Events in Russia

[angelburst29]

President Vladimir Putin mounted a horse on Thursday and cantered with female police officers in footage broadcast across Russia ahead of International Women's Day.

Russia's Putin rides horse with female police ahead of International Women's Day ( )


They cantered gently around a training facility for horsebacked police in Moscow followed by other uniformed officers riding in rows.

Putin afterwards gave the police officers a horse named Golden Ray, Russian news agencies reported.

Ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday, Putin said women were increasingly taking an interest in working in law enforcement agencies and that just over a quarter of employees at the Interior Ministry were now women.

 

[youlik]

Нормальная такая, очередная провокация.

Сотрудник посольства США попытался провезти мину в «Шереметьево» — подробности

Сотрудник посольства США попытался провезти мину в «Шереметьево» — подробности


Translation
Normal such, the next provocation.

U.S. Embassy employee tried to smuggle a mine in "Sheremetyevo" - details
As previously reported, "Russian Spring", at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, a U.S. Embassy employee tried to smuggle a mine in Luggage.
"The US seems to be trying to test the reliability of Russia's security not only from the outside, regularly arranging provocative raids of warships and aircraft near our borders, but also from the inside. And with the involvement of employees of the Embassy", - said the Russian foreign Ministry.
According to the foreign Ministry, an object similar to a mortar mine was found this morning when the American Luggage was x-rayed.
"The caused bomb technicians confirmed that it is really a mine with a fuse, but without explosive though its traces were present in the case", — noted in Department.
According to diplomats, an Embassy employee left Russia at the end of a business trip and claimed that he had acquired an empty mine "for his personal collection". Because he was late for the flight, he was helped to renew the ticket, and at 14:35 he flew freely to new York, but without mines.
The foreign Ministry also noted that this man is directly related to the us Armed forces. The Agency considers the incident as an attempt of provocation against the Russian transport facility.
The linear management of the Ministry of internal Affairs on transport on the airport "Sheremetyevo" immediately notified the American Embassy of an event.
"We hope that it will explain the behavior of its employee," the diplomats added.
"Given the high attention that the United States itself has paid to air transport security since the attacks of 2001, he simply could not help but understand that the mine in the Luggage is very serious. So, he took such a step consciously, " the foreign Ministry concluded.

 

[angelburst29]

Нормальная такая, очередная провокация.

Сотрудник посольства США попытался провезти мину в «Шереметьево» — подробности

Сотрудник посольства США попытался провезти мину в «Шереметьево» — подробности

Translation
Normal such, the next provocation.

U.S. Embassy employee tried to smuggle a mine in "Sheremetyevo" - details

Great find, Youlik!

Also here: US embassy staff member attempts to bring bomb with fuse to Moscow airport - Ministry

The US staff member said he was leaving Russia as his assignment at the US embassy was over and claimed to have bought the bomb for his personal collection. The bomb was seized from the man who then took a flight to New York.

 

[angelburst29]

Noticed this on Reuters - they might be inflating the circumstances, as part of a smear campaign?

Thousands of people took to the streets of Moscow and two other cities on Sunday to rally against tighter internet restrictions, in some of the biggest protests in the Russian capital in years.

Thousands of Russians protest against internet restrictions

People shout slogans during a rally to protest against tightening state control over internet in Moscow, Russia March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Lawmakers last month backed tighter internet controls contained in legislation they say is necessary to prevent foreign meddling in Russia’s affairs. But some Russian media likened it to an online “iron curtain” and critics say it can be used to stifle dissent.

People gathered in a cordoned off Prospekt Sakharova street in Moscow, made speeches on a stage and chanted slogans such as “hands off the internet” and “no to isolation, stop breaking the Russian internet”.

The rally gathered around 15,300 people, according to White Counter, an NGO that counts participants at rallies. Moscow police put the numbers at 6,500.

“If we do nothing it will get worse. The authorities will keep following their own way and the point of no return will be passed”, said 28-year-old protester Dmitry, who declined to give his full name.

Opposition activists said on Twitter that police had detained 15 people at the Moscow rally, confiscating their banners and balloons. Police have not announced any detentions.

The protests in Moscow, the southern city of Voronezh and Khabarovsk in the far east had all been officially authorized. A handful of activists in St. Petersburg took to the streets without the authorities’ consent.

Russia has in recent years attempted to curb internet freedoms by blocking access to certain websites and messaging services such as Telegram.

February’s bill passed in the Russian parliament on the first reading out of three.

It seeks to route Russian web traffic and data through points controlled by the state and proposes building a national Domain Name System to allow the internet to continue functioning even if the country is cut off from foreign infrastructure.

The second reading is planned in March after which, if passed, the bill will need to be signed by the upper house of the parliament and then by President Vladimir Putin.

The legislation is part of a drive by officials to increase Russian “sovereignty” over its Internet segment.

Russia has introduced tougher internet laws in recent years, requiring search engines to delete some search results, messaging services to share encryption keys with security services and social networks to store Russian users’ personal data on servers within the country.

 

[angelburst29]

A very well written and long essay on President Putin, his character, his projected visions for Russia and his interactions on the global front. Very insightful and educational.

5 March 2019 - Reflections on Vladimir Putin as a Leader and on the World Situation in Which He Works
Reflections on Vladimir Putin as a Leader and on the World Situation in Which He Works - Global Research

There is an immense amount of criticism of Putin, especially coming from America, most of it empty criticism which ignores realities and genuine analysis. For the more thoughtful, it represents only the stink and noise of propaganda, and not honest criticism in its true sense at all.

In politics, and especially in the direction of a country’s foreign affairs, there are certain behaviors and ideas and attitudes which mark out a person as exceptional. I think there can be no doubt, Putin is just such a person, and I am very much inclined to say, the preeminent one of our time. Frankly, compared with Putin’s skills, Donald Trump comes off as a noisy circus act, a sideshow carnival barker, and not an appealing one. He has an outsized impact in the world only because he represents the most powerful country on earth and has embraced all the prejudices and desires of its power establishment, not because of the skillfulness of his actions or the insight of his mind. Obama made a better public impression, but if you analyze his actions, you see a man of immense and unwarranted ego, a very secretive and unethical man, and a man who held no worthy ideals he promoted. He was superficial in many things. And he was completely compliant to the power establishment, leaving no mark of his own to speak of.

Putin is a man who advocates cooperation among states, who argues against exceptionalism, who wants his country to have peace so that it can grow and advance, a man lacking any frightening or tyrannical ideologies, a man who invariably refers to other countries abroad, even when they are being uncooperative, in respectful terms as “our partners,” a man who knows how to prioritize, as in defense spending, a man with a keen eye for talent who has some other exceptional people assisting him – men of the caliber of Lavrov or Shoygu, a man who supports worthy international organizations like the UN, a man who only reluctantly uses force but uses it effectively when required, a highly restrained man in almost everything he does, a man who loves his country and culture but does not try foisting them off on everyone else as we see almost continuously from American presidents, a man with a keen eye for developing trends and patterns in the world, a man with an eye, too, for the main chance, a man whose decisions are made calmly and in light of a lot of understanding. That’s quite a list. (Article continues.)

 

[angelburst29]

Thousands of Russians protest against internet restrictions

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that strict regulation of the fake news sphere "undoubtedly has to be done in our country"

March 13, 2019 - Kremlin says anti-fake news bill not an attempt at censorship
Kremlin says anti-fake news bill not an attempt at censorship

© Mitya Aleshkovsky/TASS

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday he disagreed with the opinion that Russia’s draft legislation on blocking untrue and distorting facts on the Internet was allegedly an attempt to impose censorship in the country.

The Russian presidential spokesman suggested waiting for President Vladimir Putin’s decision on signing this document.

"No doubt, one can hardly agree with the opinion that this is some sort of censorship," Peskov told journalists.

As the Kremlin spokesman said, "this sphere - the sphere of fake news - insults and so on, is under strict regulation in many countries of the world, even in European states."

"This undoubtedly has to be done in our country," Putin’s spokesman stressed.

In Peskov’s opinion, "some apprehension may undoubtedly exist as to the legal application of this law once it makes its transformation from being a bill." "However, on numerous occasions we faced situations when such fears turned out to be groundless," he noted.

As in other cases, experts took part in the drafting of this bill, which underwent approvals, the spokesman said.

"Let us wait until it [the bill] is submitted to the Kremlin and by that time, the president will announce his position," Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman declined to furnish any predictions on whether Putin would sign the draft law and only stressed that "work on the draft law has been going on for a long time and the bill is quite a well thought-out document.".


Russia's parliament backs new fines for insulting the state online


Russia's parliament on Wednesday approved new fines for people who insult the authorities online or spread fake news, defying warnings from critics that the move could open the way to direct state censorship of dissent.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Two IS militants were killed after they opened fire and used a grenade against the officers who had requested them to pull over.

Two IS militants who plotted terror attack neutralized in Stavropol Region
March 14, 2019

Published on Mar 14, 2019 (0:56)

 

[angelburst29]

A Russian-made Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, carrying three astronauts into space, two of whom survived a mid-air rocket failure in October.



14/03/2019 - Russian Space Rocket lifts off with Astronauts who survived rocket failure
Russian space rocket lifts off with astronauts who survived rocket failure

The Soyuz MS-12 took off at 1914 GMT, as planned, and is due to bring Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin and U.S. astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch to the International Space Station around eight hours later.

For Ovchinin and Hague, it is the first flight since an emergency landing two minutes after they blasted off on Oct. 11, 2018.

An investigation showed then that the abortive launch was caused by a sensor damaged during the rocket's assembly at the cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This week, Ovchinin and Hague said they were confident this time about reaching the International Space Station, though they said a small fault had been discovered on their rocket during final checks.

Space station crew confident on eve of first launch since rocket failure

Two astronauts who survived a dramatic launch mishap in October said on Wednesday they were confident this time about reaching the International Space Station, though they said a small fault had been discovered on their rocket during final checks.

 

[angelburst29]

Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska sued the United States on Friday, alleging that it had overstepped its legal bounds in imposing sanctions on his companies and made him the "latest victim" in the U.S. probe into Moscow's alleged political interference.

Russian metals tycoon Deripaska sues U.S. over sanctions

FILE PHOTO: Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov arrive for the talks of Russian President Vladimir Putin with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

In a legal filing, Deripaska asked the U.S. District Court in Washington to block the U.S. Treasury Department from using the “devastating power” of such economic sanctions, which he said were inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution.

Aluminum company Rusal and its parent company En+ were hit with the U.S. sanctions in April 2018 when Washington blacklisted billionaire Deripaska along with several other influential Russians, alleging they were profiting off their ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and from the state’s “malign activity” around the world.

Washington dropped the sanctions on Rusal and En+ in January after an intense lobbying campaign in which Deripaska agreed to sell down his stake in En+, relinquishing control over his corporate empire in a bid to stave off its ruin. The sanctions on Deripaska himself remain in force.

A spokeswoman for Deripaska said he had filed the complaint against the Treasury Department in order to not let his hard work be destroyed by “political scheming.” The Treasury Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Deripaska says he sued U.S. to stop destruction of his life's work

Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska said on Friday he had launched a lawsuit to try and force the United States to lift sanctions on his companies because he did not want his life's work to be destroyed.


U.S. slaps more sanctions on Russians over Ukraine: Treasury
The United States, Canada and European Union imposed sweeping sanctions on Friday over Russia's actions against Ukraine, including its 2018 attack on Ukrainian ships, annexation of Crimea and activities in eastern Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury said it targeted four members of Russia’s Federal Security Services for their involvement in the naval clash in the Kerch Strait linking the Black and Avov seas near Crimea, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.

Canada imposed sanctions on 114 people and 15 entities in response to Russia’s military action against the Ukrainian ships, while the European Union sanctioned eight more Russians over the stand-off. The EU said its sanctions affected senior security service officials and military commanders accused of preventing Ukrainian ships from reaching port.

“The United States and our transatlantic partners will not allow Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine to go unchecked,” said
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.


(Note: I would imagine, this arrogant and unconstitutional (U.S.) move by Pompeo - would also be aimed directly at Russia via Syria?
I can't wait to hear ... Sergey Lavrov's express opinion on this? Have a feeling - Pompeo is going to get (Diplomatically) blasted! )

U.S. to impose visa bans on International Criminal Court personnel: Pompeo

The United States will impose visa restrictions on people responsible for any International Criminal Court probe, a move aimed at preventing the court from pursuing the United States and its allies on Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

International Criminal Court: Continue to work 'undeterred' after Pompeo remarks

The International Criminal Court on Friday said it will continue to do its work "undeterred" after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would target individuals involved in cases involving U.S. citizens.

Washington asks Russia: Where's your proof ex-U.S. marine is a spy?

The United States on Friday asked why Russia had not provided any evidence to back up its accusation that Paul Whelan, a detained former U.S. marine, was a spy, a day after Whelan alleged he was being mistreated by a "kangaroo court."

 

[angelburst29]

Сотрудник посольства США попытался провезти мину в «Шереметьево» — подробности

Translation
Normal such, the next provocation.

U.S. Embassy employee tried to smuggle a mine in "Sheremetyevo" - details

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman speculated that after being brought to Britain the "land mine might’ve been presented as an item belonging to some Russian citizen"

March 15, 2019 - Experts suspect London’s involvement in Sheremetievo land mine incident — Russian diplomat
Experts suspect London’s involvement in Sheremetievo land mine incident — Russian diplomat

Moscow's Sheremetievo airport © Marina Lystseva/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has pointed out that some experts suspect Britain may have been involved in the attempt of a US embassy employee to smuggle the hull of a land mine through Sheremetievo airport.

"I can say with reference to a number of experts there is a suspicion the incident was not due to the embassy employee’s carelessness or foolishness, but an outright provocation. Analysis of a whole combination of factors indicates that London was surely behind all this. The US citizen’s route back home was through London, although, as you may know, direct air links between Moscow and the United States are regular and there are enough flights," Zakharova told a news briefing on Friday.

"What might’ve happened, if this US Marine who had worked at the US embassy in Moscow would’ve eventually managed to take the hull of an old land mine out of the country and the item eventually surfaced in the British territory? What if we would’ve been told: ‘It turns out that anything, including a land mine, can be smuggled out of Russia? It would’ve surely been easy to bring some Novichok (a nerve agent which, London argues, was used to poison former GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia), too?’" Zakharova asked.

She speculated that after being brought to Britain the "land mine might’ve been presented as an item belonging to some Russian citizen and fresh proof" of what she sarcastically described as "the bloodthirsty Kremlin’s encroachments targeted at the lives of [British] subjects."

As the Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier, a US embassy employee, leaving Russia upon completion of his assignment, claimed that he had acquired the hull of a land mine for his private collection. The US national eventually missed his plane. Russian personnel helped him to check in for another flight and the man left for New York without the suspicious item in his luggage.

The plane turned around immediately after Russian air defense systems on combat duty tracked it.

March 16, 2019 - US bomber flies over Baltic Sea 150 km from Russia’s border - Defense Ministry
US bomber flies over Baltic Sea 150 km from Russia’s border - Defense Ministry

US B-52 bomber © AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

A US B-52 bomber, which flew over the Baltic Sea on Friday, did not approach Russia’s border closer than 150 kilometers, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"On March 15, 2019, a US Air Force B-52 aircraft with the transponder switched on performed a flight over international waters of the Baltic Sea parallel to Russia’s territorial waters. The plane did not approach Russia’s border closer than 150 kilometers and turned around immediately after Russian air defense systems on combat duty tracked it," the ministry said.

The Russian military regularly spots NATO member-countries’ aircraft over the Baltic Sea, but the flight of a strategic bomber is a rare occurrence. According to official reports, a B-52 plane was last spotted over the Baltic Sea in 2017.

 

[angelburst29]

Russia to keep former minister Abyzov in jail on fraud charges

A court in Russia on Wednesday ruled that former government minister Mikhail Abyzov, an ally of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, be held in pre-trial detention for two months ahead of his trial for fraud and organizing a criminal group.

Only a court can judge whether Abyzov is guilty of anything, the Kremlin spokesman said.

March 27, 2019 - Kremlin: Putin staying mum on ex-minister Abyzov’s case
Kremlin: Putin staying mum on ex-minister Abyzov’s case

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not made any statement on the case of former Open Government Affairs Minister Mikhail Abyzov, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"No, he (Putin) cannot express his attitude as any attitude would actually be an attempt to put pressure on the investigation," he said, adding that the Kremlin does not and cannot have any stance on the case.

"What is important here is the position of the investigative agencies. Only a court can judge whether Abyzov is guilty of anything," Peskov explained.

Lithuania finds ex-Soviet defense minister guilty of war crimes

A Lithuanian court found former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Wednesday for his role in a 1991 crackdown against the Baltic state's pro-independence movement.

The law stipulates that criminal kingpins cannot be sentenced to less than what the law specifically states and cannot receive a suspended sentence.

March 27, 2019 - Can’t do the time, don’t do the crime: Russia hits mob bosses with longer jail terms
Can’t do the time, don’t do the crime: Russia hits mob bosses with longer jail terms

Russia’s Federation Council (upper house) at Wednesday’s plenary session passed a bill that introduces harsher punishments for establishing an organized crime network or joining one, imposing criminal penalties of up to 15 years in prison for those occupying top positions in any mafia hierarchy.

A new article has been added to the Criminal Code of Russia dubbed "Holding a top position in a criminal hierarchy" stipulating 8-15 years of jail time and a possible fine of up to 5 million rubles ($77,000), or a fine of a salary equivalent, or any other source of income equal to a five-year salary together with 1-2 years of incarceration.

Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Andrey Klishas pointed out that the law establishes that the cumulative punishment for a single case cannot exceed 30 years in prison and the cumulative sentencing for numerous cases for violating multiple articles cannot be more than 35 years. The senator recalled that at present these figures are 25 years cumulatively for a single case and 30 years cumulatively on all counts from numerous cases.

Moreover, the law stipulates that criminal kingpins cannot be sentenced to less than what the law specifically states and cannot receive a suspended sentence.

Participating in meetings with organizers, heads (leaders) or other representatives of crime networks and gangs with the aim of committing at least one crime from those specified in Article 210 of the Criminal Code (Creation of a Criminal Community (Criminal Organization) and Participation Therein) now constitutes a crime itself, with the penalty being 12-20 years in prison with a possible fine of 1 million rubles ($15,500), or with a fine of a salary equivalent, or any other source of income equal to a five-year salary together with 1-2 years of incarceration. Moreover, all criminal penalties for violating Article 210 have been increased. "This federal law will help us to crack down on organized crime in Russia," Klishas stressed, adding that the statute will make it possible to hold people responsible who are not actively engaged in crimes, but rather mastermind them, assign roles and issue criminal orders.

 

[angelburst29]

The District Court of Vilnius City earlier announced a verdict on the events of 28 years ago, and charges were brought against 67 citizens of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine.

March 28, 2019 - Russia to react to Lithuanian court’s verdict under case of January 1991 events
Russia to react to Lithuanian court’s verdict under case of January 1991 events

© Valery Sharufulin/TASS

Moscow will respond to the verdict of the District Court of Vilnius City for the Russian citizens under the case of the January 1991 events, when 14 people were killed during street clashes and political diarchy, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at Thursday’s briefing.

"We won’t leave it without further reaction," the diplomat stressed.

The District Court of Vilnius City earlier announced a verdict on the events of 28 years ago, and charges were brought against 67 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Most of the defendants were sentenced to long prison terms in absentia. Reserve Colonel of the Soviet Army Yuri Mel, who was detained in Lithuania in 2014, was sentenced to seven years behind bars, while his brother officer Gennady Ivanov, a Lithuanian resident, was sentenced to four years in prison.

The State Duma earlier adopted a statement on the process, calling it "a politically motivated trial," "retributive justice" and an attempt to rewrite history.

Russia accuses Lithuania of 'provocative' act after former Soviet official convicted
Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday accused Lithuania of an unfriendly and provocative act, a day after a Lithuanian court found a former Soviet defense minister guilty of war crimes for his role in a 1991 crackdown in Lithuania.

Russia detains second ex-minister in a week on graft charges
Russia on Thursday detained a former cabinet minister and oil executive on suspicion of defrauding Russian oil giant Rosneft, the Investigative Committee's spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

 

[angelburst29]

Natalia Fileva, chairwoman and co-owner of Russia’s second largest airline S7, died when a private jet she was in crashed near Frankfurt on Sunday, the company said.

March 31, 2019 - Co-owner of Russia's S7 airline dies in plane crash near Frankfurt

Fileva, 55, was the major shareholder in S7, a member of global Oneworld airlines alliance, and one of the richest women in Russia, whose wealth was estimated by Forbes at $600 million.

The Epic-Lt, a single-engined jet designed for private flights, crashed while landing at Egelsbach airport, S7, also known as Siberia Airlines, said in a statement.

A police spokesman in the central German state of Hesse said a six-seater aircraft with two passengers and a pilot on board was en route from France when it came down near Egelsbach and caught fire.

The private jet was flying from Cannes in France and disappeared from radars at 1322 GMT, according to data from a flight tracker Flighradar24. There was no immediate information on the other two people in the plane.

Russian and international authorities would investigate the crash and there was no information yet on what caused it, according to the airline, which is the main competitor of Russia’s No.1 carrier Aeroflot.

“The S7 Group holding team expresses deepest condolences to the family and significant others,” the company said.

S7 fleet consists of 96 aircraft that fly to 181 cities and towns in 26 countries, according to the company’s website.

 

[Voyageur]

Natalia Fileva, chairwoman and co-owner of Russia’s second largest airline S7, died when a private jet she was in crashed near Frankfurt on Sunday, the company said.

Very sad.

According to this "Fileva's father and the pilot are believed to be the other two people who were on board the aircraft, according to Russian media. A police statement said the passengers would most likely be identified only in the coming week."

And this was mentioned:

The tragedy was compounded by a road accident near the airplane crash site in which two young people lost their lives.

A police car, which was rushing to the scene of the plane crash, collided head-on with another car.

Three occupants in the police car were injured. The two dead were travelling in the other car.

Double sad.

 

[angelburst29]

According to this "Fileva's father and the pilot are believed to be the other two people who were on board the aircraft, according to Russian media. A police statement said the passengers would most likely be identified only in the coming week."

I would be interested in the investigation into this tragic plane crash? According to the report, the plane disappeared from radars
at 1322 GMT, (data from a flight tracker Flighradar24) and crashed while landing at Egelsbach airport, S7, also known as Siberia Airlines and a fire broke out. The plane looks like "one big charred - fused metal mess".

© AP Photo/Michael Probst Airline co-owner dies in Germany plane crash


Co-owner of Russia's S7 airline dies in plane crash near Frankfurt

S7 fleet consists of 96 aircraft that fly to 181 cities and towns in 26 countries, according to the company’s website.

96 aircraft is a large operation, especially when you figure in the purchase and expense of running just one of those aircrafts and the company has branched out to 26 Countries. Very sizeable operation!

Now factor in - recent developments in the major airline industry and the crash of a second 737 MAX8 within months of each other and the grounding of all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line,” in the United States and most other Countries - World-wide ... while the investigations are still pending? Given those circumstances and with the proper investment and management capabilities, Russia's S7 airline could seize on the opportunity, to expand it's fleet of planes and help fill in the gap from the loss of other Commercial and Business Flights?

S7 Airlines, under such an endeavor and with the proper management, could easily meet expenses and realize a Corporate profit margin, within a relatively short time. Natalia Fileva was only 55 with an estimated net worth of $600 Million - not a problem!