India-Russia: News & Analysis

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 26 Mar 2015 18:25

"They think the T-50 is too expensive and has too many shoddy parts. The plane’s “engine was unreliable, its radar inadequate, its stealth features badly engineered,” according to India’s Business Standard, which acquired notes from a 2013 meeting of Indian air force officers."

1 out 10 is not bad.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 26 Mar 2015 23:49

There are several doubts over the report and the manner in which it has been presented.

- Stealth features badly engineered. PAKFA concentrates on frontal and lateral stealth. Rear, later part of fuselage are not so much an issue as the Russians believe that speed and height + EW are protection enough. Radar ranges decline appreciably against receding targets from the rear too
- Radar inadequate. IAF has asked for a futuristic 360 degree AESA. Currently no fighter in world has this. PAKFA has around 240 degrees coverage via cheek arrays but full strength in the fwd 120 degrees. Not bad
- Unreliable engine. Due to be replaced.

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 27 Mar 2015 06:52

Vladimir Putin's formative German years

Remarkable article with it's insight into what makes Putin tick. And amazing still that with all this insight, the West continues to poke this man in the eye. IMO, if push comes to shove, he will not back down and with 8000 + nuclear warheads, nobody knows what that will result in.

By Chris Bowlby
BBC News, Dresden

Anyone who wants to understand Vladimir Putin today needs to know the story of what happened to him on a dramatic night in East Germany a quarter of a century ago.
It is 5 December 1989 in Dresden, a few weeks after the Berlin Wall has fallen. East German communism is dying on its feet, people power seems irresistible.
Crowds storm the Dresden headquarters of the Stasi, the East German secret police, who suddenly seem helpless.
Then a small group of demonstrators decides to head across the road, to a large house that is the local headquarters of the Soviet secret service, the KGB.
"The guard on the gate immediately rushed back into the house," recalls one of the group, Siegfried Dannath. But shortly afterwards "an officer emerged - quite small, agitated".
"He said to our group, 'Don't try to force your way into this property. My comrades are armed, and they're authorised to use their weapons in an emergency.'"
That persuaded the group to withdraw.
But the KGB officer knew how dangerous the situation remained. He described later how he rang the headquarters of a Red Army tank unit to ask for protection.
The answer he received was a devastating, life-changing shock.
"We cannot do anything without orders from Moscow," the voice at the other end replied. "And Moscow is silent."
That phrase, "Moscow is silent" has haunted this man ever since. Defiant yet helpless as the 1989 revolution swept over him, he has now himself become "Moscow" - the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

"I think it's the key to understanding Putin," says his German biographer, Boris Reitschuster. "We would have another Putin and another Russia without his time in East Germany."
The experience taught him lessons he has never forgotten, gave him ideas for a model society, and shaped his ambitions for a powerful network and personal wealth.
Above all, it left him with a huge anxiety about the frailty of political elites, and how easily they can be overthrown by the people.

Putin had arrived in Dresden in the mid-1980s for his first foreign posting as a KGB agent.
The German Democratic Republic or GDR - a communist state created out of the Soviet-occupied zone of post-Nazi Germany - was a highly significant outpost of Moscow's power, up close to Western Europe, full of Soviet military and spies.

Putin had wanted to join the KGB since he was a teenager, inspired by popular Soviet stories of secret service bravado in which, he recalled later, "One man's effort could achieve what whole armies could not. One spy could decide the fate of thousands of people."
Initially, though, much of his work in Dresden was humdrum.
Among documents in the Stasi archives in Dresden is a letter from Putin asking for help from the Stasi boss with the installation of an informer's phone.

And there are details too of endless Soviet-East German social gatherings Putin attended, to celebrate ties between the two countries.

But if the spy work wasn't that exciting, Putin and his young family could at least enjoy the East German good life.
Putin's then wife, Ludmila, later recalled that life in the GDR was very different from life in the USSR. "The streets were clean. They would wash their windows once a week," she said in an interview published in 2000, as part of First Person, a book of interviews with Russia's new and then little-known acting president.
The Putins lived in a special block of flats with KGB and Stasi families for neighbours, though Ludmila envied the fact that: "The GDR state security people got higher salaries than our guys, judging from how our German neighbours lived. Of course we tried to economise and save up enough to buy a car."

East Germany enjoyed higher living standards than the Soviet Union and a former KGB colleague, Vladimir Usoltsev, describes Putin spending hours leafing through Western mail-order catalogues, to keep up with fashions and trends.
He also enjoyed the beer - securing a special weekly supply of the local brew, Radeberger - which left him looking rather less trim than he does in the bare-chested sporty images issued by Russian presidential PR today.

East Germany differed from the USSR, in another way too - it had a number of separate political parties, even though it was still firmly under communist rule, or appeared to be.
"He enjoyed very much this little paradise for him," says Boris Reitschuster. East Germany, he says, "is his model of politics especially. He rebuilt some kind of East Germany in Russia now."
But in autumn 1989 this paradise became a kind of KGB hell. On the streets of Dresden, Putin observed people power emerging in extraordinary ways.

In early October hundreds of East Germans who had claimed political asylum at the West German embassy in Prague were allowed to travel to the West in sealed trains. As they passed through Dresden, huge crowds tried to break through a security cordon to try to board the trains, and make their own escape.

Wolfgang Berghofer, Dresden's communist mayor at the time, says there was chaos as security forces began taking on almost the entire local population. Many assumed violence was inevitable.
"A Soviet tank army was stationed in our city," he says. "And its generals said to me clearly: 'If we get the order from Moscow, the tanks will roll.'"
After the Berlin Wall opened, on 9 November, the crowds became bolder everywhere - approaching the citadels of Stasi and KGB power in Dresden.

Vladimir Putin had doubtless assumed too that those senior Soviet officers - men he'd socialised with regularly - would indeed send in the tanks.
But no, Moscow under Mikhail Gorbachev "was silent". The Red Army tanks would not be used. "Nobody lifted a finger to protect us."
He and his KGB colleagues frantically burned evidence of their intelligence work.
"I personally burned a huge amount of material," Putin recalled in First Person. "We burned so much stuff that the furnace burst."

Two weeks later there was more trauma for Putin as West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl arrived in the city. He made a speech that left German reunification looking inevitable, and East Germany doomed.

Kohl praised Gorbachev, the man in Moscow who'd refused to send in the tanks, and he used patriotic language - words like Vaterland, or fatherland - that had been largely taboo in Germany since the war. Now they prompted an ecstatic response.
It's not known whether Putin was in that crowd - but as a KGB agent in Dresden he'd certainly have known all about it.

The implosion of East Germany in the following months marked a huge rupture in his and his family's life.
"We had the horrible feeling that the country that had almost become our home would no longer exist," said his wife Ludmila.
"My neighbour, who was my friend, cried for a week. It was the collapse of everything - their lives, their careers."
One of Putin's key Stasi contacts, Maj Gen Horst Boehm - the man who had help him install that precious telephone line for an informer - was humiliated by the demonstrating crowds, and committed suicide early in 1990.

This warning about what can happen when people power becomes dominant was one Putin could now ponder on the long journey home.
"Their German friends give them a 20-year-old washing machine and with this they drive back to Leningrad," says Putin biographer and critic Masha Gessen. "There's a strong sense that he was serving his country and had nothing to show for it."

He also arrived back to a country that had been transformed under Mikhail Gorbachev and was itself on the verge of collapse.
"He found himself in a country that had changed in ways that he didn't understand and didn't want to accept," as Gessen puts it.
His home city, Leningrad, was now becoming St Petersburg again. What would Putin do there?
There was talk, briefly, of taxi-driving. But soon Putin realised he had acquired a much more valuable asset than a second-hand washing machine.
In Dresden he'd been part of a network of individuals who might have lost their Soviet roles, but were well placed to prosper personally and politically in the new Russia.

In the Stasi archives in Dresden a picture survives of Putin during his Dresden years. He's in a group of senior Soviet and East German military and security figures - a relatively junior figure, off to one side, but already networking among the elite.

Prof Karen Dawisha of Miami Universty, author of Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, says there are people he met in Dresden "who have then gone on… to be part of his inner core".
They include Sergey Chemezov, who for years headed Russia's arms export agencyand now runs a state programme supporting technology, and Nikolai Tokarev head of the state pipeline company, Transneft.
And it's not only former Russian colleagues who've stayed close to Putin.
Take Matthias Warnig - a former Stasi officer, believed to have spent time in Dresden when Putin was there - who is now managing director of Nordstream, the pipeline taking gas directly from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.
That pipeline symbolised what was seen, until recently, as Germany's new special relationship with Russia - though the Ukraine crisis has at the very least put that relationship on hold.

Putin-watchers believe events such as the uprising on Kiev's Maidan Square, have revived bad memories - above all, of that night in Dresden in December 1989.
"Now when you have crowds in Kiev in 2004, in Moscow in 2011 or in Kiev in 2013 and 2014, I think he remembers this time in Dresden," says Boris Reitschuster. "And all these old fears come up inside him."

Inside him too may be a memory of how change can be shaped not only by force, or by weakness - but also by emotion. In 1989 he saw in Dresden how patriotic feeling, combined with a yearning for democracy, proved so much more powerful than communist ideology.
So when wondering what Vladimir Putin will do next, it's well worth remembering what he's lived through already.
One thing seems sure. While Vladimir Putin holds power in the Kremlin, Moscow is unlikely to be silent.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 31 Mar 2015 20:32

10 Charts That Explain Russia

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 31 Mar 2015 21:24

Remember that E.Germany was "Germany",not part of Russia. Russians will never allow a foreign entity to make mischief in its territory and attempt by stealth and covert means to usher in a "colour" revolution.Even the drunken rule of Yeltsin had to end. Russians today have alsos een what happened after Perestroika,Glasnost,etc.,with NATO advancing asininely right onto its borders. What the EU should've done was to integrate the Russian economy gradually into the EU's,as an economic partnership reduces the chances of conflict. Russia supplying Europe with cheap energy supplies was a positive development,why there is still hope that the UKR crisis will eventually be resolved by Russia and the Europeans.

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 01 Apr 2015 02:56

Karan M wrote:There are several doubts over the report and the manner in which it has been presented.

- Stealth features badly engineered. PAKFA concentrates on frontal and lateral stealth. Rear, later part of fuselage are not so much an issue as the Russians believe that speed and height + EW are protection enough. Radar ranges decline appreciably against receding targets from the rear too
- Radar inadequate. IAF has asked for a futuristic 360 degree AESA. Currently no fighter in world has this. PAKFA has around 240 degrees coverage via cheek arrays but full strength in the fwd 120 degrees. Not bad
- Unreliable engine. Due to be replaced.

I think they are referring to something like this

http://www.northropgrumman.com/capabili ... fault.aspx

"Northrop Grumman has developed the only 360 degree, spherical situational awareness system in the electro-optical distributed aperture system (DAS). "

member_28638 · Post by **member_28638** » 02 Apr 2015 15:22

Putin: try to take Crimea away and there’ll be nuclear war

The Russians delivered a series of blunt warnings from Moscow that reveal just how precarious Europe’s security has become ...

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/worl ... 399514.ece

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 02 Apr 2015 18:00

http://in.rbth.com/news/2015/04/02/russ ... 42363.html

Russia has made the proposal to India that Project 11356 frigates with improved performance be built in the shipyards of that country. This was reported in an interview by Vladimir Ereshenko, the head of the regional department of Rosoboronexport, with RIA Novosti.

He headed the Rosoboronexport delegation in the LIMA’15 arms exhibition held in late March in Langkawi (Malaysia).

“We presented an offer to the Indian side regarding the construction in local shipyards of additional Project 11356 frigates with improved tactical and technical properties,” said Ereshenko.
...
...
Russia has supplied India with six Project 11356 ships between 2003 and 2013. These were built at the “Baltic” factory in Saint Petersburg and the Kaliningrad “Amber” factory. The first three ships have the Russian Club-N cruise missile complex on board while the next three frigates are armed with BrahMos cruise missiles of Russian-Indian manufacture.

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 03 Apr 2015 02:59

Russia ready to lease a second nuclear submarine to India
*Rest of the post deleted*

Avarachan · Post by **Avarachan** » 06 Apr 2015 06:52

http://fortruss.blogspot.ca/2015/04/put ... g-his.html

Putin's style of communication inevitably has the strongest effect on the work of his subordinates. Accordingly, when Peskov live on Echo Moscow declared that "The agenda is now very intense - related to crises, and so on. Currently there is a constant communication with the government, and state-owned companies, and the banking sector. Naturally, it is very time consuming", then his version of events should be considered the most reliable. There is no need for conspiracy theories, when on the economic front, in Russia and abroad, there are truly revolutionary changes taking place. Why does the media pay so little attention to that? This is another question to which we shall return.

So what happened in the international and Russian economy during the period of Putin's "disappearance" from TV screens?

1. China announced about the creation of their own analog of the inter-bank payment system SWIFT, announcing the deadline - the end of 2015. December 2015 - January 2016 can now be considered the moment of transition of the economic war between the US and the rest of the world into an active phase.

2. Putin instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to develop a plan of financing the construction of power plants in Crimea. Quoting Minister of Energy, Novak:

"The Central Bank in this case helps us execute a financial transaction in order to provide liquidity to the creditor bank... There is a request to the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance to develop and present a financing plan ... subject to the payment of interest on loans, this is around 80 billion rubles"

According to the [colonizing - KR] constitution [from the 1990's - KR], Putin (or Medvedev) has no right to give instructions to the Central Bank. Our Central Bank is independent, but it turns out that not anymore. If the president's order will be fulfilled as stated by Novak (the Central Bank gives money to the bank, the bank gives money to the Russian company for the construction of power plants in Crimea), then we get, what patriots of all stripes had long demanded: the Central Bank begins to finance the economic development of the country with its emission. This is a revolution. A quiet revolution.

By the way, mortgage and agricultural loans will be subsidized - this is also a big success.

3. After approval by the government, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan announced a plan for the de-dollarization of the economy until the end of 2016.

The main goal is to get rid of macroeconomic instability, which is created by the U.S. currency. Nazarbayev is a politician with great intuition and serious connections in Beijing and Moscow. A final approval of the policy of de-dollarization right now is a clear signal about the position of Kazakhstan in the context of impending acute phase of economic confrontation.

4. President Putin on March 10 instructed the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the government to determine the feasibility of creation of a monetary union of the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union). RIA Novosti leaked that the new currency of EEU, Altyn (or Evraz) may appear in 2016.

Bhurishrava · Post by **Bhurishrava** » 08 Apr 2015 02:06

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2 ... versifies/

Russia and Europe are carrying through with their divorce. A look at where russia is selling its Oil gives an idea.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 08 Apr 2015 16:46

The best long term bet for Russian Energy Market is to accept Rinminbi to trade in Energy along with Euro/Dollar this would give boost to investment and help them balance out.

Also to make sure that Forex get converted into Gold and build up gold reserves from current 11 % to 30 % of Forex.

In any case EU will have a stagnant economy and as per EIA projection China and India will be 1st and 2nd largest consumer of energy in world so it better they re-orient to these two countries for their own good.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 09 Apr 2015 10:01

India's ONGC Videsh (20 percent). part of the project.

http://rt.com/news/224371-oil-rig-berku ... ion/[quote]
Biggest oil rig ever: 200k-ton Sakhalin giant begins production
Published time: January 20, 2015
The world’s biggest oil platform has begun commercial production at the Sakhalin-1 offshore project in Russia’s Far East. The Berkut oil rig is expected to extract 4.5 million tons of oil annually.

The Sakhalin-1 Consortium was formed in 1996 is the first major shelf project in Russia created under terms of a Product Sharing Agreement (PSA). The international consortium is made up of the US major ExxonMobil (30 percent), Japan's Sodeco (30 percent), Russia’s Rosneft (20 percent) and India's ONGC Videsh (20 percent).

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $10-12 billion, making it the largest direct foreign investment in Russia.

The Berkut platform is expected to produce 12,000 tons of oil daily or about 4.5 million tons annually, raising the total output of the Sakhalin-1 Consortium to 27,000 tons a day.

Oil from the Arkutun-Dagi oil field will be processed at the Chaivo onshore treatment facility and then delivered by a pipeline to the DeKastri oil export terminal.

The tax revenues from oil produced by the Berkut platform will provide Russia’s regional and federal budgets with no less than $9 billion over the next ten years.

The Berkut rig is designed to work in harsh Arctic conditions, and has an autonomous power supply and can work even when temperatures go down to minus 44 degrees Celsius. Floating ice up to two meters thick cannot damage its substructure.

The drilling platform can withstand a 9 magnitude earthquake, and waves up to 18 meters high.

READ MORE: Arctic crude becomes new Russia's oil blend

The field which spreads 60 kilometers offshore holds 72 million tons of recoverable oil, is also being developed by another oil rig specially built for the task.

The US and the EU sanctions are targeting Russia’s big Arctic and Siberia shale oil ambitions by barring foreign oil companies from supplying any technology or equipment for joint ventures in deep water, offshore, or shale projects.

Drilling will continue even if sanctions prevent foreign companies from participating in Russia’s Arctic, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said in September in an interview with Bloomberg News.

READ MORE: Russia can drill in Arctic, even without Exxon – energy official

“Of course we’ll do it on our own and attract the necessary technology and different partners who don’t have limitations on cooperation,” the Rosneft CEO said.
[/quote]

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 09 Apr 2015 22:33

http://www.vir.com.vn/vn-russia-bank-ey ... annel.html

The agreement is expected to help VRB better serve customers in the two countries, thus accelerating economic co-operation between Russia and Viet Nam.

VRB will set up, if approved, a payment channel for Russian and Vietnamese businesses using their respective currencies, the dong and the ruble.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 13 Apr 2015 21:16

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world ... -iran.html

In a move that is sure to raise hackles in Washington, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia lifted a ban on sales of sophisticated Russian air defense missiles to Iran on Monday, moving swiftly to take advantage of a possible thaw in relations due to a potential deal curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Iran, a deal suspended five years ago in the face of United Nations sanctions, could significantly bolster Iran’s defenses against any future attack on its nuclear facilities.

No timetable was announced for the sale. But the military deal, along with an oil-for-goods exchange program that Moscow has been negotiating with Tehran for months, showed that Russia was determined to fight for a share of the economic spoils should a deal with Iran be reached and international trade ties resume.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 13 Apr 2015 22:41

The ban on Sale of S-300 was unjustified as Iran paid for it and the UN sanction did not cover S-300/AD system under the ban.

Its more of unjust decision that Medvedev took to please the West that caused much heartburn in Iran.

Iran though now is not intersted in S-300 system but more in the latest export model of Antey-2500

member_23370 · Post by **member_23370** » 13 Apr 2015 23:09

Well Russians are moving fast S-300/An-25000 for Iran and S-400 for China. Pakis will get the chinese copy of S-300 (may not be very good but something better than nothing). I hope India has BMD phase-I completed and deployed in a 2-3 years

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Apr 2015 12:01

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politi ... ays-396943

Military strike against Iran with minimal fallout for Israel possible, US senator says

Senator Tom Cotton tells the 'Atlantic,' "I think if we choose to go down the path of this deal, it is likely that we could be facing nuclear war."
Iran

Satellite image shows a nuclear facility in Iran. (photo credit:REUTERS)

The Republican US senator behind a letter to the Iranian leadership warning that future presidents may not honor any deal that President Barack Obama signs with Tehran said Monday that he believes pinpoint strikes against Iran could be carried out without leading to a long war for the US or regional fallout against Israel.

Speaking in an interview with Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) warned however, that if a nuclear deal was signed with Iran, and the Islamic Republic was allowed to become a nuclear-armed state, then the likely outcome would be nuclear war with Iran.

He referenced previous statements made by former prime minister Ehud Barak that "it would just take one night" to launch an effective strike to set back Iran's nuclear program.

Cotton gained international recognition when he initiated a letter in March signed by 47 Republican senators warning the Islamic Republic that any nuclear deal not approved by Congress "is a mere executive agreement” that may not be honored after Obama leaves the White House in January 2017.

Discussing the potential for Hezbollah rocket attacks against Israel as a response to a US strike against Iran, Cotton told Goldberg: "I've consulted with various senior members of the Israeli government over the years, and they're aware of the possibility that Iran might use Hezbollah, in particular, to retaliate in an asymmetric way for any military strikes, either American or Israeli, and the assessment I've heard from them is that while that is a risk, it is a risk they can manage."

Cotton added that the risk to Israel is not what it once was. "This is different from what you might have seen nine years ago during the Hezbollah war in 2006, or even five years ago, when the talk of an Israeli strike was at its peak, in large part because of Iron Dome, and also because of the strain that sanctions have put on Iran—its ability to fund these kinds of operations and continue to replenish Hezbollah and their weapon stocks."

Cotton said that Obama himself had said over the weekend that Iran could not challenge the US militarily, quoting the US president's assertion that while the US spends $600 billion a year on its military, Tehran spends $30 billion a year. "Not only do we have the ability to substantially degrade their nuclear facilities, but we have the capability, along with our Gulf allies, who have increased their military spending by over 50 percent, to largely protect them from any kind of retaliatory air or naval strikes."

The Republican senator said that the framework reached between world powers and Iran earlier this month does not represent any real agreement between the two sides. "There's a long list of concessions that Iran's leaders continue to dispute they actually made."

Cotton defended his decision to send the letter to the Iranian leadership, rejecting claims that he had undermined Obama's foreign policy. "The letter simply stated indisputable facts of constitutional law, and Iran's leaders needed to hear that message, and they needed to hear it from us."

Cotton said that he sees a potential military confrontation with Iran down the road if the US signs the deal with Iran. "If we agreed to the kind of proposal the Obama administration has made, then military confrontation may be further off, but it might also be nuclear."

He added: "The proposal puts Iran on the path to being a nuclear-arms state, and I think once Iran becomes a nuclear-arms state, this will lead inevitably to some kind of military confrontation. It may not be initially with the United States, but I think that's virtually inevitable...I think if we choose to go down the path of this deal, it is likely that we could be facing nuclear war."

Russia opens way to missile deliveries to Iran, starts oil-for-goods swap
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/ ... YX20150413

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ending a self-imposed ban on delivering the S-300 anti-missile rocket system to Iran, removing a major irritant between the two after Moscow canceled a corresponding contract in 2010 under pressure from the West.

A senior government official said separately that Russia has started supplying grain, equipment and construction materials to Iran in exchange for crude oil under a barter deal.

Sources told Reuters more than a year ago that a deal worth up to $20 billion was being discussed and would involve Russia buying up to 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Apr 2015 00:08

Cotton in is cottoning.
Minimal fallout on Israel is humbug.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Apr 2015 10:31

The Russian Pres has his unique annual live TV call-in. Putin answers tough Qs from Russians.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 82343.html

Vladimir Putin Q & A round-up: 12 things we learned from the Russian President's call-in.
Mr Putin is a terrible marriage counsellor and doesn't want to be cloned

Adam Withnall
Thursday 16 April 2015

After four hours and a reported three million submitted questions, Vladimir Putin’s annual marathon TV call-in show is finally over for another year.

A slickly-produced question and answer programme, this year threw up a mixture from serious queries on the Ukraine crisis and relations with the West to ridiculous inquiries about buying dogs and cloning,

While the “Direct Line to the nation” seemed to involve a disproportionate number of questions from senior establishment figures in the studio, it also provided a rare insight on the man voted the most influential in the world.

Here’s what we learned.

Russia ‘has no imperialist ambitions’

Mr Putin fielded a number of questions relating to the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s relationship with neighbouring countries like Belarus or Kazakhstan, nations which dance to the federation’s tune.

Mr Putin said his only interest was ensuring that people of Russian origin living in these countries were treated well, and said that like the rest of the world he wants to improve integration with bordering states. Referencing relations between the US and Canada, Latin American states and the EU, he took issue with the fact that when Russia tries this, it gets accused of building an empire.

Mr Putin blames the US for the rise of Isis

Asked about the issue of Russian nationals going to fight for the so-called Islamic State, the President insisted that there was no “direct threat” of them returning to attack Russia at this time.

A video of a Chechen Isis fighter threatening Russia. A video of a Chechen Isis fighter threatening Russia. He also took the opportunity to have a swing at Washington, saying that US foreign policy – in particular the decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein – had led to a rise in extremism in Iraq where “there had been none before”.

Mr Putin is a terrible marriage counsellor

Things turned a bit silly when one caller said she and some other women wanted to buy one of their friends a pet dog for her 40th birthday, but that her strict former-military husband did not like the idea.

In a slightly sexist intervention that’s unlikely to help anyone, Mr Putin appealed to the retired colonel: “Boris, please, let your wife get a dog. It’s a good deed and will strengthen your family.”

Mr Putin thinks Russia doesn’t need any allies

In another question about Russia’s position in the world, one caller asked who exactly were the nation’s allies.

To this, Mr Putin said he agreed with a quotation from the 19th century Russian emperor Alexander III, who said: “Russia has just two allies, its army and its navy.”

Mr Putin took a moment to thank call-in centre workers who had helped out on the broadcast (EPA) Mr Putin took a moment to thank call-in centre workers who had helped out on the broadcast (EPA) Mr Putin doesn’t want to clone himself

The President’s shortest response to a question came following a rather fawning reference to his extraordinary personal popularity ratings, which top 80 per cent despite the country being in recession.

Q: “Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich! Have you ever thought about cloning yourself? There are no other officials who the nation trusts!”

Mr Putin: “No.”

Russia may never find who ordered the killing of Boris Nemtsov

Asked about the assassination of the prominent opposition leader just a few hundred yards from the Kremlin itself, Mr Putin described the incident as “tragic and shameful”.

The President said he would intervene with the Moscow Mayor over suggestions that flowers left in memory of Mr Nemtsov were being bagged up and removed by officials.

But he said that, despite the fact five Chechens have been arrested over the shooting, investigators may never know who masterminded the killing. When asked a second time about this point, Mr Putin declined to comment further

Putin critic: Nemtsov took a leading role in the opposition to the Kremlin’s policies (EPA) Putin critic: Nemtsov took a leading role in the opposition to the Kremlin’s policies (EPA) Russia’s economy could return to growth in two years

Despite official estimates that the Russian economy will shrink by between 3 and 5 per cent this year, Mr Putin remained upbeat on the nation’s prospects.

He admitted that he saw no immediate end to Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis, but pointed to the Ruble’s recovery as a sign of investor confidence and said Russia could be back growing again within two years.

“If we preserve a stable situation in domestic politics, preserve the current consolidation of society, we shouldn’t fear any threats,” he said.

Russia ‘has no military forces in Ukraine’

Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has repeatedly denied charges from the West that it is directly arming and reinforcing the separatist rebels.

Despite Nato and rights groups reporting otherwise, Mr Putin said today: “I will tell you openly and straightly. There are no Russian troops in Ukraine.”

Ukraine officials claim Russia has deployed its special forces to destabilise the volatile region. The 11-page document contains images of soldiers in eastern Ukraine wearing similar uniforms and brandishing Russian weapons. Mr Putin can panic under pressure

One of the only hiccups in the smoothly-run programme was when an emotional video message was aired showing a woman whose home had been burned down in the recent Siberian wildfires crying and begging for help.

Despite the fact that he would have been briefed beforehand that such messages were pre-recorded, Mr Putin couldn’t help but react and asked the screen: “How quickly did the fire spread?”

He quickly recovered after the presenter gently reminded him the woman would not be able to hear, and decreed – seemingly on the spot – amounts of compensation to be paid to those affected by the fires.

Russia is not worried about war with Ukraine

One question sent via a reporter in the field came from a hotel-owner in western Russia, whose business lies near the border with crisis-stricken eastern Ukraine.

She said she and her family were “terrified” about violence spilling over into Russian territory – but an almost-smiling Mr Putin shrugged off her fears.

“There will be no war,” he said, adding that the “few shells” that had fallen on Russian soil since the conflict began were “accidents” and nothing to worry about.

There was nothing wrong with lifting the missile-delivery embargo on Iran

Mr Putin defended the decision, made this week, to lift a ban on selling defensive missiles to Iran.

He said the Middle Eastern state had shown “a desire to reach compromise”, and said that it did not undermine international sanctions on the basis that Russia’s ban, in force since 2010, was “voluntary”.

It is up to the West to normalise relations with Russia

Among the high-profile figures to be given the chance to ask questions was the editor-in-chief of the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, Konstantin Remchukov.

He said that he was among those in Russian society who felt the country was better off when it was working with the US rather than against it.

Vladimir Putin speaks with US President Barack Obama during the Apec summit in November, 2014 (EPA) Vladimir Putin speaks with US President Barack Obama during the Apec summit in November, 2014 (EPA) But Mr Putin said a normalisation of diplomatic relations would only happen if the West respected Russia’s international interests, adding: “[The US] doesn’t need allies, it only needs vassals.” He said Russia would never accept a relationship on those terms.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 17 Apr 2015 20:18

Putin demands respect for Russia, pledges never to become US vassal

http://rt.com/politics/250229-putin-rus ... rnational/

“The most important thing for reestablishing normal relations is respect for Russia and respect for its interests,” the Russian leader said on Thursday, answering a question about the conditions under which relations between Russia and the West might improve.

He added that in his view, the United States did not need allies, only vassals, but Russia could never agree to such one-sided cooperation.

“It was not us who spoiled the relations, we have always stood for normal relations with all nations, both in the East and in the West,” Putin said.

“Everyone must understand this. Moscow is always open for cooperation.”

“We are ready for cooperation and will engage in it, despite the position of some leaders of certain countries. We will cooperate with those who want to work with us,” he added.

The president also reminded the audience about the international situation in the early 1990s, saying that every time Russia attempted to tell the world that it had its own interests it always encountered a harsh reaction. “Remember how the West applauded Boris Yeltsin. But as soon as he voiced Russia’s position on Yugoslavia they unleashed the dogs on him. I would not even repeat the expressions that were used.”

At the same time, Putin said the Soviet Union made a mistake when it tried to impose its own political and economic system on Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century. “After the Second World War we tried to force our model of development on many Eastern European countries, and we did it by force. We must acknowledge this. There is nothing good in it and we can still feel the negative consequences,” he said.

“But Americans are behaving approximately the same today as they try to impose their model practically all over the world. They will also fail,” the president noted.

Putin also said that Russia had no enemies in the world, except for international terrorism and organized crime. “We consider no one our enemy, I mean, among the international community. But also we do not recommend anyone to consider us their enemy.” At the same time he noted that Russia was a great nation with a nuclear potential comparable with the US and this made it “equally glorious” to be Russia’s friend or Russia’s enemy.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 18 Apr 2015 02:37

More and more Russia is slipping everyday, now their leader has even started to talk like Paki leaders (hum atomi taakat hai).

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 18 Apr 2015 03:34

Vipul wrote:More and more Russia is slipping everyday, now their leader has even started to talk like Paki leaders (hum atomi taakat hai).

That is because of complete lack of Russian soft power and allies. Isolated countries which have a past reputation to defend can only react this way!

Countries like China, Iran, Greece use closeness to Russia to get concessions from West. Kazakhstan, Byelorus and Mongolia may still be open for alliances, but that too is because of the past of political leaders of these countries and compulsions of geographical location. Serbia may still have some natural inclination towards Russia. India has military and hydrocarbon interests. But among all these there is still no real ally.

Collapse of not only Soviet Union but also coonsiderable Russian soft power makes a huge dent for Russia's prospects. Russia needs more integration with rest of world but Russians too cannot get over their own hangover for the West.

sudarshan · Post by **sudarshan** » 18 Apr 2015 06:25

Yup, the Russkies never managed to capitalize on the soft power of the Sputnik and space walks. They ceded the glory of the WW II victory to the USA and UK. Kazakh dances, Bolshoi ballet, Pushkin and Chekhov and Tolstoy, even Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and their once great movie industry never amounted to much eventually. They had some influence with countries like India with cultural fests and Misha the bear, and their massive book industry. But then Mir and Raduga publishers were among the first casualties of the demise of the USSR.

Talk about wasted potential. Charles de Gaulle's statement about Belgium comes to mind. "The country has great potential, and will always have."

Falijee · Post by **Falijee** » 18 Apr 2015 17:28

Will the Pakistan Russia military exercise make New Delhi Moscow ties sour

Comment: Definitely not ! Has Putin's visit to Paakhistan been materialized yet?

Quote:
Russia wants to keep Pakistan in good humour and needs Pakistan’s services in Afghanistan, something that China has been doing for decades.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 18 Apr 2015 18:54

Tajikisthan's banning of people going to Haj is not insignificant and seems like a little bit of Russian influence there.
They are trying to insulate themselves from the Pakis and their jihad crowd in the region.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 18 Apr 2015 19:32

Austin wrote:Putin demands respect for Russia, pledges never to become US vassal

http://rt.com/politics/250229-putin-rus ... rnational/

“The most important thing for reestablishing normal relations is respect for Russia and respect for its interests,” the Russian leader said on Thursday, answering a question about the conditions under which relations between Russia and the West might improve.

He added that in his view, the United States did not need allies, only vassals, but Russia could never agree to such one-sided cooperation.

“It was not us who spoiled the relations, we have always stood for normal relations with all nations, both in the East and in the West,” Putin said.

“Everyone must understand this. Moscow is always open for cooperation.”

“We are ready for cooperation and will engage in it, despite the position of some leaders of certain countries. We will cooperate with those who want to work with us,” he added.

The president also reminded the audience about the international situation in the early 1990s, saying that every time Russia attempted to tell the world that it had its own interests it always encountered a harsh reaction. “Remember how the West applauded Boris Yeltsin. But as soon as he voiced Russia’s position on Yugoslavia they unleashed the dogs on him. I would not even repeat the expressions that were used.”

At the same time, Putin said the Soviet Union made a mistake when it tried to impose its own political and economic system on Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century. “After the Second World War we tried to force our model of development on many Eastern European countries, and we did it by force. We must acknowledge this. There is nothing good in it and we can still feel the negative consequences,” he said.

“But Americans are behaving approximately the same today as they try to impose their model practically all over the world. They will also fail,” the president noted.

Putin also said that Russia had no enemies in the world, except for international terrorism and organized crime. “We consider no one our enemy, I mean, among the international community. But also we do not recommend anyone to consider us their enemy.” At the same time he noted that Russia was a great nation with a nuclear potential comparable with the US and this made it “equally glorious” to be Russia’s friend or Russia’s enemy.

Putin, all said & done, is somebody who speaks his mind & there is a lot of truth in what he says.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 18 Apr 2015 20:50

Putin always underplays when it comes to asking who are his allies , like he mentioned some kind alexender and quoted him saying the only Allay russia has is its Army and Navy

The reality is they have CSTO which is an organisation similar in nature and character to NATO a military alliance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective ... ganization

Then there is the lesser known Joint CIS AD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_CIS_ ... nse_System

SCO is a psedo military alliance atleast the nature of exercise they do and the scale is much beyond anti-terror ops but more of anti-NATO ops.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_C ... ganisation

Economically they have the newly formed Eurasian Economic Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Economic_Union

Also the well known BRICS

But treaty wise and legal agreement goes only the CSTO and Join CIS AD is what each member state is obliged to defend , like the NATO Article 5 clause.

Yes Russia military doctrine envisages pre-emptive nuclear strikes

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 19 Apr 2015 03:28

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/232073399

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says he will travel to Moscow to participate in events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 7 and 8, but he will not attend a Victory Day military parade in the Russian capital on May 9.

Belarus has traditionally been one of Russia's closest allies, but Lukashenka has been critical of Moscow's policies regarding Ukraine.

The Belarusian president, however, criticized politicians who have refused to travel to Moscow because of the conflict in Ukraine, saying that it is "an incorrect move" against "the Soviet people and the people of Eastern Europe, who we at that time liberated."

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 19 Apr 2015 07:55

http://rt.com/politics/246485-russia-ta ... -isis-aid/

Russia to provide military aid to Tajikisthan to fight Islamic State.

The aid will be rendered within a major program of joint modernization of Tajikistan’s military signed between Moscow and Dushanbe in 2014. The major objective is to strengthen the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The task has become especially vital after the Coalition Forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and the growing threat from the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 19 Apr 2015 21:17

Indian military contingent to march at Moscow’s Red Square on May 9

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 19 Apr 2015 21:49

LOL, that will send the Only US is right crowd into a tizzy

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Apr 2015 10:51

The meanness of the US,Britain and some other Western nations beggars belief! Russia/The Soviet Union lost over 20 million in WW2,more than any other nation. Half the country was brought back into the stone age with everything destroyed and ravaged. If not for the Russian resistance and defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad and Leningrad,Western Europe would still be under the thrall of the Nazis and even Britain would've eventually succumbed. The greatest tank battle in history was fought at Kursk. The one-sidedness in the telling the tale of WW2,mainly from the Western side,dishonours those gallant Russians,in and out of uniform who sacrificed their lives so that Europe could be free. Not to send a delegation to Moscow to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism is shameful,mean,spiteful and vindictive.

Many years ago I remember a Russian diplomat asking a gathering the Q "who won the war?".When someone said "America" he burst out laughing and cried out loud ,"Russia,Russia,won the war!"
He was partly right.True,on the European battlefield it certainly was Russia that won the war,but after WW2,it was the US in particular,who through various institutions set up,primarily NATO ,started the Cold War,and through the IMF,WB,etc.,dominated the global economy and saw to it that newly independent nations,free of colonialism were yet again trapped in the neo-colonial web that rendered them slaves to the pre-eminent financial institutions which have kept them in a vicious cycle of continuous borrowing,falling into deep debt and the bulk of their citizens remaining in intense poverty.

It is good that India is sending a mil delegation to take part in the parade,justifiably so.We fought on the same side in WW2,even if not side by side. India should also send similar delegations to Japan,to honour these gallant INA soldiers who also fought with the Japanese to free India! We are unique in being the only country,apart from the Vichy and Italians,who fought on both sides.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 22 Apr 2015 14:25

The other countries sending military contingent besides India

"In the Victory Parade parade will be attended by ten calculations of the Armed Forces of the CIS member states and friendly countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Mongolia, Serbia, China," - said in a statement received by "Interfax -AVN "Wednesday.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 23 Apr 2015 12:19

How mean of the Western powers not to take part in the parade after the Russians sacrificed 20 million people for their freedom in WW2.

I came across this wonderful quote from WW2.
Britain was, he ruefully admitted, "the poor little English donkey," caught between the "the great Russian bear on one side and the "Great American buffalo" on the other. ...Winston Churchill!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... itain.html
Cristina Kirchner and Vladimir Putin cuddle up over oil – and bitter feelings for Britain
Argentina and Russia expected to sign trade, energy and military deals as Ms Kirchner goes to the Kremlin

Kirchner who has meet with Vladimir Putin this week Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Tom Parfitt, Moscow and Harriet Alexander
23 Apr 2015

Casting around for friendly faces in the international arena, Vladimir Putin will fix his eyes on one on Thursday when he meets Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at the Kremlin.

The Argentine president is in town to nurture ties between Moscow and Buenos Aires, from oil and gas deals to a shared antipathy for British foreign policy.

Mrs Kirchner wants Britain out of the Falklands – or Malvinas as the Argentines call them – while Mr Putin sees London as a motor behind EU sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

Russia's leader took a lengthy Latin American tour last year to demonstrate his global reach as Moscow's relations with the US and the EU reached a post-Cold War low.

Through ties with Brazil, Cuba and Argentina the Kremlin wants to show it can survive with economic partners and political friends outside the Western sphere.

There have been rumours, never substantiated, that Russia is working on a deal to lease 12 long-range bombers to Argentina in exchange for beef and wheat to beat EU sanctions over Ukraine.

The UK announced a £180m plan to strengthen its military presence in the Falklands last month, partly in response to the reports. Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said the bombers deal had never been confirmed but added: "It is a very live threat, we have to respond to it."

Daniel Filmus, Argentina's secretary on Malvinas affairs, denied the bombers-for-beef arrangement with Moscow to the Telegraph last week.

Asked if he could confirm that Argentina had never spoken to Russia about leasing planes, he replied: "Absolutely. I confirmed it with the defence minister. He laughed. Even the Russians said 'We wish!'".

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as she arrives at Moscow airport (EPA)

Similarly, Moscow has not confirmed any such deal – but its relations with Argentina are certainly warming.

On Thursday, Mr Putin and Mrs Kirchner are due to sign a raft of deals on trade, military cooperation, communications and energy projects.

In particular, Gazprom, the Russian energy giant is expected to agree a deal with Argentina's state oil company YPF to make energy investments in the South American country.

In a more personal touch, Mrs Kirchner will open a Moscow exhibition dedicated to Eva Perón.

The Argentine president has already shown herself to be a friend to the Kremlin, dismissing Western criticism of its military intervention in Ukraine.

Last year, she criticised the West for alleged "double standards" over Russia's annexation of Crimea. During a visit to Paris a day after the seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula in March, she drew a parallel with Argentina's claim to the Falklands.

The Falklands held a referendum in 2013 in which 99.8 per cent of the 1,517 residents who were polled voted to remain a British overseas territory.

Moscow justified its seizure of Crimea using the results of a disputed referendum which, it claimed, showed that 97 per cent of residents wanted to join Russia.

"You can't insist on the territorial integrity of Ukraine but not of Argentina," said Mrs Kirchner, after meeting François Hollande, France's president.

"If the referendum in Crimea doesn't count when it's a few kilometres from Russia, then what about a referendum in a colony 13,000 kilometres away."

She added: "We must respect the same principles for everyone or else we live in a world without laws."
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, later called the Argentine leader to thank her for her words.
Moscow has also highlighted the supposed similarities between the Falklands and Crimea.

"London should pause and chill out. All Western opinion polls in Crimea say the absolute majority supports reunification with Russia," Alexei Pushkov, the chairman of the foreign relations committee in the lower house of parliament, tweeted last month.

"Take notice, London. Crimea has immeasurably more grounds to be part of Russia than the Falklands to be part of Britain."

Mr Pushkov was responding to Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, who had said that the Crimea referendum on joining Russia was a "blatant breach of Ukrainian and international law".

Mr Putin met Mrs Kirchner during his tour of South America in July. "We favour the principles of a multipolar world, which are equality, indivisibility and security," the Russian leader said at a dinner in his honour.

"Russia continues to support the need to find a solution to the dispute over the Malvinas Islands at direct negotiations between Great Britain and Argentina."

That sentiment is likely to be repeated on Thursday as the pair meet again in Moscow.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 23 Apr 2015 20:52

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/n ... 77636.html

During a media interview at the Russian Embassy, he said Russia is ready to take an active part at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC).

The GIC is a joint industrial park that has served as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliatory efforts since it opened in 2004.

China is about to invest 5B$ of private funds in this same park, like the russian companies. What about Indian cos?

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 25 Apr 2015 17:07

The N Koreans are neighbour to China and Russia so they have stake in Economic Development in that region , India has little or no stake in that effort.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 25 Apr 2015 19:31

Austin wrote:The N Koreans are neighbour to China and Russia so they have stake in Economic Development in that region , India has little or no stake in that effort.

Would disagree that India has no stake. Since this is a combined korean effort, any leverage/influence with NoKo to stop giving mijjiles to Pakis in the long term can only help. Chinese can't proliferate missiles to Pakis without the NoKos as a proxy.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 26 Apr 2015 22:00

Looking Through 15 Years of Power: Putin Unveils Never Known Details

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 27 Apr 2015 11:31

http://rt.com/business/252769-ruble-too ... -siluanov/

Ruble now ‘excessively’ strong - Russian Finance Minister

The Russian ruble has strengthened to a point where it is actually too strong, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday during a lecture in St. Petersburg.

“What happened was expected: the volume of gold reserves stabilized, then the ruble started stabilizing and has now strengthened. We believe that it has strengthened excessively,” Siluanov said at a lecture in St Petersburg.

On Friday, the ruble gained 1.22 percent against the dollar, trading at 51.37 at 5:00pm in Moscow. After gaining a record 15 percent in the first three months of 2015, the ruble has begun to weaken, which the Central Bank sees as a good sign. The regulator is trying to reverse the gains the currency picked up this year. However, a stronger ruble could pose problems for exporters who benefit from a weaker currency. At stake is also Russia’s project of import substitution; as the ruble gets stronger customers have more purchasing power to buy foreign goods.

Russian ruble seen as world’s best performing currency, hits 2015 high

The rapid rise has been spurred by higher oil prices as well as more solid internal economic factors in Russia, such as demand for rubles to buy attractive Russian sovereign debt and the ceasefire in Ukraine. It is the world’s best performing currency of 2015 so far, according to Bloomberg.

READ MORE: Rapid rise of the ruble is over – Bank of Russia

In 2014, the currency lost 46 percent of its value, hitting an all-time low of 80 against the US dollar on December 16. The ruble nosedive was in tandem with oil prices, as well as panic that sanctions and low oil prices would negatively affect the Russian economy.

At the same lecture on Friday, the Finance Minister spoke on Russia’s strengthening economic relationship with China, including boosting trade as well as the joint project to develop a route to speed up trade, dubbed the new Silk Road.

READ MORE: Russia and China to increase finance cooperation - minister

Inflation for 2015 is forecast to be 12.2 percent, according to the Finance Ministry.