Events in Russia

Putin’s meeting with Trump in Washington out of question — Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s possible meeting with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington is out of question in the current situation, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, adding that the best option would be a meeting on the margins of an international summit.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, the topic of Putin’s possible visit to the United States was raised at the two leaders’ talks in Helsinki this summer. "Back then, this possibility was looked at but now it is out of question. No one says a word about it because now general prospects for their next meeting are unclear," he said. "Critical mass of dialogue is needed for that, but now it is lacking."

"De facto, the easiest option is to meet on the sidelines of international multilateral forums," he said. "The next such event will be held in Osaka. It will be the next Group of Twenty summit, in six months. And it is an untenable pause both for our bilateral relations and for international security and stability."


Dialogue with US stalls despite 'homework on either side, says Kremlin

The Kremlin regrets that Russia and the United States have so far not been very successful in developing bilateral dialogue, despite the "homework" on either side, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

"The dialogue has indeed stalled, in spite of certain plans and certain homework on either side," he said.

Peskov stressed that decisions to hold bilateral contacts had been "reversed at the last moment" on numerous occasions, "despite the existence of a range of very important, strategically important issues." "This is regrettable," the Kremlin spokesman concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump were to have negotiations at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires held from November 30 to December 1. However, on Thursday, the US president tweeted that he had decided to cancel his meeting with Putin in the wake of the Kerch Strait incident.

Nevertheless, Putin talked briefly to his US counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina.


Kremlin ready for new Putin-Trump meeting, but won't impose itself and persuade Washington

The Kremlin is ready to hold a new meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, but it is not going to impose itself and urge the White House, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

"The Russian side is ready for a conversation [with the US] and believes the contact at the high level to be very important, but still we will not persuade the American side and impose ourselves," he noted. "It all depends on the Americans now."

According to the Kremlin official, US National Security Advisor John Bolton told him in Argentina of the readiness to continue contacts in his area of responsibility.

Ushakov reiterated that the two countries have disagreements, but they have always been, even in the Soviet era. "Still, it was not an obstacle to serious talks and achieving all the more serious results in the strategic sphere and in the sphere of security," he stressed. "As we understood the Americans, they are ready for these contacts, but it is still hard to say when and where these contacts will be held," the presidential aide added.

He noted that a tension over the two leaders’ meeting created a unique situation when experts and media representatives are "guessing" about whether this meeting will take place.

"It is just necessary to hold this meeting, and that’s that," Ushakov said. "It’s not working out yet."

The issue concerns a full-fledged summit, the Kremlin official said. "Contacts ‘on the move’ are very useful, but a serious conversation is needed, and we were ready for this conversation, including in relation to the [G20] summit," he added.


Putin to hold talks with Maduro on December 5 — Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold full-scale talks with Venezuela’s visiting President Nicolas Maduro in Moscow on December 5, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Tuesday.

"Putin and Maduro will have a one-on-one meeting first. Wider Russian-Venezuelan talks will follow," Peskov said.

Earlier, the Venezuelan embassy in Russia told TASS that Maduro at his meeting with Putin was going to discuss joint projects and bilateral relations. Venezuela’s Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo said Venezuela’s public company PDVSA had plans for joint projects with Rosneft, one of the largest investors into the Venezuelan economy. Currently the two companies work on several joint exploration and production projects in Venezuela: Petromiranda, Petrovictoria, Petromonagas, Boqueron and Petroperija. According to Rosneft, these projects’ overall geological reserves are estimated at more than 20.5 billion tonnes. Also, the companies have a joint oilfield service venture, Perforosven.


Venezuelan president arrives in Moscow to meet with Putin

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Moscow on Tuesday to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a spokesman for the Venezuelan Embassy in Russia informed TASS.

"The president’s plane has landed," he said.

Maduro earlier announced his planned to visit Russia and hold negotiations with the Russian president on December 5 on his Twitter account. The Kremlin confirmed that this meeting would take place.

The Venezuelan Embassy earlier told TASS that the parties were expected to discuss the implementation of some joint projects.


Putin discusses new summit on Syria with Turkish, German leaders — Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel a possible new summit on Syria between Russia, Turkey, Germany and France, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday.

"We agreed with Erdogan and Merkel that if needed another forum may be convened with the participation of Putin, Erdogan, Merkel and [French President Emmanuel] Macron," Ushakov said. Speaking on the venue of this summit, he said it could be held in other city than Istanbul. "That’s because the leaders probably won’t wish to meet in Istanbul all the time."

According to the Kremlin aide, the particular venue would be agreed on simultaneously with discussing the date. "There is only preliminary readiness of the three countries’ leaders for this meeting," he noted.

Putin did not discuss this issue with Macron of late, Uskakov added.


Russia to hold over 4,000 war games in 2019, says defense chief

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to hold more than 4,000 drills and roughly 8,500 practical combat training events throughout 2019, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on a conference call on Tuesday.

"Next year is going to be extremely busy. Over 4,000 various types of drills and nearly 8,500 practical combat training events are scheduled. The main focus will be placed on applying expertise in the use of troops in today’s armed conflicts and training commanders to effectively address non-standard tasks," the minister stated.

Shoigu added that the Defense Ministry would continue to practice snap combat readiness checks. "This form of monitoring makes it possible to pinpoint problems that are not very visible in everyday life," he stressed.

On December 3, the Russian Armed Forces shifted to its winter schedule of training. The defense chief noted that a lot of preparatory work had been done in the army before the start of the new training period.

The conference call with the defense minister was held at the National Defense Control Center, and was attended by area and combat arms commanders, as well as representatives of the leadership of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Primorsky and Smolensk Regions.

As for his meeting with regional representatives, Shoigu addressed possible solutions regarding the social problems of servicemen and their families, along with the development of the Young Army movement, and progress in constructing and arranging Patriot Park branches in their regions.


About 400 military policemen return to Chechnya from Syria

Military police battalion of the Southern Military District that performed tasks in Syria has returned to its home base in Chechnya, head of the Southern Military District’s press service Vadim Astafyev reported on Tuesday.

"About 400 servicemen of the military police battalion of the 58th combined arms army have returned to their home base in Chechnya from Syria," Astafyev said.

He specified that since August the battalion has performed tasks to guard important facilities of the Russian army in Syria, ensure public order and security for civilians in the liberated communities and follow humanitarian convoys and ensure security when conducting humanitarian missions.

The police arrived by planes of the military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Force to the Mozdok airfield in North Ossetia.

The ceremony at which ministerial and state awards will be given to distinguished servicemen will be held on December 7 at the home station of the military unit.


WATCH Kalibr Cruise Missile Launch From Russian Nuclear Submarine

Russian ship- and submarine-launched cruise missiles are capable of striking enemy ships hundreds of kilometres away with incredible precision. Some of the missile's versions are even capable of penetrating ships' defences by reaching supersonic speeds while approaching the target.

The Russian Navy has reported a successful launch of 3M-54 Kalibr (NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler) cruise missile carried out by the Severodvinsk nuclear-powered submarine currently stationed in the Barents Sea. The launch, which was part of military drills, hit a target, situated some 700 kilometres away.

"The battle exercise was performed from the sea's surface at one of the Barents Sea ranges. The launched missile targeted an objective in the Chizha range in the Arkhangelsk region," the navy's press service reported.

Kalibr is a ship- and submarine anti-ship cruise missile, capable of hitting targets up to several hundred kilometres away (depending on modifications) carrying up to 450-kilogramme warheads. Some of its versions can reach supersonic speeds during terminal stages to prevent it from being downed by a ship's anti-missile defences.



Tank Race at -20Cº: Uralvagonzavod Pays Homage to Its Eminent Tank Inventor

On Egypt Defense Expo (EDEX-2018) opening day, one of its participants, the Russian tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, celebrates the 120th birthday of the eminent inventor of T-34 tanks, Mikhail Koshkin.

UVZ paid homage to the designer with an unusual competition; for the first time in history, a drag race of three generations of tanks, T-34, T-72 and T-90C, was held at a proving ground in the far-off Urals region in the blistering —20Cº cold. All these military vehicles are the trademark of the manufacturer from Russia.

Director general of Uralvagonzavod, Alexander Potapov, who is now in Egypt at the EDEX-2018 arms and defense fair, commented on the occasion of Mikhail Koshkin 120th birthday stressing that Egypt was one of the first Arab countries to receive the T-34.

"Mikhail Koshkin is reckoned, certainly, as one of the founders of the national tank-building school and his Victory Tank is the progenitor of modern tanks. All the models that were manufactured in our factories in the post-war period have soaked up, one way or another, the design and combat experience of the legendary T-34. Besides, let me remind you that the T-34 was among the first tanks that were widely exported, and Egypt was one of the first Arab countries to accept it for service."

Mikhail Koshkin invented the T-34 in 1939. Its design simplicity and reliability have become one of the feats of engineering of the 20th century. To this day, T-34 is the most notable Soviet tank, as well as one of the best tanks and the most recognizable symbol of the Second World War. Many experts acknowledged its superiority in terrain crossing capacity, maneuverability, and mobility.

Its latest modification, the T-35-85 tank, is still in service with some countries. Since 1955, it was supplied to the Egyptian Armed Forces by the USSR along with other military equipment.

Uralvagonzavod participates in the EDEX-2018 show as a member of the Russian joint display exposition of Rosoboronexport.

Two other participants of the "Ural Race", tanks of the T-72 and T-90 generations, — in their most modern modifications — will be demonstrated at the UVZ exposition at the Egypt International Exhibition Center on 3-5 December 2018.



One killed, three injured in blast near Moscow — source

One person was killed and three others were injured when an explosion hit a residential house in the Moscow Region on Tuesday, a local law enforcement source said.

"In one of apartments in the residential house in the Kurovskoye village a clap occurred, and one person was killed and three others were wounded," the source said.
 
Putin to hold full-format talks with Venezuela’s Maduro in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold full-format talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Moscow on Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told reporters the talks would be held with restricted attendance first and then will be expanded. The Russian delegation will include Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.

New measures of economic support

Issues of trade and economic cooperation traditionally top the Russian-Venezuelan agenda. The two nations closely cooperate in economy and trade, with last year’s turnover estimated at $68.4 million. The figure almost doubled in January-September 2018, year-on-year, to $79.4 billion.

Russia and Venezuela run joint projects in the energy sector, agriculture, geological prospecting, pharmaceutical industry, information and communications technologies, defense industry and other spheres. Russia’s aggregated investment in Venezuela exceeds $4.1 billion.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday the issue of providing extra aid to Venezuela can be raised during the talks.

"Practical aid is provided to the Venezuelan side on a regular basis. The issue [concerning help] will be definitely put forward this time," he said.

Energy cooperation

Cooperation in the energy sphere will also be among the topics discussed, Ushakov said.

"Further steps to reinforce interaction on global oil and gas markets are anticipated to be discussed in the context of presidency of Venezuela in OPEC and GECF forthcoming in 2019," Ushakov said, adding that efficient joint work in OPEC+ format "made a significant contribution to stabilization of the global market of hydrocarbons."

Russian oil major Rosneft is currently implementing five oil projects in Venezuela with total production of 9 mln tonnes per year, or 7% of the country’s overall oil output. According to Venezuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo, the national oil and gas company PDVSA plans more projects with Rosneft, one of Venezuela’s biggest investors. At present, the companies run several joint projects in oil prospecting and extraction in Venezuela, known as Petromiranda, Petrovictoria, Petromonagas, Boqueron and Petroperija.

Furthermore, Russia’s Inter RAO completed the contract on supply of thirteen gas turbine units for Venezuelan power plants in November.

Agriculture and industry

According to Ushakov, other package of issues to be addressed by Putin and Maduro is cooperation in industry and agriculture.

"Agriculture is an important area of joint work. Supplies of Russian grain to Venezuela are being conducted on a regular basis: this year, Prodintorg and the United Grain Corporation have shipped about 250,000," Ushakov said.

According to the Kremlin aide, Russian truck maker Kamaz keeps developing its cooperation with Venezuelan companies. Among other things, Kamaz delivered over 340 of its trucks to Venezuela, organized assembly lines at four Venezuelan plants and is now building five servicing centers in the country.


Putin condemns attempts to change political situation in Venezuela through terror

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the attempts of changing the political situation in Venezuela through terror.

"We back your efforts aimed at achieving common ground in the society and your efforts designed to settle relations with the opposition," the Russian leader said opening a meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"Certainly, we condemn any terrorism-related steps and any attempts to change the situation using force," the president said.

The Russian leader noted that he was glad to have a chance to "synchronise watches on the situation in the region and certainly speak about fostering bilateral relations."

In previous years, Russian-Venezuelan relations underwent difficult times when the trade turnover significantly dropped, Putin said. He noted that this negative trend has been overcome and a certain growth has been seen this year.

Maduro confirmed that for many years Venezuela has faced various attacks and threats. "But during this process we learnt, there has been always such attitude to our region in the past century," he said. "It seems to me that we have found a point that enables us to survive."

The Venezuelan leader told Putin that he has managed to launch a comprehensive economic program, which conforms to the level of Russian-Venezuelan relations. "I’m sure that this meeting will yield good news for cooperation between our countries and their economies," he said.


Putin slams Poroshenko’s attempt to contact him on phone as pre-election stunt

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is not responding to his Ukrainian counterpart Pyotr Poroshenko’s attempts to contact him on the phone as he does not wish to take part in the latter’s election campaign, as the Russian leader himself told reporters when asked to comment on the lack of a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president.

"It is not that I am just avoiding a conversation or don’t want to talk with Pyotr Alexeyevich [Poroshenko], it is not like that," Putin said. "The matter is that I don’t want to take part in his election campaign," the Russian president pointed out.

According to Putin, Poroshenko is good at creating crises and staging provocations which he immediately blames on Russia, but at the same time "he immediately wants to show everyone that he can successfully resolve emerging issues."

"It is a simple stunt but I don’t want to be part of these stunts and I will not take part in them," the Russian leader added.

Kerch Strait incident

On November 25, three Ukrainian navy ships illegally crossed Russia’s border and tried to carry out some illegal actions in Russian territorial waters later in the day. They ignored legitimate demands to stop issued by vessels belonging to the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet and continued maneuvering dangerously. In order to stop the Ukrainian ships, weapons had to be used. The three vessels were detained in Russian territorial waters. Three Ukrainian military servicemen suffered light wounds and were provided with medical assistance.

A criminal investigation has been opened into the border incident. The Ukrainian ships’ crew members, 24 Ukrainian nationals, have been arrested until January 25, 2019.

Moscow branded Kiev's stunt in the Kerch Strait as a dangerous provocation, while the European Union and NATO called for a de-escalation of tensions, while Kiev declared a 30-day martial law. According to experts, the move is aimed at increasing Poroshenko’s chances to win the Ukrainian presidential elections scheduled to take place in March 2019.


Putin holds private meeting with former French PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a private meeting with former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Wednesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Putin and Fillon have been maintaining friendly relations for a long time," Peskov said. "During Fillon’s term as [French] prime minister, Putin served as Prime Minister of Russia," Peskov pointed out, adding that "later they continued to maintain contacts."

Fillon served as French Prime Minister in 2007-2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He ran the 2017 presidential election as the Republican nominee and came third.

Putin was Russian Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012.


Presidential promise: Putin vows to make the dreams of five terminally ill kids come true

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to fulfill the dreams of five terminally ill children.

On Wednesday, the president attended the Russian Volunteer Forum and inspected charity project stalls.

Volunteers briefed the head of state on a project dubbed, "Dream With Me", aimed at making the wishes of terminally ill kids come true. The related stand featured envelopes with letters in which children describe their dreams. Any of the forum’s participants had the chance to pick an envelope and make a kid’s dream come true. Volunteers suggested that the president also choose one. Putin gathered all five remaining envelopes and promised to fulfill the wishes they contained.

In one of those five letters, a boy describes his dream to make a video about the Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft. Putin vowed to invite the boy to Moscow, introduce him to pilots from Russia’s Special Flight Detachment and show him the aircraft.

Another child, who dreams about getting a bird's-eye view of St. Petersburg, will have a chance to take a helicopter tour of it. Putin said that he planned to visit St. Petersburg on Thursday and next week, so he would fulfill the child’s dream during one of these visits.

Putin also promised to ask Mosfilm Film Studio Director Karen Shakhnazarov and film director Nikita Mikhalkov to show a girl who dreams about having a look at the world of cinema from the inside, around the film studio. The president will also arrange another girl’s visit to the Russia Today TV channel’s headquarters so that she can conduct an interview with an interesting speaker.

The president was extremely touched to find out that a boy’s dream was to shake hands with him.

"This is very touching and very unexpected for me," Putin said and promised to talk with the kid’s doctors so that he can invite him to Moscow for the holidays and make his dream come true.


Putin praises Russia’s volunteers for making society kinder and stronger

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Volunteer of Russia 2018 award ceremony on Wednesday, which was held at the CSKA Arena as part of the International Volunteer Forum.

Anton Korotchenko, author of the 'Healthy Village' volunteer project from the Smolensk Region, was awarded the Volunteer of Russia 2018 title.

"Each of you deserves this award (of the winner-TASS): both those who are present here, and those who are not," the President greeted participants of the ceremony.

Putin pointed out that volunteers help make society more resistant to internal and external shocks.

The head of state noted that those in the volunteer movement are second to none when it comes to such traits as openness, kindness, cordiality and citizenship.

"Doing what you do, namely helping people in hospitals and hospices, as well as those with disabilities, preserving our forests, fauna, and nature as a whole," Putin said, lauding the volunteers.

The president went on to praise them for helping Russia "welcome guests from many foreign countries at major sports or political events, you do a very important job not just for yourself and those whom you directly help, but for all of society," he stressed. "When people look at you, not only do they take an example from you but there is, as people say, a feeling of security for what’s happening and reliability in our society." "Not only does this make our society kinder, it also makes all of us more balanced and resistant to internal and external shocks, which are always there and have always been, and we have them too," President Putin said.

Some 15,000 volunteers from across Russia and 120 other countries participated in the event, according to the Kremlin website.


Russia to start building naval cluster near St. Petersburg in 2019

Russia will start building a naval cluster in Kronshtadt near St. Petersburg in northwest Russia in 2019, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.

"In 2019, we will start creating a naval cluster in Kronshtadt, which will help concentrate educative, scientific and applied activity in a single modern center and considerably increase its efficiency," the defense minister said at a visiting enlarged session on creating the Navy’s educational and scientific base in Kronshtadt.

In St. Petersburg, the Defense Ministry of Russia is pursuing its general policy towards expanding the city’s infrastructure, Shoigu said.

"Since 2013, the Defense Ministry has been engaged in the large-scale construction and reconstruction of military infrastructure facilities. This helps to strengthen the state’s defense potential and increase jobs for Russians, develop territories and boost their investment attractiveness," the defense minister said.

"The Defense Ministry has invested more than a trillion rubles [$15 billion] in the St. Petersburg economy alone," Shoigu stressed.

According to the defense minister, over 970 billion rubles ($14.5 billion) have been invested in St. Petersburg industrial enterprises and about 70 billion rubles ($1 billion) in improving the city’s infrastructure.

The Defense Ministry is paying close attention to preserving the cultural heritage and restoring the historical outlook of buildings while carrying out works on the city’s territory, the defense chief said.

"Over the past 6 years, more than 90 buildings and structures with a total floorspace of about 700,000 square meters have been built and reconstructed. About 80% of them have historical and artistic value," Shoigu stressed.

Infrastructure construction

According to the defense chief, the buildings of the Military Medical Academy were renewed during the construction of the multipurpose clinic.

"The unique Fundamental Library has been restored. Over 800 items of applied decorative art have been renovated and a technical possibility has been provided for drawing up catalogs and transforming the rarest editions into the electronic format," Shoigu said.

The Defense Ministry’s funds have been used to reconstruct some facilities in St. Petersburg: the former cadet and now Suvorov military school, the Military Communications Academy, the Military Logistics Academy, the Military Space Academy, the Military Institute of Physical Culture that will host the World Cadet Games in 2020, the Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Communications, the Central Naval Library and the tsarist Naval Minister’s Mansion, Shoigu said.

On Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order, the Defense Ministry carried out comprehensive reconstruction of the buildings of the Nakhimov naval school, he said.

Also, the Ice Palace is under construction and it will be opened on Navy Day next year, the defense minister said.


Murmansk authorities hope North Pole cruises will continue to 2035

Cruises from Murmansk to the North Pole may continue to 2035. Every year, more than 500 tourists in groups take the cruises, head of the Murmansk Regional legislature's committee on education, science, culture, family, youth and sports Larisa Kruglova told a meeting of the Parliamentary Association of Russia's North-West's committee on culture and tourism on Tuesday.

"Every year, from the Murmansk port leave 5 cruises to the North Pole on board The 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker, thus totally more than 500 people every year take this route," she said. "According to Atomflot (nuclear fleet authority), they have planned exploitation of nuclear icebreakers for cruises to the North Pole at least to 2019, and under favorable conditions this tourist product could be implemented up to 2035."

According to the official, an average cost of a cruise to the North Pole is between $6,000 and $7,000.

"The problem of the cruises to the North Pole is that they involve very little the Murmansk Region's tourist sector - on the tour, visitors usually remain in Murmansk for only one night, without having any sightseeing," she continued. "Taking into consideration the clients' high solvency and the stable demand, it would be reasonable to offer to tourist companies onshore sightseeing programs for the cruise passengers."

The Parliamentary Association of Russia's North-West's committee on culture and tourism was organized in June, 2012.


Most Russians support border guards’ actions in Kerch Strait, poll shows

The vast majority of Russians support border guards’ actions in the Kerch Strait, where Ukrainian navy ships were detained for violating the Russian border, the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center said in a statement on Wednesday.

As many as 93% of those surveyed said that border guards had done the right thing, and 79% said the incident was a result of a provocation planned by the Ukrainian authorities.

A total of 30% of the poll’s participants believe that Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko’s desire to remain in power was the reason behind the provocation. One in five said that the provocation was aimed at starting a war between Russia and Ukraine, while 17% think the goal was to create another excuse for accusing Russia of aggression.

However, the poll’s participants expect Russia and Ukraine to either restore friendly ties in the future (43%) or at least normalize relations (34%). At the same time, 16% said that relations between the two counties would continue to deteriorate.

"People’s views on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, shaped quite a while ago, have remained unchanged no matter how the economic and social situation develops," All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center Director General Valery Fyodorov said, commenting on the poll’s outcome.

The nationwide poll involving 1,600 people over the age of 18 was conducted on November 27.


Russian National Wealth Fund down 8.25% in November, says finance ministry

Russia’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) decreased by 8.25% in November 2018 in ruble terms to 4.567 trillion rubles ($68.4 bln), according to the files released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.

In dollar terms, the fund slipped from $75.6 bln to $68.5 bln.

As of December 1, the NWF funds in various currencies were allocated in the Bank of Russia: $19.711 bln, 17.641 bln euro, 3.384 bln pounds sterling and 87.5 bln rubles.


Russia refining combat use of Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile

The Russian Armed Forces are refining the combat use of the Kinzhal air-launched precision hypersonic weapon, Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov said at a briefing for foreign military attaches on Wednesday.

"The combat use of the Kinzhal air-launched precision hypersonic missile system is being refined," Gerasimov pointed out.

Russia is also carrying out measures in other areas to raise the combat potential of its Armed Forces, the general stressed.

Specifically, the Russian aviation units and formations have received over 140 modern aircraft this year, Gerasimov said.

"Efforts continue to rearm air defense missile regiments with modern S-400 surface-to-air missile systems that feature increased capabilities for intercepting air targets. At present, already over 20 air defense regiments armed with these missile systems are on combat duty," the general said.

The development of Russia’s general-purpose forces is also a priority area, Gerasimov said.

"This year, the units and formations of the land troops and the Airborne Force have received over three thousand new and modernized weapon systems," the general said, noting that special attention was paid to increasing the combat units’ strike potential, maneuverability and autonomous operation.

This is being achieved by way of rearming units and formations with modern armor, precision missile and air defense missile complexes, as well as with electronic warfare and control systems, he stressed.

"Besides, the efforts to improve electronic warfare means, troops’ and weapons’ command and control systems are a priority area in developing general-purpose forces," the general said. "Over this year, we have achieved considerable results in these areas."

Russia is also improving its Navy, Gerasimov pointed out.

"The Navy has accepted the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov and the large amphibious assault ship Ivan Gren for service. By the end of the year, 13 more warships and combat vessels are expected to arrive for the Navy. Efforts continue to deliver Bal and Bastion coastal defense systems armed with Uran and Oniks anti-ship missiles," Gerasimov said.


Peresvet combat lasers enter duty with Russia’s armed forces

Russian-made combat lasers, Peresvet, have started to enter duty with the Russian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"Peresvet laser systems, based on new physical principles, entered combat service in testing regime with the Russian armed forces," the paper said. "The armed forces started receiving them in 2017 as part of the state procurement program."

Russian military personnel operating those systems underwent special training at the Mozhaysky Military Space Academy in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg.

"As combat units trained using this advanced weaponry, they learned and practiced their deployment and preparations for use," the paper said.

During his State of the Nation Address on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested county fellows choose names for a laser weapon, an underwater nuclear-powered drone and a nuclear-powered cruise missile. The laser combat system was named Peresvet after Alexander Peresvet, a medieval Russian warrior monk.

During that speech, Putin said that "significant progress" was achieved in Russia’s laser weaponry program and "there are all reasons to believe that we are one step ahead our rivals in this sphere." However, he gave no further details, saying only that the time was not ripe at that moment.

"I do not want to reveal more details. It is not the time yet. But experts will understand that with such weaponry, Russia’s capacities for defending itself have multiplied.".


Russians vote to rename Moscow airports after poet Pushkin, polymath Lomonosov

Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.jpg
Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport / © Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

According to results of a nationwide vote that ended on Tuesday, Moscow’s two major airports, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, will be named after 19th century poet Alexander Pushkin and 18th century scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, respectively.

The results of the all-Russian vote to rename airports all across Russia, headlined Russia’s Great Names, were announced late on Tuesday on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"The Sheremetyevo airport will be named after Alexander Pushkin, Domodedovo will be named after Mikhail Lomonosov," TV presenter Yevgeny Popov said.

According to information on the official portal of the vote, more than 40,000 people voted for Pushkin and over 188,000 - for Lomonosov.

A decision on whether a runoff is required to select a new name for the Russian capital’s third airport, Vnukovo, will be made over the next few days.

The nationwide vote to name 47 Russian airports after historic figures was held on October 11-30. In total, over 5.52 million people took part in the vote. According to the expert council’s decision, the runoff vote will be required for airports in Arkhangelsk, Nizhnevartovsk and St. Petersburg and will take place on December 10-21. The expert council will also decide on whether a runoff was necessary to decide on names for airports in Penza, Mineralnye Vody and Gorno-Altaisk in the coming days.
 
Presidential promise: Putin vows to make the dreams of five terminally ill kids come true

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to fulfill the dreams of five terminally ill children.

In one of those five letters, a boy describes his dream to make a video about the Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft. Putin vowed to invite the boy to Moscow, introduce him to pilots from Russia’s Special Flight Detachment and show him the aircraft.

Another child, who dreams about getting a bird's-eye view of St. Petersburg, will have a chance to take a helicopter tour of it. Putin said that he planned to visit St. Petersburg on Thursday and next week, so he would fulfill the child’s dream during one of these visits.

Putin also promised to ask Mosfilm Film Studio Director Karen Shakhnazarov and film director Nikita Mikhalkov to show a girl who dreams about having a look at the world of cinema from the inside, around the film studio. The president will also arrange another girl’s visit to the Russia Today TV channel’s headquarters so that she can conduct an interview with an interesting speaker.


RT Editor-in-Chief Vows to Help Seriously Ill Girl Become Journalist

Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the RT broadcaster and Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, has promised to help a young girl become a journalist as part of a Dream With Me charitable project granting wishes of seriously ill kids and seniors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited a volunteer forum in Moscow. The Kremlin said he watched videos of five children speaking about their dreams and promised to help them all come true. He said he would organize a visit to the RT channel for a girl who wanted to be a journalist so that she could take an interview.

"Putin made a promise and we are on it," the RT chief editor said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

A boy who wanted to make a video about an Il-96 airliner was promised an invitation to Moscow for a tour of the plane and a meeting with the crew servicing presidential flights, while another girl who wished to see how movies were made will be taken to Russia’s oldest Mosfilm studio.

Another young participant of the project who wished to get a bird's-eye view of St. Petersburg will be taken on a helicopter tour during the president's visit to the city in the coming days. A child who wished to shake Putin's hand will be invited to Moscow for New Year celebrations if doctors give their consent.


WATCH Russian Military Detonate WWII Era Mine Off Coast of Resort Town

Divers have discovered a mine at the bottom of the Black Sea near a sanatorium for children in the southern Russian resort town of Anapa. To clear the area from the decades-old explosive device the establishment's premises were cordoned off.

A video of an anchor mine clearance operation has emerged on YouTube. The footage shows a huge explosion just metres away from the beach.

The bomb was detonated by the de-miners from Russia's Black Sea naval base in the city of Novorossiysk. The mine was successfully blown up, according to a statement by Anapa's authorities.



Russia's Iskander-M units hold operational tests

Units of the Iskander-M tactic ballistic missile system of the Eastern Military District have carried out a test missile launch in the Astrakhan Region. The target was hit at a distance of 80 km, head of the district’s press service Colonel Alexander Gordeyev said on Thursday.

"The units of the new Iskander-M tactic ballistic missile system successfully carried out a test launch of a ballistic missile at the Kapustin Yar Range in the Astrakhan Region. The target, which imitates the fortified command post of an illegal armed unit, was hit at a distance of about 80 km by a pinpoint missile strike," the officer said.

After the launch the units trained to urgently change the missile deployment area.

"The events are being held as part of a tactical exercise under the plan of the final stage of the testing of the new Iskander-M tactic ballistic missile system, which joined the missile formation of the Eastern Military District located in the Jewish Autonomous Region," Gordeyev specified.


Su-57 jets will be equipped with hypersonic missiles similar to Kinzhal — source

Russia's fifth-generation jet fighter Su-57 will be equipped with hypersonic missiles with characteristics similar to that of the Kinzhal missile, a source in the aircraft industry told TASS on Thursday.

"In accordance with Russia's State Armament Program for 2018-2027, Su-57 jet fighters will be equipped with hypersonic missiles. The jet fighters will receive missiles with characteristics similar to that of the Kinzhal missiles, but with inter-body placement and smaller size," the source said.

The source did not provide details on specific characteristics of the new missiles or clarifications on when they will be tried.

No official confirmation of this information was obtained by TASS.

Russian Aerospace Defense Forces' MiG-31K jet fighters are equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. Kinzhal missiles are practically impossible to detect with modern air defense systems. Their range exceeds 2,000 km.

According to open sources, the Kinzhal missile was designed on the basis of Iskander ground-based missile defense systems.
 
Unemployment in Russia reaches record low 4.7% — Medvedev

Unemployment in Russia is at a record low of 4.7%, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Russian television channels.

"This is a very important figure - this year, at the moment, we have an unprecedented situation with unemployment, the lowest figure - 4.7% according to the International Labor Organization," he said.

Real disposable income of the population in 2018 will grow by 1.6%, wages - by 7.6%, he added. "There is quite strict statistics on this subject. For a long time incomes have fallen due to the crisis because of all sorts of restrictions and problems. In the last two years they have started growing. These are really objective economic figures. Real disposable income of the population this year will grow by 1.6%. Growth of real wages, not nominal, will reach 7.6%," Medvedev said.

Inflation

Inflation in Russia in 2018 is likely to reach 3.5% and will not exceed the target of 4%, he said.

"I cannot but note low inflation, it is a recent achievement. This year we are likely to reach a figure of around 3.5%. In any case, we are within the 4% that we have set for ourselves a few years ago. We have reached the target for inflation, which allows people to easily plan their incomes and expenses," Medvedev said.

Economic growth

Russia expects to reach 2% economic growth per year by 2020, he said. "In order to evolve further, we, of course, need other growth rates, which we have outlined in the main areas of government activity…By 2020 we will strive to reach higher growth rates of around 2%, and 3% in 2021. We need to strive for growth rates at the global level. Although we must admit that because of the large trade war that has unfolded in the world, global growth rates have fallen too," Medvedev said.


Russian gunmaker Kalashnikov unveils new drone for Arctic operation

The Kalashnikov small arms manufacturer has presented the ZALA Arctic unmanned aerial vehicle adapted for work in Arctic latitudes, the Kalashnikov Media reported on its website on Thursday.

The new system was presented at the 8th international forum, "The Arctic: the Present and the Future."

"ZALA Arctic drones are capable of successfully solving civilian and military tasks for carrying out research in the Arctic zone, providing for the safety of sea shipping and the round-the-clock protection of the perimeters, organizing the full-fledged system of tracking the Arctic coast and territorial waters," Kalashnikov Group CEO Vladimir Dmitriyev was quoted as saying.

The ZALA 421-08M and ZALA 421-16E systems are suited for their operation at considerable freezing temperatures, which makes it possible to carry out numerous surveillance operations and regularly monitor the ice situation. The ZALA Arctic equipment’s capabilities facilitate oil and gas extraction planning in the areas where accurate weather and ice situation forecasts are required, according to the data posted on the Kalashnikov Media’s website.

ZALA drones are equipped with the AIS system capable of detecting and identifying vessels at a distance of up to 100 km, which exceeds the operational range of ground-based equipment by several times.

The user of the ZALA Arctic system gets information about each vessel: its name, size, course and speed. The drone has its own GIRSAM alternative navigation system developed specially for the navigation of both unmanned aerial vehicles and the ground-and water-based users amid the suppression or the absence of GPS or GLONASS signals.

The operators can autonomously live in the Arctic in a specially developed all-weather living module based on a marine 200-feet container. It is also designed for rational maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicles at the place of their operation.

The forum, "The Arctic: the Present and the Future," organized by the Association of Polar Explorers, runs in St. Petersburg on December 5-7. Its participants are discussing the protection of the environment in northern regions, the development of infrastructural projects, the protection of the rights of the indigenous peoples, the youth policy in the Arctic and personnel training.

The forum has brought together about 2,000 participants from the Arctic regions of Russia and more than 20 other countries, in particular, all the Arctic Council member states. The TASS news agency acts as the forum’s general information partner.


Expert: hybrid power plants are the only effective solution for Arctic

Hybrid electric power plants, which use alternative energy sources and diesel fuel, are the only effective solution for the Russian Arctic regions, the Association of Power and Energy Equipment Producers' Vice President Oleg Yegorychev told The Arctic: Present and Future forum.

"In our opinion, the only solution, prompt and rather effective [for the Arctic territories], are hybrid systems: the Sun, wind and diesel," he said. "Unfortunately, I cannot imagine and nobody can realistically present any other quick solutions."

According to him, the Association considers it very important to have standards for equipment and technology solutions, which will be used actively at the polar and Arctic territories.

The expert stressed in a conversation with TASS the work on standards would require support from the government. "Quite a lot is to be considered, and no businesses will afford it," he explained. "The cost of work on one standard is about one million rubles ($15,000)."

The Arctic: Present and Future forum, organized by the Association of Polar Explorers, is underway in St. Petersburg from December 5 to December 7. The event features about 2,000 participants from Russian Arctic regions and from more than 20 countries, including the Arctic Council's member states.


Knife-wielding student at Moscow school abandons suicide plan, police say

A teenager who brought a knife to a Moscow school on Thursday has given up his plan to commit suicide and has been handed over to medical workers, the press service of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Moscow Department told TASS.

"Police officers managed to persuade the teenager to abandon his plans," police said, adding that "he has been handed over to doctors who will examine him and provide him with necessary medical care".

Meanwhile, a law enforcement source said that the student suffered from a mental disorder. "He has some mental issues, his parents even planned to send him to a mental hospital for treatment," the source said.

People who know the student say he takes some anxiety pills on a regular basis. "He has been suffering from headaches and nervous breakdowns so he had to take some pills regularly," one of them told TASS.

On Thursday morning, a tenth grader brought a knife to School Number 1359 in Moscow’s Zhulebino District. At first, he threatened to attack teachers and then said he would kill himself.

All children were evacuated from the school building. Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a pre-investigation probe into the incident.


Two IS members sentenced to 17, 18 years for preparing terror attacks in Moscow Region

The Moscow District Military Court has sentenced two members of the Islamic State (IS, terror group, outlawed in Russia) who planned a terrorist attack in the Moscow Region to 17 and 18 years in a high-security prison, the court’s Secretary Irina Zhirnova informed TASS.

"The court sentenced Nurlan Makhsudov to 18 years and Magomedkhabib Gajiyev to 17 years in a high-security prison," she said.

Gajiyev and Makhsudov were found guilty of organizing the activities of a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and the illegal acquisition of firearms and explosives.

According to investigators, the extremists planned to commit a series of terrorist acts in crowded places in the Moscow Region, using bombs packed with nails.


Russian cutting-edge frigate live-fires cruise missiles in Barents Sea drills

Russia’s cutting-edge frigate Admiral Gorshkov has destroyed a target with a Kalibr cruise missile at a distance of 700 km in the Barents Sea drills, the Northern Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

"The combat exercise was performed at one of the Northern Fleet’s combat training ranges in the Barents Sea. The missile was launched towards the Chizha range in the Arkhangelsk Region. The target, against which the fire was conducted, stayed a distance of over 700 kilometers," the press office said.

The data recording equipment has shown that the fire was conducted with the designed accuracy and with the confirmation of all the flight and technical parameters, the Fleet’s press office said.

Also, during the planned sortie, the frigate’s crew held anti-submarine warfare and air defense drills along with some ship damage control exercises.

The frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov arrived for the Northern Fleet from St. Petersburg on September 8. The frigate is the Northern Fleet’s first surface ship carrying Kalibr cruise missiles. The warship made numerous inter-fleet passages from the Baltic to the Barents and White Seas for testing air defense, missile and artillery systems, mine and torpedo armament.

Over the entire period of state trials, the warship performed 16 firing exercises, using the main missile complex.
 


MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Russia is capable of responding to the US destroyer McCampbell’s emergence in the vicinity of the Peter the Great Bay in Russia’s Far East by sending its submarines to the Gulf of Mexico, but it prefers to perform the routine duties, the editor-in-chief of Russia’s National Defense magazine, Igor Korotchenko, told TASS in an interview.

The US destroyer USS McCampbell on Wednesday went past the Peter the Great Bay off Russia’s Primorye Region and the base of Russia’s Pacific Fleet there. The US military said the purpose of the operation was "to challenge Russia’s excessive maritime claims."

"Our submarines, too, might have surfaced suddenly some place in the Gulf of Mexico to shock America. We have the corresponding forces of our submarine fleet there. We do not do that for the simple reason our purpose is not to show off in such a silly way, but to cope with the assigned tasks," Korotchenko said.


He warned that attempts at intimidating Russia were "useless and senseless."

"Russia has conducted a self-sufficient policy of its own and it keeps conducting it. We defended our interests all along and we continue to do so," Korotchenko said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, The USS Campbell did not come closer than 100 kilometers to Russia’s territorial waters. Its voyage was monitored by the Russian Pacific Fleet’s anti-submarine ship The Admiral Tributs and naval aviation. The Defense Ministry said the Russian military was keeping track of the US ship. On Wednesday noon it was 400 kilometers away from the Russian shore in the central part of the Sea of Japan.

The USS McCampbell is a 35th Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Its full displacement is 9,648 tonnes, length 155 meters, width 20 meters and crew 380 men. Its main weapons are two Mk 41 universal vertical guided missile launchers (96 compartments) capable of launching Tomahawk missiles.

Expert: Northern Sea Route navigation may become year-round by 2030

Russia’s Su-57 may get ‘Kinzhal-like’ hypersonic missile for internal bay – report
Published time: 6 Dec, 2018 12:24 Video
The advanced Sukhoi Su-57 multipurpose jet may be armed with a hypersonic missile similar to the Kinzhal. Unlike the large already-introduced projectile, the future one will be small enough to fit inside the weapons bay.

Kinzhal is Russia’s freshly-introduced air-launched ballistic missile which can fly at Mach-10 speed and has a reported range of 2,000km (1243 miles). The weapon needs to be fired from an already fast-moving platform, like the Mig-31K interceptor or a Tu-22M3 bomber.
There has been some speculation that the Su-57, Russia’s first fifth-generation fighter jet, will eventually be able to deploy the advanced projectile as well.

The Russian military want to arm the Su-57 with a smaller hypersonic missile capable of fitting inside the stealth aircraft’s weapons bay, according to an aviation industry source cited by TASS. The alternative of fitting the large Kinzhal on a hard point, would have increased the jet’s radar cross-section.

The development of the new missile is part of Russia’s current military buildup program, which covers a period between 2018 and 2027, the source said. No details about a timetable for the development or the planned specifications for the missile were offered. The Defense Ministry would neither confirm nor deny the information.

The Kinzhal missile is currently in test service in the Russian military. It was made public earlier this year by President Vladimir Putin as part of a larger presentation of advanced and future Russian weapons meant to counter US development of anti-ballistic missile technologies.
Some sources say the projectile is partially derived from the land-launched 9K720 Iskander missile, and is capable of destroying large moving targets like an aircraft carrier while avoiding air defenses, thanks to its tremendous speed and high maneuverability.

Dated: Aug 27, 2018
Training and equipment of Russian special forces | Men's Stuff ENG version (англ.версия)

Putin Disses Poroshenko’s Attempt To Contact Him On Phone: It's Pre-Election Stunt And Manipulation
Published on Dec 6, 2018
 
Friday December 7, 2018 - Online Extremism In Russia: Assessing Putin’s Move – Analysis
Online Extremism In Russia: Assessing Putin’s Move – Analysis

In a calculated move, President Vladimir Putin intervened to lessen the impact of an anti-extremism piece of legislation. He is not getting soft against extremism. The main consideration is his ability to stay popular and remain in power.

The Russian State Duma approved on 15 November 2018, the first reading of amendments to a controversial anti-extremism law. President Putin had personally proposed amendments to the law (Article 282 of the Criminal Code), underlying the significance to him of this domestic political issue.

The proposed amendments will decriminalize first-time extremism offences. When in effect, only those who already faced administrative repercussions (non-imprisonment punitive measures) over the past year will be criminally liable. It introduces administrative liability for extremist speech. First-time offenders will face fines up to 20,000 roubles (US$300), up to 100 hours of community work, or an administrative arrest for 15 days. Organizations, however, will face much bigger fines − up to 500,000 roubles (about US$7,500).

Perceived Abuse of Law
The Carnegie Moscow Centre published in October 2018 an article by Lincoln Pigman of the University of Oxford on Article 282 and its domestic political implications. Pigman claims that the siloviki, or representatives of the security organs, are waging a war on Internet users they consider “extremists”.

He adds that the crackdown dates back to 2014, when Article 282 was amended, enabling the prosecution of Internet users who “incite hatred against individuals or groups on the basis of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, religion, or membership in a social group”.

Pigman further argues that this law has been abused by the siloviki to rein in the perceived growth of anti-Putin sentiment in the country, including youth and that “the law’s most egregious abuses have occurred in places far from Moscow, such as Barnaul, a city that has been dubbed Russia’s ‘extremism capital’ because of the proliferation of online extremism cases there”.

According to Pigman, opinion polls show that “by a margin of 43 to 36 percent, Russians now consider the majority of online extremism cases to be unfounded. Many feel that the law must be either amended or
repealed”.

Factors Behind Putin’s Intervention
His intervention in the matter illustrates his political pragmatism and willingness to confront the siloviki, despite the fact that they have been and remains the backbone of his support structure, and their perceived attempt to use this law to further suppress political dissent and strengthen his hold on power.

After the recent introduction of unpopular pension reform which raised the retirement age, President Putin must be concerned about his standing in the eyes of his people. According to Chris Weafer, a long-standing observer of Russia’s economy, Putin’s “approval rating was 66% in October, down from 67% in September, and the lowest level this year. It is also the lowest level of approval since the Crimea referendum”.

This point must be kept in mind – his popularity has been consistently high but various factors have led to a downward trend, major ones being the abovementioned unpopular pension reform and the state of the economy. President Putin is obviously not going to allow the controversy over Article 282 to further add fuel to fire. It is also a manifestation of his practical approach in trying to resolve a domestic political matter and his recognition of the challenges posed to his power by the Internet.

Second, recent electoral losses of Kremlin-backed gubernatorial candidates in four regions are another factor he has had to deal with. In the past, candidates who enjoyed the Kremlin’s support would normally course through the electoral process without much ado.

Recent Lone-wolf Attacks
Third, two violent incidents must also have played a role in President Putin’s decision to intervene.

On 17 October 2018, Russia was stunned by a deadly attack by college student in Kerch, in the Crimea, on his fellow students; in the process, 21 lay dead with 70 suffering injuries from the student’s use of a shotgun and improvised explosive device he legally owned.

Significantly, President Putin was quoted by a BBC News report dated 18 October 2018 as saying that the tragedy “appears to be a result of globalisation”; he added that “on social media, on the internet, we see the creation of entire communities. Everything started with the tragic events in schools in the US”. As a consequence, he called for tougher gun control legislation, another display of his realism.

The second incident took place on 31 October 2018, when a teen ignited a bomb in the FSB (Federal Security Service) office in Arkhangelsk in Russia’s northwest; he died in the attack which also injured some FSB personnel. The attackers in the Kerch and Arkhangelsk incidents were not linked to any terrorist organisations. The first attack was labelled a mass murder while the second was described as a terrorist act.

Both men were in their teens and ethnic Slavs; terrorism in Russia in the public mind has thus far been unfortunately associated more with the non-Slavic population from the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Securing Position as Primus Inter Pares?
Finally, President Putin must have also taken into account media reports that stated that the Kerch attacker had made social media posts suggesting he was inspired by the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School outside Denver, in the United States. In the case of the Arkhangelsk incident, according to Stratfor, the geopolitical global intelligence platform, a message posted seven minutes before the attack to a Russian anarchist community on the social media messaging app, Telegram, claimed responsibility for the bombing.

President Putin must be aware that the Internet and social media space cannot be totally controlled and hence, one would be more politically prudent to show some restraint in reacting to its perceived excesses.

By decriminalising this law, President Putin seeks to remove the sting from an issue which has the potential to become a larger political hot potato and might have a destabilising effect on his popularity. He has shown his mastery of the situation and political savoir-faire to his voters as well as critics and his siloviki supporters.

To his voters and especially his critics, he has signalled political magnanimity while to the siloviki, he has confirmed once again that he is primus inter pares in the system. If anything, his intervention only serves to strengthen, not weaken his overall political standing.
 
Putin Reveals How He Met Bears in the Wild

On Friday, at the Russian Geographical Society annual awards ceremony, President Vladimir Putin shared a story of his travels in the wilderness and how he once encountered bears.

While presenting the award winner in one of the nominations, President Putin thanked nominees, and all those who "participate in a wide and very important work for the country — a knowledge of ourselves."

"Now they were talking about flora, and about the fauna, and about the ageing forests, and about bears. This requires not only time and dedication in their work, but also it requires courage. I went to these places, and saw: bears here, bears there. When they started moving towards us, we thought we'd better get moving. But these guys live there, right next to them, for seven months," Putin said.

He noted that such work is very exciting and allows Russians to understand "who we are, where we are from and where we are going."

According to the president, this is very important, and he considers it one of the elements of Russia's national identity, giving people the ability "to be stronger from the inside."

Vladimir Putin is a big fan of healthy, active recreation. The Russian president uses his rare free weekends to go on nature trips. One of Putin's most popular holiday destinations is Southern Siberia, particularly Tuva, Altai and Khakassia.


Online dangers? Most Russian parents believe Internet holds hidden hazards for children

Most Russian parents feel that the Internet is dangerous for children in general, whereas teenagers themselves often do not agree with the fact that virtual content may harm them, according to a survey carried out by the NAFI research center, available to TASS.

"Most parents (72%) believe that the internet is a dangerous environment for children. Two-thirds of teenagers (67%) understand that there is unsafe content on the Internet, but one in three say that information on the Internet cannot inflict any real harm to users," the researchers say.

In particular, 76% of the polled teenagers prefer using various sources of information to draw an objective picture of a situation, whereas 24% of the surveyed youngsters do not doubt the reliability of the news sources that they have grown to trust.

Parents, for their part, do not deny the fact that the information on the Internet may be useful for their children. "More than half of adults (55%) believe that there is plenty of useful material on the Internet for children. That said, the absolute majority of teenagers polled (90%) noted the benefit of modern gadgets and apps in everyday life," the report says.

In addition, 45% of parents believe that their children use computers for games, whereas just 20% of teenagers said that they use digital devices for entertainment.

The NAFI research center and the QIWI group conducted survey dubbed: "Children and Technologies" in May-August 2018. The polling of parents (with children under 17 at the time the poll was conducted) and online polling of teenagers aged 14-17 were carried out in 150 communities in 46 Russian regions. The total volume of the sampled population contained 800 parents (with a 3.4% margin of error) and 412 teenagers (with a 4.8% margin of error).


Militant involved in terrorism-related crimes killed in special operation in Dagestan

A militant who was involved in terror attacks has been killed by law enforcement officers in Russia’s North Caucasian Dagestan region, a spokesman for the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) told TASS on Friday.

"A bandit involved in terrorism-related crimes has been killed in a counterterrorist operation in Dagestan’s Khasavyurt district," the spokesman said, adding that the operation was held near the village of Endirey. "Law enforcement officers seized weapons, munitions and an improvised explosive device at the site," the spokesman said.

"According to data of the operational headquarters, the killed militant was involved in attacks on law enforcers, including in the murder of police officers in the region’s Kizilyurt district this year. He was a member of a group of Islamic State supporters that was neutralized in October 2018," he said.

The militant was blocked in the outskirts of the village of Endirey. "He refused to surrender arms and opened gunfire at law enforcers to be killed in the shootout," the spokesman said, adding that there were no casualties among law enforcers and civilians.
 
07/12/2018 - Russian rising: the Global demand to learn the language of Tolstoy
https://www.euronews.com/2018/12/07...lobal-demand-to-learn-the-language-of-tolstoy

More than 300 million people in the world speak Russian. The lingua franca in former Soviet republics, there are also big Russian-speaking communities in Europe and the United States.

While not always the easiest language to learn, it remains popular, with strong market demand from business, notably in the science and communication sectors.

At St. Petersburg State University more than 1500 foreign students come from all over the world to learn Russian. Some students learn the language simply out of love for Russian literature. Others, like Ted from Sweden, see it as a career opportunity.

“I think there are a lot of opportunities regarding Russia as a whole. I find it (the Russian language) very valuable. And I especially want to use it further down the line in my career,” he says.

Trenton, an American student studying global communications at the University of Utah is also studying Russian to help boost his job prospects.

“It’s a challenge, it really is. Russian is not an easy language to learn from an English speaker’s perspective. So I figured it was a fantastic opportunity to maybe get a leg in the job market.”

Students from more than 60 countries come to St. Petersburg State university. For those who don’t have that opportunity to study in Russia, but still want to improve their skills, there is a solution.


The Pushkin State Russian Language University in Moscow was the first institution to create methods for teaching Russian to foreign students. Taking that expertise, it now provides online distance learning courses.

Margarita Rusetskaya, from the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute says, “Our studies show that demand for personnel who can speak the Russian language in all spheres in the world today amounts to about 125 million people. Many people would like to come to Moscow to study at our Institute. But not everyone has this opportunity. That is why we created our platform PushkinOnline. It is the e-school for the Russian language: it is free and accessible to everyone."

According to various estimates, around 4 million Russian-speakers live in Germany.

Demand to learn the language is high. Some study for purely intellectual reasons and an appreciation for Russian culture, most however, are driven by pragmatic considerations.

Brigitte Dressler, from the Berlin International University of Applied Sciences, says there are plenty of opportunities to learn Russian inside the country: “The conditions for learning Russian in Germany are good. In many states Russian is one of the approved languages that can be taught in school, also here in Berlin. I work at a University and we want to show the students that the Russian language actually improves their career prospects.’’

At the end of November, a Russian Language Week was also held in Berlin. The important annual event brings together slavic experts and teachers of the Russian language from across Europe.

Eleonora Mitrofanova, Head of Rossotrudnichestvo, says demand to learn Russian is strong: "Our organisation is very much like Alliance Francaise or the Goethe Institute but for the Russian language of course. We have our offices in 81 countries across the world. And our mission is to teach the Russian language. There is a need for it and we try to cover it not only with our courses, but primarily with the training of local teachers and the supply of modern textbooks.”

Published on Dec 7, 2018 (4:12 min.)
 
World in state of transformation, Russia needs to keep up - Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin.jpg
© Alexey Nikolsky/Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation /TASS

The world is a state of transformation and Russia should do its best not to lag behind, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a congress of the United Russia party on Saturday.

"The world on the whole is in a state of transformation. It is a very powerful and dynamically evolving transformation. Given we fail to find a way around in due time, given we fail to grasp in due time what and how we need to act, we might always end up in lagging behind," the Russian president said.

"It is a very dramatic situation in the history of our country. This dramatic situation is unfolding across the world as well as in our fate," he noted.

The United Russia party should employ its legislative and administrative potential and its human resources to unite and consolidate the citizens and to find solutions to nationwide problems, Putin concluded.
 
Putin Extends Condolences Over Death of Russian Rights Activist Alexeyeva

Lyudmila Alexeyeva.jpg
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva / © RIA Novosti . Grigory Sysoev

Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a prominent Soviet and Russian rights activist, has died at the age of 91 in Moscow, the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights said on Saturday.

"Oldest Russian human rights activist Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva, a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights and the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, died in Moscow at the age of 91,” the council said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed deepest condolences over the death of Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a prominent Soviet and Russian rights activist, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

The president “highly appreciated Lyudmila Alexeyeva's contribution to forming the Russian civil society, and highly respected her principled stance on many issues,” Peskov said.

Putin has extended his condolences to the rights activist’s family, he added.

Alexeyeva was a prominent Soviet dissident and one of the founding members of the Moscow Helsinki Group, which was aimed at monitoring the Soviet Union’s compliance with the Helsinki Accords. She continued to be an active rights defendant to this day.


Putin expected to pay last respects to Russia’s venerated human rights activist

Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend a ceremony to pay his last respects to human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"I don’t rule out such a possibility," he said when asked whether the president would attend the ceremony. "Especially, since tomorrow will be largely dedicated to human rights matters as a meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights will take place tomorrow," Peskov noted. "Certainly, it would be impossible not to pay our last respects to Lyudmila Alexeyeva on such a day," he added.

Alexeyeva was born on July 20, 1927. After graduating from Moscow State University’s Department of History in 1950, she worked as a history teacher and an editor at the Science publishing house, she was also a staff member of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. She became a human rights activist in 1966, and had to emigrate from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1977. Alexeyeva returned to Russia in 1993 and took the helm of the Moscow Helsinki Group in 1996. In 2002, she joined the Russian Presidential Commission for Human Rights, which was transformed into the Human Rights Council in 2004.

The wake for Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 91, will take place at Moscow’s Central House of Journalists on December 11.


Vice-Admiral Kostyukov appointed as chief of Russia's military intelligence — source

Vice-Admiral Igor Kostyukov.jpg
Vice-Admiral Igor Kostyukov, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov / © Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

A naval officer has for the first time been appointed chief of Russia’s military intelligence GRU. He is Vice-Admiral Igor Kostyukov, a source at the Russian Defense Ministry has told TASS.

"Vice-Admiral Igor Kostyukov, acting GRU chief, has been appointed as the head of the main intelligence directorate (GRU) of Russia’s General Staff," the source said.

TASS has obtained no official confirmation from the Kremlin’s press-service yet.

Kostyukov succeeded Igor Korobov, who died on November 21, 2018 after prolonged illness at 62 years of age.

According to open sources, Kostyukov was born on February 21, 1961. First, he was trained as a naval officer. Later he graduated from the Military-Diplomatic Academy and served at the main intelligence directorate GRU. As one of Russia’s military intelligence chiefs, participated in commanding the military operation in Syria.

For courage and heroism displayed in coping with his military duty was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. At the end of December 2016 he was included in the United States’ sanction list for actions related with "subversion of democracy" in the United States, and in September 2018, in the US sanction list for alleged intervention in the 2016 presidential election.


Putin’s meeting with Netanyahu being looked at, says Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s possible meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being looked at but no concrete agreements have been reached so far, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"The heads of state [of Russia and Israel] agreed to appoint the date of their personal meeting via diplomatic channels and through their aides," he said. "So far however no concrete agreements on that matter have been reached. We just need to find coinciding dates in the president’s and premier’s schedules."

During their latest telephone conversation last week, Putin and Netanyahu agreed to look at possible organization of their personal meeting.


About 2,000 people evacuated from Moscow’s Sklifosovsky hospital over bomb threat

About 2,000 people have been evacuated from the Sklifosovsky emergency hospital in downtown Moscow after a bomb call, an emergency source told TASS on Monday.

"Police received an anonymous bomb threat call. K-9 experts and emergency workers have been dispatched there. About 2,000 people have been evacuated from the hospital," the source said.

Meanwhile, police received another anonymous call about a bomb planted at the Leningradsky Railway Terminal.

"Police officers have been dispatched to inspect the railway terminal," an emergency source told TASS.

On November 28, hoax calls were received about bombs planted at 15 Moscow shopping malls and the Kievsky Railway Terminal. According to a law enforcement source, all calls came from a telephone number registered in Ukraine.

A series of hoax bomb calls was recorded across Russia from September to December 2017, when nearly 4,000 facilities received bomb threats and over 2.6 mln people in various cities had to be evacuated.


Combat engineers destroy about 80 WWII mines near Russia's Volgograd

Combat engineers of the Southern Military District from the Volgograd Region have destroyed Great Patriotic War (WWII) mines found near the village of Grachi, Gorodishchensky district, the Southern Military District’s press service reported on Monday.

"The Volgograd Region’s military registration and enlistment office sent an application for demining to the motorized rifle brigade. The dangerous discoveries dating back to the Great Patriotic War were found during agricultural works," the report says.

The combat engineers determined that the detected 77 explosive devices are 82-mm mortar rounds of a Red Army artillery unit which were used in the Battle of Stalingrad. The unearthed munitions were destroyed at the Prudboi Range.

The Southern Military District’s combat engineers have demined more than 3 tonnes of explosive objects dating back to the Great Patriotic Ware since early 2018.


Father of Russian hockey: 100 years since the birth of Anatoly Tarasov (10 photos)

December 10 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Soviet hockey player and coach Anatoly Tarasov. The CSKA Moscow team led by Tarasov became the Soviet Union’s champion 18 times (1948-1950, 1955, 1956, 1958-1960, 1963-1966, 1968, 1970-1973, 1975), while the country’s national squad won the world championships nine times in a row (1963-1971) and the Olympic Games three times (1964, 1968 and 1972). In 1974, the legendary coach was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. In 1997, he was among the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Anatoly Tarasov passed away on June 23, 1995, at the age of 76.


Ex-policeman sentenced to life imprisonment for committing 60 murders

Irkutsk Region Court has sentenced a former policeman from Angarsk, Mikhail Popkov, to life imprisonment for committing 60 murders, TASS reported from the courtroom.

"To sentence Mikhail Popkov to life imprisonment in a high-security prison under cumulative offenses as cumulative sentence," judge Alexei Zhigayev said, announcing the sentence. Popkov was deprived of his military rank of junior lieutenant by the court’s ruling.

Chief Public Prosecutor for the Irkutsk Region Alexander Shkinev told reporters that the psychologic and psychiatric examination showed that Popkov committed the crimes out of homicidomania - a mania for murder. Still, he was ruled sane.

Shkinev noted that Popkov intends to appeal against the judgement in the Supreme Court, as the deprivation of the military rank will leave him without pension. The verdict announced earlier over 22 murders did not strip him of his military rank and he continued to receive a pension of about 24,000 rubles ($358) per month.

The former policeman from Angarsk was detained in 2012. In January 2015, Irkutsk Region Court sentenced him to life imprisonment over 22 murders. In March 2017, Popkov was charged with 60 more crimes, and he made a confession under each of them. In December, the Investigative Committee submitted the case to the court.


Domodedovo airport purchases armored vehicle for evacuating planes in emergencies

Moscow’s Domodedovo airport has purchased from the Uralvagonzavod corporation (an affiliate of Rostec) an armored tank recovery vehicle for moving planes in emergencies, UVZ press-service told TASS on Monday.

"Domodedovo is the first Russian airport to have purchased our tank recovery vehicle," the corporation said, adding that the vehicle had been demilitarized and the machinegun and other military equipment removed from it.

The UVZ said all of Russia’s airports would be equipped with such vehicles under a decision made by the Transport Ministry.

In the army the tank recovery vehicle is meant for evacuating defunct and damaged armored vehicles from the battlefield. Created on the tracked chassis of the T-72 main battle tank, it was authorized for service in 1975.


Latest cruise missile corvette accepted for service in Russian Navy (5 photos)

The latest corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo armed with Kalibr cruise missiles was accepted for service in the Russian Black Sea Fleet in a solemn ceremony on Monday, TASS reports from the scene.

As was reported on Friday, the warship completed state trials and arrived for the first time at its permanent base in Sevastopol. The solemn flag-raising ceremony was held aboard the warship on Monday. The warship will make part of the Black Sea Fleet’s 41st brigade of missile boats.

As the Black Sea Fleet’s press office reported, the warship’s acceptance for service is part of the plans to modernize the Fleet. Before the end of the year, the St. Andrew’s flag is due to be raised aboard the new patrol ship Vasily Bykov. In 2019, the patrol ship Dmitry Rogachev, the ocean minesweeper Ivan Antonov and a fast-speed amphibious assault ship of a new Project are to enter service with the Black Sea Fleet.

The missile corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo is a multipurpose warship, the seventh in the series of Buyan-M vessels and the second built for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The warships of this class are designated to protect and defend the state’s sea economic zone.

The warships of this Project feature larger displacement of water and are equipped with the latest Kalibr-NK long-range precision weapons designed to strike naval and coastal targets.


Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to get 12 warships in 2019

The Russian Black Sea Fleet is expected to get six warships of various classes and six support vessels in 2019, Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Alexander Moiseyev said on Monday.

As was reported earlier, the latest corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo armed with Kalibr cruise missiles was accepted for service in the Russian Black Sea Fleet in a solemn ceremony on Monday.

Before the end of the year, the St. Andrew’s flag is due to be raised aboard the new patrol ship Vasily Bykov. In 2019, the patrol ship Dmitry Rogachev, the ocean minesweeper Ivan Antonov and a fast-speed amphibious assault ship of a new Project are to enter service with the Black Sea Fleet.

"The delivery of 12 warships and vessels is planned for 2019: six combat ships and six support vessels," Moiseyev said.

All the vessels expected to be accepted for service are now serial-produced, the commander said.

"These will be missile corvettes and patrol ships, and the component of the support fleet and hydrographic survey vessels are also important for us," the vice-admiral said.


Russia’s Navy to get new blue-water warships in next 5 years

The Russian Navy has launched its rearmament with warships designated for their operation in long-distance maritime and oceanic zones and is set to get such large displacement vessels in the next five years, Navy Shipbuilding Chief Rear Admiral Vladimir Tryapichnikov said on Monday.

"It [the naval shipbuilding program] is being implemented stage by stage. Currently, the serial construction of new-generation green-water warships has been launched and simultaneously blue-water warships are being designed. In the immediate future, the serial construction of blue-water large-displacement surface combatants will be launched," the Navy shipbuilding chief said at the ceremony of accepting the missile corvette Orekhovo-Zuyevo for service in the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

In the next five years, the Russian Navy will be accepting frigates of the Admiral Gorshkov class and also large amphibious assault ships similar to the Ivan Gren type (Project 11711), he said, without specifying the timeframe for other categories of warships.

Green-water warships are precision weapon carriers, Tryapichnikov said.

"Today we can state that we outperform foreign-built ships by some parameters, including by their weapon systems. The small missile ships that are under construction for the Russian Navy have already proven their worth by their operation in the Mediterranean Sea at a considerable distance from their permanent bases," the rear admiral stressed.

Next-generation multi-purpose warships featuring increased combat capabilities by their strike and defense potential are expected to become the mainstay of naval groupings in the oceanic zone. Frigates will make the basis of Russian naval ships in the long-distance maritime zone: their capabilities will help address a wide range of tasks and reinforce the fleet’s component that will be accomplishing missions in the oceanic zone.


Russian Navy to get advanced aircraft in 2021-2030

Advanced shipborne aircraft will arrive for the Russian Navy in 2021-2030, Naval Aviation Chief Major-General Igor Kozhin said in an interview with the Defense Ministry’s newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda on Monday.

"The naval aviation is due to receive promising shipborne aircraft platforms," the general said, replying to a question about the prospects of the naval aviation’s rearming.

According to the general, the new aircraft will enter service in 2021-2030.

The Russian naval aviation will be developed in three stages, the general said.

At the first stage (until 2021), there are plans to continue modernizing the operational planes while in 2021-2030 the naval aviation will start to receive the most advanced aircraft. After 2030, the efforts to develop promising aircraft will continue, the general said.

In the period until 2021, the active upgrade of the existing fleet of aircraft will continue, he said.

"This relates to replacing special aviation aircraft with new models and arming the Navy with shipborne fighter jets (MiG-29K/KUB), attack, transport and landing helicopters (Ka-52K) and drones," Kozhin said.

Overall, over a hundred aircraft are expected to join the naval aviation through 2020, he added.

At the Army-2015 military and technical forum in 2015, Russia unveiled the Project of the Shtorm promising heavy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The carrier’s flight deck equipped with four electromagnetic catapults and two ramps featured, among other hardware, the mockups of Su-57 fighter jets. In the process of its designing, the Su-57 was dubbed the Promising Aviation Complex of Frontline Aviation.


Russia tests new telemetry system during manned Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft’s launch

The Astra-06 apparatus developed by specialists of Russian Space Systems (RSS) was used for the first time as additional telemetric equipment aboard the manned Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 3, the company’s press office reported on Monday.

"During the spacecraft’s flight, the Astra was undergoing flight tests, measuring quickly changing parameters. After the tests are over and its performance characteristics are confirmed, the new system is expected to be used aboard promising spaceships," the press office said in a statement.

The Astra system is maximally adapted for the telemetric image (telemetric data package) requirements while its modular configuration gives the system extra flexibility for mounting it on existing and future launch vehicles. The system’s universal nature stems from the technology of its assembly from modules, the statement says.

"The Astra’s design allows installing it aboard carrier rockets and other space vehicles. This unification will help the Russian space industry switch over to the serial production of telemetry systems, which will raise their reliability and reduce their cost price," Chief Designer for Measurements at the Research and Production Association of Measuring Equipment Yevgeny Borodin was quoted by the press office of Russian Space Systems as saying.

Compared to previous-generation telemetric systems, the Astra integrates the specially devised mathematical segment and the computing apparatus that process part of the data even before that are transmitted to Earth. The data are compressed and the spectral analysis is conducted aboard a spacecraft, which considerably reduces the load on communications lines.

The Astra earlier passed tests during its operation aboard a carrier rocket. The system successfully performed during the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from the Vostochny spaceport on November 28, 2017 and aboard the Progress MS-10 resupply ship on November 16, 2018.

The new telemetric system was also expected to operate during the launch of the manned Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft on October 11 but it was not activated due to the incident with the faulty Soyuz-FG carrier rocket.


Russian defense firm delivers upgraded radar surveillance aircraft to Aerospace Force

The Taganrog-based Beriev Aircraft Company has delivered the upgraded A-50U long-range radar surveillance aircraft to Russia’s Aerospace Force, the company said in a statement obtained by TASS on Monday.

"On December 6, the Beriev Aircraft Company delivered another A-50U serially modernized long-range radar surveillance plane (side number ‘red’ 45) to the Aerospace Force of Russia. After passing all the necessary trials, the plane was transferred to an Aerospace Force crew and made a successful flight from Taganrog to the place of its permanent basing," the statement says.

The A-50U new modification features improved radar characteristics while the radar itself is considerably lighter due to the changeover to the new components base. The conditions of the crew’s work have also been improved considerably," the company said.

The Beriev Aircraft Company is modernizing A-50 long-range radar surveillance planes together with the Vega radio engineering group. Now work is underway at the Beriev Aircraft Company for modernizing other A-50 aviation platforms.

The A-50 is designated to detect, track and determine the affiliation of air, large ground and naval targets, provide data on them to command posts, guide fighter jets towards air targets and frontline aircraft towards ground and sea targets.
 
Putin pays last respects to human rights activist (+3 photos)

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Russia's President Vladimir Putin lays flowers as he pays last respects to Lyudmila Alekseyeva / © Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid his last respects to human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 91, attending a final farewell ceremony at Moscow’s Central House of Journalists.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Putin very much valued Alexeyeva’s contribution to the development of civic society in Russia and highly respected her principled position on many domestic matters.

Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Human Rights Council Chairman Mikhail Fedotov also attended the ceremony, along with other politicians, public figures and common people.

After paying his last respects to the venerated human rights activist, the Russian president attended the unveiling ceremony of a monument to Alexander Solzhenitsyn in the Tagansky District.

The president noted that Solzhenitsyn was not only a writer and a thinker, but also "a true patriot of Russia." According to Putin, Solzhenitsyn’s centennial anniversary provides an opportunity to once again pay attention to his legacy, "which is woven into the fabric of the 20th century and remains up-to-date both for Russia and the entire world." Putin added that he remembered well all his meetings with the writer, as well as "his wisdom, balanced approaches and mastery of words." "His heart and soul ached for the country and were full of boundless love for it," the president said.

Later in the day, Putin is expected to chair a meeting of the Presidential Commission for Human Rights.


Putin welcomes human rights dialogue between Moscow and Washington

Russian President Vladimir Putin supports dialogue between Russian and US human rights defenders, although he is not sure that it will be possible to reconvince these people of anything since they are "built-in into the system", Putin said at a meeting with Head of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov.

"You are unlikely to reconvince anyone," the President stated. "Your colleagues from the US are disciplined [people], who are built-in into the system. You should clearly understood this," Putin added, pointing out that Russian human rights activists need to demonstrate their openness to dialogue with their US counterparts.


Stasi Agent Putin? Western Media Go Wild After "Finding" Old ID Card in Archive

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© AFP 2018 / PATRIK STOLLARZ

The story, reported by Bild magazine, has already made its way into English, Italian, Czech, and Turkish-language media, with the Kremlin saying the card may have been issued to Putin as part of an inter-agency agreement between the Stasi and the KGB.

On Tuesday, Bild magazine published an article with the sensational headline "Putin's Secret Stasi ID Card", saying that a newly discovered document, a salad-coloured Stasi ID card with a picture of a young Vladimir Putin plastered on the front, seemed to suggest that "the former KGB officer and current Kremlin chief…was, until the fall of the Wall, also an employee of the infamous Ministry for State Security!"

The card, a complete, non-edited, and superimposed version of which was not provided, was said to have been issued 31 December 1985 to one "Major Vladimir Putin", valid through the end of 1989, and includes a signature which doesn't match the Russian president's current signature. According to Bild, the document had been lost in the "boring classified files" of the "cadres and training" department of the former Stasi administration in Dresden, the East German city where Putin is known to have served during his time in the KGB.


The former chief of Dresden's Stasi Records Agency, Konrad Felber, commented on the alleged find, telling Bild that "it was hitherto completely unknown that Putin, who worked until 1990 as a KGB agent in Dresden, also had a Stasi ID. Because in the common file…which holds the service cards issued to Soviet military personnel, Putin is not listed".

Felber stressed that the identity card "does not automatically mean that Putin worked for the Stasi."

Rather, the archivist noted, the document would have allowed him to go in and out of Stasi offices, could be used with police, and would have facilitated his work recruiting agents, since he wouldn't have to tell would-be recruits that he worked for the KGB.

"It is unclear why Putin left the ID card behind when he returned to Moscow in early 1990 instead of destroying it", Bild noted.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the Bild article on Tuesday, saying that if he had to make a guess, he would say that the document may have been issued to Putin as part of the partnership between the KGB and the Stasi at the time. Peskov suggested that questions on this issue should be addressed to the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service.

In any case, German social media users had a field day with the story. "Bring this spy back to Berlin and do not let him go!" one user joked. "Totally secret, but known for 30 years…" another added. "He doesn't seem so secret if his details were neatly filed in the archive…" a third chimed in.

One Russian-speaking user questioned the authenticity of the alleged 'ID', pointing out that "the photo for documents should be the full face, whereas "Here it's a semi-profile view. And there is no seal on it. Looks like a fake."

Western media had a field day with the story, playing on the established lore about his "mysterious past" in the KGB.

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The Mail's take on the story, as expected, has been the most sensationalist / © PHOTO : SCREENSHOT (+2 photos)

Putin's Time in East Germany

Previously published Stasi materials on Putin included generally mundane details, including the fact that he arrived in Dresden in August 1985, that his wife and daughter came to the country in the autumn of the same year, that they lived in an ordinary apartment on Radeberger Straße 101, and that the Putins' second daughter was born in Dresden in 1986. Putin was also said to have been a member of a local fishing club, to have driven a Lada Zhiguli sedan, and to have enjoyed Radeberger beer, a local brew, at Zum Thor, his favourite pub.

The Russian president never made a secret of his KGB past, and has repeatedly opened up about his work for the fearsome Soviet intelligence service in interviews and documentaries.


Kremlin attributes Putin’s ‘Stasi card’ to Soviet, East German agencies partnership

The Soviet-era Committee for State Security, otherwise known as the KGB, and the now defunct East Germany’s Ministry for State Security, or the Stasi, were partners and might have exchanged ID papers issued in the names of their officers, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when commenting on an article in the German tabloid, the Bild, saying that an ID issued in Vladimir Putin’s name had been discovered in the Stasi’s archive in Dresden. Peskov said that such questions should be addressed to Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR.

"My guess is that in the Soviet era, the KGB and the Stasi were partners and for this reason one should not rule out they might have exchanged identification papers and passes.

According to the Bild article published on Tuesday, the ID issued in the name of Major Vladimir Putin on December 31, 1985 contains his own signature and had been extended every three months up to the end of 1989. The chief of the Dresden office responsible for Stasi archives Konrad Velber said Putin was free to enter the buildings of East Germany’s security services without telling anyone he worked for the Soviet secret service. He also speculated that such an ID made it easier to recruit agents in former East Germany.

After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1975, Putin was recruited into the Soviet Union’s Committee for State Security, the KGB. In 1985, he was assigned to the KGB office in the German Democratic Republic and worked in Dresden until 1990. He was a senior operative, assistant and eventually senior assistant to the section chief.


Over 10,000 people involved in terrorist activities banned from entering Russia in 2018

Over 10,000 people suspected of being involved in terrorist and extremist activities were banned from entering Russia in 2018, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director and National Antiterrorism Committee Chairman Alexander Bortnikov said at a Committee meeting on Tuesday.

"Well-coordinated efforts of all agencies involved in the fight against terrorism made it possible to prevent terrorist acts during the Russian presidential election and the FIFA World Cup," he said. "The Interior Ministry and the FSB Border Service banned more than 10,000 people suspected of being involved in terrorist and extremist activities from entering the country, and also stopped over 60 Russian and foreign nationals from going to conflict zones in the Middle East," the FSB chief added.

Russia’s special services have neutralized 65 militants, including 10 ringleaders and detained 36 ringleaders, 236 gunmen and 589 militant accomplices this year, Director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and Chairman of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) Alexander Bortnikov said at the final NAC meeting.

"A total of 65 militants, including 10 ringleaders, were neutralized, 36 ringleaders, 236 militants and 589 accomplices were detained during counter-terrorism operations and clandestine military operations," he said.

The FSB director stressed that "the situation in countering terrorism in Russia continues to be difficult but is controlled by the law enforcement agencies." According to Bortnikov, the number of terrorist crimes and terror attacks has dropped substantially this year.

Russia’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies prevented 37 terrorist cells from carrying out terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus in 2018, he said.

"A total of 37 terrorist cells were exposed, which planned to carry out terrorist attacks in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Chechnya and the Stavropol Region," he said.

Automated monitoring systems introduced in Russia in 2018 have helped expose more than 47,000 websites which contained information about the activities of international terrorist organizations, he added.

According to him, while implementing a comprehensive plan to counter the spread of terrorist ideas in Russia, a number of additional measures were taken to protect the country’s information space form terrorist threats.

Bortnikov said that the Russian media watchdog, the Interior Ministry, the FSB and the Prosecutor General’s Office had expanded the use of automated media communications monitoring systems. "It made possible to close down more than 64,000 websites spreading illegal information, including 47,000 websites containing information about the activities of international terrorist organizations," the FSB chief pointed out.

He also said that "the activities of international terrorist organizations continue to pose a threat." "International terrorist organizations’ leaders still seek to establish clandestine cells in Russia in order to implement their criminal plans," Bortnikov noted. He added that the propaganda of terrorist ideas through communication means was focused on young people, including underage children.

As before, most terrorist developments take place in the North Caucasus though terrorist organizations are trying to extend their activities to other regions of the country.


Most cyber attacks come from US, EU, reports Russian agency

Most cyber attacks come from the United States and the European Union, Deputy Director of Russia’s Computer Incident Response Coordination Center Nikolai Murashov said at a briefing on Tuesday.

According to him, the 2016-2017 statistics on cyber attacks sources provided by leading cyber security companies "clearly show that the United States and the European Union are the main source of malware activities."

"At the same time, it is a known fact that most information and communication industry giants operate under US jurisdiction," Murashov added. According to information presented at the briefing, the US takes an active part in 49.6% of all kinds of cyber attacks, while Russia is involved in 1.7% to 4% of them, depending on the type of attacks.

According to Murashov, the industry is special because manufacturers seek to rapidly put new products and services on the market. "They don’t have time to test the safety of these products and services. As a result, software and hardware errors go unnoticed and turn into latent vulnerabilities. Some of them become evident after a product has been in use for years," Murashov stressed.

The Computer Incident Response Coordination Center was established in September 2018 based on an order issued by the Federal Security Service (FSB) director in compliance with the presidential decree to create a state system to detect, prevent and deter cyber attacks on Russian information assets.


Novosibirsk scientists design cyberattack-resistant ore-production system

Specialists of the Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch developed an automatic system to extract apatite ore, the Branche's official magazine The Science in Siberia wrote. The system demonstrated smooth work at a Kola Peninsula field, and its attractive feature is resistance to cyberattacks.

"The complex we have made allows making the process of ore grinding and transportation practically free from involving people," the magazine quoted Stanislav Shakirov of the Branche's Institute of Computing Technologies as saying. "Of course, on the ground remains a dispatcher, who watches the machines and what happens inside the mine, but in the regular regime no more people are needed there. "

The system is installed at the Apatit Company's complex on the Kola Peninsula - it is an automatic mine inside a mountain at the height of 400 meters above the ocean, which continues under the ground for a few kilometers. The scientists have made for this complex electronic systems, a fire alarm, a communication network, a dispatch center, electricity power supplies and a system of video monitoring. "This complex has proved to be reliable in terms of smooth work," the scientist added.

Systems of the kind for mining companies will be used to ensure safety of people working in mines. "In places, where gases or coal dust may explode, the production cycle should be maximum, or ideally - absolutely without people," the expert said.

As he told TASS, the system is resistant to cyberattacks. "Our systems are highly resistant to failures in communication and security streams," he said. "This is extremely important, just remember the Stuxnet virus, which has caused failure at the uranium enriching plant in Iran.".
 
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