecast earnings. Yields on TMK’s dollar bonds due September 2009 topped 80 percent last month. TMK plans to delay some investments and will seeking to refinance with longer-term debt, according to an e-mailed statement.

Deripaska is selling Moscow-based Soyuz Bank and may part with control of insurer OAO Ingosstrakh in Moscow, Vedomosti reported last week. Named Russia’s richest man by Forbes in April, Deripaska ceded stakes in auto-parts maker Magna International Inc. in Canada and German builder Hochtief AG to banks in October after the stocks lost more than half of their market value.

Pending Requests

VEB’s $4.5 billion loan allowed Deripaska’s United Co. Rusal to keep a 25 percent stake in OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s biggest metals producer. A further $1.8 billion went to Evraz, the steelmaker part-owned by Abramovich.

Yevtushenkov’s Sistema in Moscow may seek as much as $2 billion from Moscow-based VEB to pay debts next year.

Moscow-based Evraz and Cherepovets-based Severstal didn’t respond to requests for comments.

“Not all of them are going to be helped out,” said Kieran Curtis, who helps manage $787 million in emerging market debt at Aviva Investors Ltd. in London. “I’m not convinced we know who is going to get state funds and that will be a major factor in terms of rollovers and redemptions.”

Without a revival in commodity prices or state help, some Russian companies risk failing, according to Pacific Investment Management Co., which runs the world’s largest bond fund.

“It really depends on whether they can weather the storm with metals prices,” said Tim Haaf, Pimco emerging-market fund manager in Munich, who helps oversee $50 billion of emerging- market debt including Russian bonds. “We’re very conservative on Russia.”

Source of article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...b3w&refer=home

[Pazooki]

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

The question is were in Armenia, if I have to bet my money on it, it will be in Gyumri that they will be send to.

Karo jan bayts inch gortz unen Gyumri-oon.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Karo jan bayts inch gortz unen Gyumri-oon.

Reinforcing the base there I would say. Yes chidem qani hoki @ntex Rusen bajc ahakin haj e carajum Rusakan tjast@. Bajc krna exni or taza tjast bacen Hayastanum. It's just guess work I'm doing.

[Pazooki]

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

Reinforcing the base there I would say. Yes chidem qani hoki @ntex Rusen bajc ahakin haj e carajum Rusakan tjast@. Bajc krna exni or taza tjast bacen Hayastanum. It's just guess work I'm doing.

Didn't one of the articles say about 700 soldiers?

[KarotheGreat]

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

Didn't one of the articles say about 700 soldiers?

Yes that's why I'm guessing it's reinforcement to the base in Gyumri. It's too little of a number for a new base so the only option is reinforcement.

[Armenian]

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

Don't destabilize Russia, Putin warns foes

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Russia's foes on Friday against trying to destabilize a country facing broadening economic crisis, Russian news agencies reported. Putin did not specify who might pose a threat to Russia's stability. But in the past, he has often blamed Western security services of trying to destabilize the country using opposition groups and non-governmental organizations as their instruments. "Any attempts to weaken or destabilize Russia, harm the interests of the country will be toughly suppressed," they quoted ex-KGB spy Putin as telling an annual meeting of top spies and security officers ahead of their professional holiday. Putin, who was the Russian president in 2000-08, has contributed greatly to the growth of influence of Russia's FSB federal security service, a successor of the Soviet-era KGB. Many ex-KGB officers became key government and regional officials during his presidency forming his power base, which largely remained intact after Putin handed over powers to his successor Dmitry Medvedev in May. Critics say that under Putin, security services have become excessively influential and expressed fears Russia could one day become a police state. Rights campaigners have urged Medvedev to veto a cabinet bill ordering that professional judges rather than juries run trials involving terrorism, civil unrest and several other serious crimes. They also urged Medvedev to block government attempts to impose high treason charges on people accused of "harming the constitutional order," which critics believe could lead to a political witch-hunt. Analysts say the role of the security services is likely to grow even further as Russia plunges into an economic crisis marked by rising unemployment and financial woes that threaten the popularity of the government. Avoiding civil unrest and maintaining political stability is viewed by the government as a top priority.

MEDVEDEV ABSENT

The Day of Security Officers is marked annually on December 20, a day when in 1917 Bolshevik rulers created the CheKa secret police to suppress their foes. After a string of transformations, the Cheka became the KGB. As president, Putin always personally attended the holiday meetings of security officials. Medvedev, a former corporate lawyer with no security background, stayed away and sent his chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin to deliver his greetings. Medvedev, who faced the challenge of a brief war with Georgia soon after becoming president which soured Russia's ties with the West, said security concerns remained paramount. "In the past 20 years the world has changed but has not become a quieter place," Naryshkin said, reading out his letter, according to Interfax.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/GCA-Ge...4BI62M20081219

Russian Push on Treason Raises Fears

In a country where government critics already feel vulnerable, legislation to expand the definition of treason has inspired a new round of hand-wringing about how far the state will go to rein in dissenters and regulate Russians’ contact with foreigners. Even certain conversations with a foreign reporter could be “considered treason under the new legislation,” contended Ernst I. Chyorny, the leader of a human rights group in Moscow, because they could be seen as “consultative” support to a foreign entity. And that, he says, could land a violator in prison for as long as 20 years. As with existing law, the legislation would forbid actions considered detrimental to Russia’s security. But the legislation, if passed, would remove qualifiers that require such actions to be “hostile” and directed against the “external security” of Russia before they are considered illegal. In addition, it would prohibit Russians from passing certain information not only to other countries, but also to foreign nongovernment groups. Many of those groups, which the Kremlin often accuses of fronting for spy agencies, have been among the most vocal critics of the government’s curtailment of media and civic freedoms and the consolidation of power under Vladimir V. Putin, Russia’s former president and now prime minister.

Taken together, critics say, the changes could further muddle what they say are already ambiguous espionage laws and perhaps — at worst — presage a return of the Soviet-era practice of prosecuting government critics as traitors. But it remains unclear if the bill will pass Parliament in its current form and, even then, whether and how the government would employ the rules — to crack down on dissent or merely as a warning to opponents not to go too far. Gennadi V. Gudkov, a former intelligence officer who is a deputy chairman of the security committee in the lower house of Parliament, said some elements of the new legislation were unclear and could be amended during deliberations. Government officials have defended the proposed changes, backed by Mr. Putin and his allies in Russia’s security services, saying they are needed to clarify and update current laws that have failed to keep pace with the law-dodging ingenuity of modern spies, who, officials say, increasingly work through foreign nongovernment organizations. The government became especially concerned about such groups because it is suspicious of their ties to the protagonists in the so-called “color revolutions” that toppled Kremlin-friendly governments in Georgia and Ukraine.

“Individual international organizations have repeatedly attempted to gain access to information classified as state secrets through illegal means,” said a statement posted to the government Web site, explaining the bill. “The proposed changes are intended to create a legal basis for holding criminally responsible individuals, who pass on information considered a state secret to international organizations in violation of the law.”

The new bill comes amid other legislative changes proposed recently that appear intended to strengthen the control of the authorities as Russia succumbs to the effects of the global financial crisis. Some see the maneuvers as part of a strategy by Mr. Putin, a former officer in the K.G.B. and then director of its successor, the F.S.B., to further expand the authority of his former security service colleagues, who have come to dominate the government since he came to power as president in 2000. “The secret police de facto captured the government a long time ago,” said Lev A. Ponomaryov, who leads the Moscow-based group For Human Rights. “Now they want to capture it de jure.” Critics say changes in the treason law would be especially problematic in combination with other legislation passed last week that eliminates jury trials in treason cases. Under that bill, which hinges on the signature of the president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, the cases would be handled by judges who are beholden to the government for their jobs. Even Russia’s Public Chamber, a civic group that includes many Kremlin-appointed members, has condemned that measure.

“The legislation is motivated by the interests of the security services, which seek to eliminate the need to investigate criminal cases without legal violations as well as the need to prove the guilt of suspects in a real contest with defense attorneys before courts that involve representatives of the people able to hand down not only guilty verdicts, but also acquittals,” the group said in a statement last week. People on both sides of the debate about the latest legislation agree that the old laws on treason and espionage were too vague. But critics say the proposals could further endanger those who run afoul of the security services, including journalists and academics, especially scientists. Scientists have suffered the brunt of what critics have deemed “spy mania” by the security services in recent years, largely because their work often involves sharing information with foreign colleagues — something that was intensely regulated in the Soviet era.

At least a dozen scientists have been charged with espionage and several have been jailed since Mr. Putin took power. Prominent academics and human rights groups in Russia and abroad have accused security service officers of being overzealous and fabricating evidence in many of these cases. In a rare embarrassment for the security services, investigators last year were forced to dismiss a case against two Siberian physicists, the brothers Igor and Oleg Minin, who were accused by the F.S.B. of revealing state secrets in a book, even though their manuscript had been cleared by their university as containing no classified materials. Mr. Chyorny, whose human rights group has defended scientists at the European Court of Human Rights, said he feared that the new legislation would make it much more difficult to overcome such accusations.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/wo...russia.html?em

[Federate]

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

Good riddance! One down, one to go.
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OSCE mission set to withdraw from Georgia


Russia is urging the OSCE to wrap up its mission in Georgia as its mandate expires on December 31. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will have to begin withdrawing on January 1, following a successful effort by Russia that blocked a proposal to extend its mandate.

Russia's OSCE envoy Anvar Azimov said: "From the point of view of Russian law on the recognition of South Ossetia [and Abkhazia] it is illegal."

He said that the current mandate needed revision, as it authorises the presence of observers in Georgia’s two breakaway regions.

A possible solution could be splitting up the group's mission and deploying three independent presences in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, provided all the parties agree to that, he added.

Azimov also said that Russia was interested in the OSCE’s presence in Georgia, but added that it was up to the leadership of the breakaway provinces to decide on a presence on their territories.

Georgia was quick to react. Interfax reported that the country’s new Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze described Russia’s move as a “destructive step”.

He was quoted as saying, "Russia is trying to get rid of one more witness on the occupied territory - the OSCE."

Vashadze alleged that “there are thousands of cases of human rights violations” on the “occupied territories” and that Russia was trying to prevent international watchdogs from "fixing alleged human rights abuses”.

Finland, which is the current chair of the organization, called a meeting on Monday to seek a three-month extension of the mandate. But according to Antti Turunen, the country's ambassador to the OSCE, no consensus was reached: the OSCE makes decisions only by consensus.

Russia is the only member of the 56-nation organisation to have recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

OSCE monitors remained in South Ossetia until Georgia's August 8 armed attempt to rein in the rebel province. After the five-day conflict, the organisation, which wanted to reinstate its monitors’ presence in South Ossetia, was denied permission by the local authorities, who accused the OSCE of failing to prevent the Georgian attack.

The OSCE's mission opened in 1992 and currently consists of about 200 monitors.

http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/35126

[Armenian]

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

Cubans line up to visit Russian warships in Havana

Russia Navy Holidays in Caribbean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cOcTqz0bNk

Cubans waited in long lines to step on board the Russian destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, which sailed into Havana Bay on Friday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported. Three ships from Russia's Northern Fleet arrived in Havana Bay on Friday as part of the Russian Navy's first visit to Cuba since the Cold War. The Admiral Chabenenko is being escorted by two supply ships, the Ivan Bubnov and the SB-406. The ships will be in port until December 23. On Sunday, the Admiral Chabenenko was opened to the public for excursions. Old and young alike waited for hours in line to get on board the destroyer and talk to the Russian sailors. Whole families came to the port to visit the ships and take photographs. Cubans were not the only ones to visit the ships as Havana has a large number of Russian expats living in the capital. Groups of Russian sailors also got the chance to go ashore to see the sights and walk through Old Havana and visit the capital's museums. The visit to Cuba completes a Caribbean tour by Russian battleships, which included stops in Venezuela, Panama and Nicaragua. Russia announced last year that its Navy had resumed, and would continue, to build up a constant presence throughout the world. Meanwhile, another Northern Fleet task force started a visit to Lisbon on Friday. After the visit, which will last until Monday, the group will sail through the Strait of Gibraltar, visit several ports in the Mediterranean, and take part in joint exercises with Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20081222/119087101.html

Russia's Latin America aims still unclear: U.S. official

The recent Russian naval visits to Cuba and Venezuela may be linked to August's Georgia war, said a U.S. diplomat Monday, though he said Washington was watching for the next Kremlin moves before taking a firm view. On a first visit to Moscow that he linked to Russia's growing interest in South and Central America, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said Russia may be considering a security presence there and warned of a regional arms race. Just weeks after a Russian warship carried out joint exercises with Venezuela and then visited Cuba for the first time since the Cold War, Shannon said Washington would draw its conclusions based on future Russian actions. "What would be telling however, is not this ship visit, it's the next one," said Shannon, responsible for Western Hemisphere relations in the State Dept. "If the purpose of this ship visit was just to make a point about Russia's periphery, if its purpose was just to make a point about Georgia, then we probably won't see them again," "But if the Russians really are attempting to build a more longstanding relationship in the region, then they will look for ways to maintain some presence in their security relationship with partners," Shannon told Reuters in a shared interview.

Immediately after Russia's August war, U.S. warships traveled to Georgian Black Sea ports, a gesture that angered Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who asked how Washington would like it if Russia sent ships close to U.S. waters. In September, Moscow dispatched two Tu-160 nuclear capable bombers to Venezuela and a naval flotilla there, led by the nuclear-powered battle cruiser "Peter the Great." Because of its overwhelming naval presence, the United States was not threatened by Russia in the region, said Shannon. "What's interesting for us about how Russia is engaging in the region is this is not the Soviet Union, they do not bring an ideological purpose to their engagement," he said. Shannon said he did not directly discuss the Georgia conflict during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. But he urged Russia to join patrols in the region if it intended a future presence.

ARMS SALES

Russia's trade interests include arms sales and, while Venezuela has the right to buy weapons, said Shannon, he was concerned an arms race might develop in the region or that decommissioned arms might be sold off to illegal groups. "They're (arms) sold in a context, so when Venezuela buys $4 billion worth of weapons with very high-end aircraft, it has an impact in the region and one consequence of this is the Brazilian decision to modernize its armed forces," said Shannon. Russia and Venezuela have signed 12 arms contracts worth $4.4 billion over the past two years, a Kremlin source said in September when Moscow announced it was providing Caracas with $1 billion in credit for more weapons purchases. Arms sales to Caracas have included 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, dozens of helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles. But Shannon said that, should Russia intend further naval voyages to the region, it should help block drug trafficking. "If the Russian navy intends more Caribbean voyages, it shouldn't just sail around, but do something useful like help patrol the seas."

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/gc07/i...4BL3ZT20081222

[Armenian]

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

OSCE mission set to withdraw from Georgia

Russia May Build Long-Planned Nicaragua Canal

Two very significant news developments. Thank you for posting them. In other important news from today:

Russia to allocate $35.3 billion for arms production in 2009-11

State capital investments into serial production of armaments and military hardware in 2009-2011 will total about $35.3 billion, a first deputy chairman of Russia's military-industrial commission said Monday. "In practice, over three years these expenditures will total about 1 trillion rubles," Vladislav Putilin said. Putilin also said the government had approved the state defense order for 2009-11 worth a total of 4 trillion rubles ($141 billion). Russia plans to put into service more than 400 new weapons, materiel and other pieces of military equipment, the official added. In the period of 2009-2011, Russian armed forces will receive 70 strategic missiles, 30 Iskander missiles and a number of carrier rockets and spacecraft. In addition, "Russia will buy 38 military aircraft, six drones, over 60 helicopters, 14 ships, almost 300 tanks and over 2,000 vehicles," Putilin said.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081222/119122284.html

Russia to finalize purchase of Serbian state oil firm this week

Russia and Serbia will sign an oil and gas deal this week allowing Russia's Gazprom Neft to buy a controlling stake in Serbia's NIS, Serbian Deputy Energy Minister Dusan Mrakic said on Monday. Mrakic said the deal would most likely be signed on Wednesday. A preliminary agreement signed in Moscow on January 25 includes the acquisition by Gazprom's oil arm Gazprom Neft of a 51% stake in state-owned Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) for $400 million, Gazprom's $500 million investment in a gas storage facility in Serbia, and the construction of the Serbian segment of the South Stream pipeline. Under the South Stream project, a 400-km (248-mile) leg will be built in Serbia for Russian natural gas supplies to and via the Balkans. NIS produces around 1 million metric tons (7.3 million barrels) of crude annually, refines 7 million metric tons (51 million barrels) and has Serbia's largest network of filling stations. Gazprom Neft, known as Sibneft before it was taken over by Gazprom in September 2005, produced 32.7 million metric tons (240 million barrels) of crude and posted a U.S. GAAP net income of $4.14 billion in 2007.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20081222/119116165.html

Russia to get 70 nuclear missiles in 3 years

The Russian military will commission 70 strategic nuclear missiles over the next three years, a senior government official said Monday, according to Russian news agencies. The statement by Vladislav Putilin, a deputy head of the Cabinet's military-industrial commission in charge of weapons industries, indicates the government's intention to significantly increase the tempo of rearming Russia's Strategic Missile Forces. Since the late 1990s, Russia has commissioned more than 50 new Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles at a pace of several missiles a year. Soviet-built nuclear missiles continue to account for the bulk of Russia's strategic nuclear forces, and the military has repeatedly extended their designated lifetime to maintain the nation's nuclear deterrent. Putilin, who spoke after a government session chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that discussed the weapons purchases, said the Cabinet has decided to spend about 4 trillion rubles, or $141 billion, on new weapons over the next three years, Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies reported. Putilin said that in addition to 70 strategic missiles, the military will also get 30 short-range Iskander missiles, 48 combat jets, 60 military helicopters, more than 300 tanks and 14 navy vessels in the next three years. Putin urged Cabinet officials Monday to quickly transfer the funds allocated for the military-industrial complex and closely control the quality of new weapons and pace of their production. Russia's oil bonanza allowed the Kremlin to continuously boost military budgets during Putin's eight-year presidential tenure, but Soviet-built weapons have remained the core of the nation's armed forces. Experts have warned that the Kremlin's goals of military modernization may now be stymied by the nation's economic crisis.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...YZtgwD957TOS80

Gov't to plan for EurAsEC anti-crisis fund creation

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has commissioned the government to draft suggestions on the implementation of an agreement reached by Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan during an informal summit in Kazakhstan on December 19-21 concerning the establishment of a joint $10bn fund, the Russian leader's press office reported to RBC. The primary reason behind the fund's creation is the assistance for EurAsEC member states in overcoming the global economic crisis. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earlier pointed out that each member state of the organization had chosen its own anti-crisis plan of action, adding that it was vital that all of them were ready to collaborate on the matter.

Source: http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20081222190358.shtml

[Armenian]

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

Russia to upgrade strategic bombers in 2009

Russia's and Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers and Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bombers will undergo major modernization in 2009, a strategic aviation commander said on Tuesday. "Our aircraft have been in service for about 15 years, which is only a fraction of their lifespan. So next year we plan to conduct a deep modernization of our aircraft," said Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov, commander of the 37th Air Army. He said the bombers would be provided with new targeting and navigation systems, which would enable them, in particular, to use unguided bombs with a very high degree of accuracy - effectively engaging any target within 20 meters. He added that the strategic bombers would have their operational range increased and their onboard defense systems significantly upgraded. The general said that more than 60 strategic and long-range bombers, as well as 15 fuel tankers, had flown patrol missions in 2008. He said they had carried out more than 60 sorties, launching over 100 tactical missiles and clocking a total of 660 flight hours. He added that, for the first time in the history of Russia's strategic aviation, Tu-160 bombers had made two 15-hour flights with midair refueling of up to 25 tons of fuel on each mission. The commander said that in 2008, Russian warplanes had accomplished successful patrol missions in various parts of the world, including over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, as well as the Black Sea.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081223/119141502.html

Topol-M ICBMs enter service with new missile regiment in Russia

A complex of Topol-M (SS-27 Stalin) ICBMs entered service on Wednesday with another missile regiment in central Russia, a Strategic Missile Forces spokesman said. The SMF spokesman said the sophisticated Topol-M road-mobile missile system, which "has no match in the world," had been "put on combat duty" at the Teikovo missile unit in the Ivanovo region. The first two missile battalions were armed with six Topol-M systems at the 54th Strategic Missile Division near the town of Teikovo, about 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Moscow. Topol-M missiles are the mainstay of the ground-based component of Russia's nuclear triad. As of 2008, the SMF operated 48 silo-based and six road-mobile Topol-M missile systems. The missile, with a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 km), is reportedly impervious to any current or future U.S. missile defenses. It is also shielded against radiation, electromagnetic attack, and nuclear blast, and is designed to survive an impact from any known weaponized laser system.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081224/119156633.html

Russian Pacific Fleet ships near Indian Ocean for drills in 2009

A group of Russian Pacific Fleet vessels will reach the Indian Ocean in two days, where joint Russian-Indian naval exercises are to be held next year, a fleet spokesman said Tuesday. "The Pacific Fleet task force is in the area of the Singapore and Malacca straits. After negotiating their waters in the next two days, it will reach the Indian Ocean," Captain 1st Rank Roman Martov said. The group, comprising the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer, the Fotiy Krylov salvage tug, and the tankers Pechenga and Boris Butoma, has been running training drills during the two-week voyage. The task force is scheduled to make a visit to the Indian port of Marmagao in late January jointly with the Northern Fleet's Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered missile cruiser.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081223/119137699.html