Russia & CIS

The US Ministry of Justice banned the Crimean Tatar People Mejlis, as being an extremist organization. Washington called on Moscow to cancel this “unfounded and illegal” order. What for does the West pile up so much lie around the Crimean-Tatar problem?

Russia's new radar will be able to detect not only ground, but also air targets. The new complex will stay on guard of both the state border and strategically important objects. The systems will monitor the movement of vehicles, people and small drones at a distance of 20 kilometers

In 1999, Russia announced the works to create a new strategic bomber to replace Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bomber aircraft (the White Swan, NATO reporting name Black Jack). The new plane was to be ready by 2010, but the plans did not materialize, due to shortfalls in the development of the engines

On April 19, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev delivered a report at the State Duma about efforts of the Russian government to overcome consequences of the economic crisis in Russia. The Russian economy remains under the heavy influence of several negative factors. In 1990s, such conditions would have destroyed Russia

Pravda.Ru journalists have recently visited the city of Severodvinsk, one of the centers of the Russian shipbuilding industry, one of the main bases of the Northern Fleet, from where submarines would set off for their missions. The city used to be one of the most secret places in the USSR. Nowadays, the city is open for everyone

Russian President Putin held a televised Q&A conference on Apr 14. Most questions were related to public utilities, corruption and socio-economic guarantees. This year's Q&A conference is Putin's 14th. The first conference was held in 2001. The longest conference took place in 2013, when Putin was answering questions for 4 hours, 48 minutes

Amnesty of capitals for individuals is to be completed by the summer of the current year in Russia. There will be no extension for the program, as only 200 applications have been submitted during the first six months. Banks will be obliged to monitor the origin and movement of assets, but Russia should move further

Russia has created several unique aircraft. The Su-35 is already in use, and we have been testing the fifth-generation T-50 for several years. These are very good results, because no one could even think that it could be possible in the middle of the 1990s. Russia has lost a lot. Time is one of the most important factors in competition

The Cipher Brief asked me to write a short piece on the impact of Russia’s economic downturn on prospects for the Russian military, as part of a series on Russian military modernization.

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The drop in Russian state revenues has affected Russian military modernization to some extent, though the Russian government has made an effort to insulate the military from budget cuts. Although the 2015 military budget was cut by five percent mid-year, the total allocation was still 25 percent higher than the previous year’s budget. This allowed the military to continue its modernization process, conduct operations in Syria, and fulfill its training and exercise programs.

With oil prices remaining low, the military is facing a more difficult financial picture in 2016. In November, the Finance Ministry announced that the total 2016 defense budget would be largely the same as in 2015. However, last month, an additional five percent cut was announced, which will result in the first annual net decline in Russian defense spending since Vladimir Putin became president in 2000.

As a result of the deteriorating financial outlook, the fulfillment of the 2011-2020 State Armament Program is now in question.

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On April 7, Vladimir Putin participated in the work of the forum of the All-National People's Front "Truth and Justice." The Q&A format of the meeting made it a full-fledged press conference, at which Putin talked about a variety of issues. Putin answered a question about the infamous "Panama Papers" - another act of media warfare against Russia

During the Ukrainian era in the history of Crimea, the shipbuilding industry of the peninsula had been lost and forgotten. Routine repairs would not be conducted, equipment would not be upgraded either. The Ukrainian period has led to the decline of shipbuilding and ship repair in Crimea. Russia's number one task today is to restore the factories that Ukraine destroyed

In the villages of Kalanchak and Chervonyi Chaban, on the border with Crimea, citizens go to sleep at night not knowing if they will ever wake up. When darkness falls the looters and rapists come out, law enforcement in these villages has long since disappeared, having been run off by none other than the members of our valiant Aidar Battalion.

The time that we are living today is an incredibly interesting period in the history of Russia after 1991, because now is the time when Russia has finally started "running its own policy on the international arena," This period started in 2007 after President Vladimir Putin delivered his famous speech at a security conference in Munich.

The US course for Russia's weakening and surrounding it with a cordon of pro-American regimes is the most tangible strategic threat for Russia, according to the International Threats-2016 report, which is presented by the Valdai International Discussion Club and Foreign Policy agency.

Russia's special operation in Syria gave the Russian defense industry an invaluable opportunity to test different types of arms in combat action. Having witnessed the efficiency of Russian arms in Syria, foreign customers evinced great interest in purchasing Russian arms. The influx of customers has made obvious two important aspects

Recently, Michael Kofman and I published an article arguing that Russia’s claimed withdrawal from Syria is not really a withdrawal, but rather a public relations move to normalize Russian military presence in Syria for the long term. Events over the last 10 days have confirmed our analysis and also provided more details on the air forces that Russia is continuing to maintain in Syria. A photo made by the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales and distributed via IHS Jane’s shows that as of March 20, there were still 12 Su-24M bombers at Hmeymim, as well as four Su-34 bombers, three Su-30SM fighters and three Su-35S fighters. Zero to three additional aircraft may have been out conducting airstrikes, for a total of 22-25 remaining Russian fixed-wing strike aircraft in Syria. There were also 14 helicopters, including two Mi-28Ns and two Ka-52s.

This means that in the first week after the withdrawal was announced, Russia pulled out three Su-24Ms, four SU-34s, all 12 Su-25s, and four Mi-35M helicopters, while adding at least two Mi-28N and two Ka-52 helicopters. The photo also shows IAI Searcher Mk2 Forpost UAVs.

In other words, the current size of the Russian air presence at Hmeymim is comparable to what Russia had at the start of the operation, minus the Su-25s, but with the addition of Su-35s.

 

What can Russia expect from yesterday's talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov? What goals is Washington trying to pursue? Why did Kerry come to Moscow now? Pravda.Ru tried to find answers to these questions in an interview with scientist of politics Leonid Krutakov

The US Secretary of State has arrived to Moscow on a 2-day visit. Subjects of negotiations are known, but the accents carry on a certain intrigue.