Russia & CIS

The large-scale week-long Arctic drills have come to an end with some 50 warships, submarines and other vessels, as well as over 10 aircraft successfully completing all objectives.

This year’s event in Sochi is entitled "Return to Growth. Medium-Term Strategies for Russia." It will take place against the backdrop of a slump in the national currency’s value and new challenges for domestic exporters.

Crimean prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya known for her role in the Crimean reunification and her engaging media presence has been nominated for a peace prize.

The sophisticated Russian fighter aircraft Su-30SM is rightly believed to be one of the most successful projects of the domestic aviation industry in recent years, according to Russia's Zvezda news network.

The Soviet-made M-55 Geophysica reconnaissance plane has often been compared to the infamous US Lockheed U-2 spy aircraft in terms of technical characteristics; it has undergone several makeovers and may soon be replaced with a drone, the Russian media reported.

An observation flight over Russia will be reportedly performed by a joint mission of Canada and Spain between September 21 and 25.

Some 100 migrants managed to run past the Austrian police and illegaly crossed Austrian-Slovenian border as a result of the Serbian-Hungarian border closure, according to local media.

Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov has taken a blunt approach to flushing out pro-ISIL extremist sentiment in his republic, holding direct face-to-face talks with youths suspected of supporting the terror group, Chechen television channel Grozny has reported.

An investigation by Russia's Investigative Committee has led to the arrest of Komi Republic Governor Vyacheslav Gayzer. Gayzer and 18 of his associates, some of them also members of the regional administration, have been charged with organizing and running a criminal gang involved in the theft of state property on a mass scale.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s Center-2015 military drills have shown high tactical and technical characteristics of modern weapons systems, and once again confirmed the significant potential of Russian defense enterprises.

Russian President said that the 2015 state defense procurement in general is being completed in due time.

Russia has a huge advantage in terms of combat armored vehicles (armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles), self-propelled guns, towed artillery complexes and multiple rocket launchers. New Russian tanks will confirm this advantage. US experts hail Russia's Su-35 fighter saying that it is superior to the US F-35

He will attend the opening of the mosque.

The hosting of the Football World Cup 2018 in Russia will become a grandiose sports celebration and will go down in history in the world of sports, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Up to 2,400 Russian citizens are currently fighting on the side of the Islamic State group (ISIL), the first deputy director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergey Smirnov, has said, APA reports quoting Interfax.

If borders are opened, the influx of refugees from Armenia to Azerbaijan will be like the one to Europe, the head of the Intra-national Liberation Movement Vahan Martirosyan, who earlier asked Azerbaijan for political asylum, said at a press conference in Baku on Sept.18.

Member of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament), head of the working group on the Azerbaijan-Australia inter-parliamentary relations Khanlar Fatiyev is visiting Australia, AzerTag reports.

No one in Armenia wants the war to begin again.

Even though the RPG-30 "Kryuk" anti-tank grenade launcher took a back seat to the formidable Armata tank at this year’s Russia Arms Expo, specialist interest in this deadly weapon was nonetheless just as great.