Russia & CIS

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.

The recent crash of the passenger jetliner in Rostov raised questions about the quality of foreign aircraft. Domestic aircraft, as well as air transportation standards, have always aroused more confidence with Russian aviators than foreign airplanes. When a Russian passenger buys an airplane ticket, they support the aviation industry of the West

Russia was destroying its defense industry purposefully during the 1990s. The then Russian administration believed that Russia had no enemy at all. The demilitarization of the economy cost Russia a lot. Luckily, the country woke up on time. Nowadays, the revival of the Russian defense industry is in full swing

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is preparing to send a team of investigators to Russia to assist in the probe of a recent crash involving a Boeing passenger jet operated by FlyDubai.

A FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 plane coming from Dubai crashed at about 03:50 Moscow time (00:50 GMT) on Saturday while attempting to land amid poor weather conditions at the Rostov-on-Don Airport (ROV).

The company behind the Boeing 737 engine design told Sputnik on Saturday it was unaware of any technical issues connected with the engine that would be hazardous for FlyDubai’s Boeing flight.

A terrible incident marked this weekend in Russia – the FlyDubai Boeing-737-800 crashed in the early hours on Saturday in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all 62 people on board. Sputnik takes a closer look at what could have caused the crash.

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Saturday he did not have information about possible technical faults aboard FlyDubai’s passenger jet prior to its crash in Rostov-on-Don.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Saturday it would assist Russia's investigation into a failed landing of a passenger jet operated by a Dubai-based air carrier that crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

Russia marks the Day of the Submariner on March 19. The date was not chosen by chance - it was on this day in 1906 that the submarines in the Russian Navy were ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to be allocated as a separate class of warships.

Participants of the global ecological campaign in Russia's big cities will commemorate passengers of the FlyDubai plane killed in the crash on Saturday.

The "main phase" of the search operation at the scene of the FlyDubai plane crash near Russia's southern city of Rostov-on-Don has been finished, the Russian emergencies minister said Saturday.

Boeing has set up a commission to provide the Russian investigation into FlyDubai flight FZ981 crash with technical consultations, the company said in a statement.