Russia & CIS

Russian Defense Ministry said that a Russian Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket laden with the newest defense satellite was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the country’s northwest.

According to a document published on Tuesday, Vladimir Putin has signed a decree implementing the country’s defense plans for 2016-2020.

Vladimir Putin said that the Russian ports in the Far East region are likely to become a major infrastructure link between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

In the wake of attacks in Paris by the Islamic State, the head of the CIA on Monday said he wants to see "enhanced" ties between the United States and Russia in order to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Russia’s Deputy Economic Development Minister Stanislav Voskresensky said that Japan can invest in Russia’s Far East as a part of its $110-billion plan to fund infrastructure projects in Asia.

Do you know what airplane has never killed anyone? This is Il-86. Ilyushin aircraft makers developed their own system that includes the pilot into the control loop. All errors that the pilot can make will be corrected either by the co-pilot, or the electronic equipment. A single pilot error should not lead to a catastrophe

In line with the growing 'buy domestic' trend which has swept Russia over the past two years, developers have created a home-grown suite of office applications designed as an alternative to popular Western products such as Microsoft Office, LifeNews reports.

Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia has created a control system on its nuclear facilities that has brought the main risks of radiation ecological disasters to nil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the investigation of debris found in the wreckage of the Russian A321 passenger jet that crashed over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all 224 on board, has entered its final stage.

Some 500 people were evacuated from a Moscow train station after a bomb threat, a source said Monday.

A quarter-century after the collapse of the Soviet Union, an event which resulted in the near-destruction of the country's once-proud civil aviation industry, Russia is looking to resurrect its production of civilian aircraft, from the Sukhoi Superjet 100 to the Ilyushin Il-114, German newspaper Handelsblatt reports.

Almost a thousand people have been evacuated from the “Cosmos” hotel in northern Moscow after a call about an explosive device planted in the building. The hotel has been checked by K-9 police teams. The latest info suggests the call was false.

The launch of Russian spacecraft Progress-MS is scheduled for December 21, 2015 from Baikonur, according to Roscosmos.

After the terrorist attacks on November 14 in Paris, many countries have strengthened anti-terrorism measures, and Russia was no exception. All agencies of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service, a number of units of the Defense Ministry and other special services work at full capacity

The deadly terror attacks which struck Paris on Friday night have left Russians shocked, outraged, and mourning for victims and their families. From officials, to journalists, to celebrities and ordinary citizens, Russians are calling for solidarity with the French people, and for swift justice against the perpetrators of the attacks.

Thousands of Muscovites arrived at the French embassy to lay candles and flowers in memory of the Paris attack victims.

The Russian Embassy spokesperson said that the embassy to the United States has stepped up measures to ensure its security following Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

As the investigation into the downing of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula continues, the cancellation of international flights into Sharm el-Sheikh is taking a major toll on the tourism industry. A number of Egyptian resorts are placing dozens of staffers on “unpaid leave,” and more temporary layoffs could soon follow.

Although relatively small in scale, Russia’s military operation in Syria has highlighted some major improvements in Russian military capabilities.

Beyond its purely geopolitical goals, Russia’s operation in Syria has been designed to test improvements in Russian military capabilities that have resulted from the military reform carried out over the last seven years and to highlight these improvements to potential adversaries. While the jury is still out on how successful the operation will be in helping the Syrian government turn the tide against its various opponents, it has already shown that the military reform has resulted in a significant increase in Russia’s warfighting capability.

Compared to the 2008 Georgia War, which was the last time the Russian Air Force operated in a combat environment, the Russian military appears to have made great strides in increasing operational tempo and improving inter-service integration. It has also made significant advances in its ability to carry out expeditionary operations and showcased its recently developed stand-off strike capability.

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Originally published by the Lowy Institute Interpreter. Click here to read the rest of the article.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the APEC summit that will take place on November 17-18 in the Philippines. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will go to the summit instead. The reason for the decision has not been specified. Putin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the change in the Russian delegation for the APEC summit