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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The crash of a luxury train in Russia killed 25 people and injured up to 63 more, an official said on Saturday, and sources suggested it may have been an act of terrorism. "Twenty-five people died in the accident," an official reported to Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting televised by Vesti-25 television, hours after the crash. Several carriages of the Nevsky Express traveling from Moscow to St Petersburg were derailed at 9:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) on Friday near the town of Bologoye, 350 km (200 miles) from Moscow. Estimates of the number of injured ranged...

The government has decided to undertake a major replacement of aging military equipment. In many cases, this is essential, because buying new gear basically halted (with a few exceptions, like ballistic missiles) during the 1990s. So most of the armed forces are using Cold War era gear manufactured in the 1970s and 80s. Fortunately, even older equipment was junked as the armed forces shrank 80 percent in the 1990s. According to the new government plan, in the next decade, at least a third of current gear will be replaced, and in some categories (usually high tech), over 80 percent. President...

Christian Orthodox priest assassinated in Moscow for his missionary work among Muslim immigrants. More at the link

Increasingly irate over a delayed arms deal, Iran has threatened to manufacture an advanced missile system itself if Russia does not deliver it to Tehran soon. The warning, sounded by Alaeddin Bouroujerdi, a senior Iranian lawmaker, was the latest in a series of threats by Iranian officials angered at Russia for delaying delivery a much-vaunted missile sales agreement. "Iran is not a country to come to a halt in the face of non-cooperation of other countries," Bouroujerdi was quoted as saying in a local newspaper. "Naturally, and in light of Iran's capabilities, it will be able to produce missile defense...

Russia should honor a contract to sell a missile defense system to Iran and not bend to outside pressure, the Islamic Republic's defense minister said in remarks published on Thursday. Russia, which is under Western pressure to distance itself from Iran, has not followed through on proposals to supply high-grade S-300 air defense missiles. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Russia last month for not providing the arms to Iran, which is at odds with the West over its nuclear and missile programs. Israel says the S-300 systems could be used to defend Iranian nuclear facilities against potential air strikes....

SNIPPET: "Lula and Chavez have established a "strategic relationship," and recently agreed upon a joint Brazilian-Venezuelan oil venture worth billions of dollars. Lula and Chavez have joined with Daniel Ortega, the returned Nicaraguan Marxist dictator, to form an anti-U.S. Latin American military alliance - all with Russian assistance - funded by the region's abundant oil reserves. Brazil is engaged in its own arms build-up and Lula is determined that Brazil will become at least a first-rate regional power. Unfortunately, Lula is establishing Brazil as an anti-American military power by aligning with nations hostile or potentially hostile to the U.S. Lula...

As the United States and its allies haggle with Iran over its nuclear program, Moscow has fueled Western unease about its military links to Tehran by pledging to continue selling arms to the Islamic republic. This has raised speculation that it may brush aside the strident objections of the United States and Israel and supply Iran with advanced S-300PMU surface-to-air missiles that would greatly enhance its defenses against airstrikes. The Russians, who have rejected the proposed imposition of economic sanctions on Iran as "counterproductive," are keeping the waters muddied with contradictory and ambiguous statements regarding the S-300s. On Wednesday, Russia's...

Moscow Mayor Promises a Winter Without SnowBy SIMON SHUSTER Sat Oct 17, 9:15 am ET Pigs still can't fly, but this winter, the mayor of Moscow promises to keep it from snowing. For just a few million dollars, the mayor's office will hire the Russian Air Force to spray a fine chemical mist over the clouds before they reach the capital, forcing them to dump their snow outside the city. Authorities say this will be a boon for Moscow, which is typically covered with a blanket of snow from November to March. Road crews won't need to constantly clear the...

A military delegation from Iraq will visit Moscow in the near future to discuss the purchase of Russian weaponry, an Iraqi parliament member has said. "A large delegation from the Iraqi Defense Ministry will travel soon to Moscow for talks on arms purchases [from Russia]," Abbas al-Bayati said in an interview with the Al Iraqiya television. According to the Iraqi MP, Baghdad is seeking to sign arms contracts with Russia, Germany, France, Serbia and the United States by the end of 2011 "to complete the creation of Iraqi Armed Forces and security forces." Al-Bayati said the Iraqi leadership is interested...

THIS LINK is complete with the article, pictures, and video THIS glowing halo in clouds over Moscow looks like an Independence Day style alien attack. The astonishing ring was spotted over the city and captured on video by stunned locals. It has been described as a "true mystery" by a UFO expert. Scores of supernatural enthusiasts have been gripped by the astonishing footage and speculated it could be an ALIEN MOTHERSHIP. The sighting in the clouds is reminiscent of scenes from the 1996 Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day. Aliens tried destroy the earth massive using circular ships to zap the planet...

Saudi Arabia is weighing buying an advanced Russian missile system to shore up its defence against a potentially nuclear Iran, Gulf analysts and diplomats said. They said Moscow and Riyadh are close to sealing a deal on a multi-billion-dollar weapons package that could include Russia's advanced S-400 missile defence system. It is the newest version of the S-300 long-range surface to air missile system that Moscow has been in discussion for several years to sell to Iran, which denies Western charges of aiming to become a nuclear power. But heavy Western and Israeli pressure and a possibly more lucrative deal...

The Post & Email has received tonight a decclassified FBI report admitted in evidence in the case brought against W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller by President Jimmy Carter’s U.S. Attorney General, Mr. Griffin B. Bell. This document was obtained by an American citizen, who wished to remain anonymous, via a FOIA request. Mr. W. Mark  Felt is none other than the informant who spoke with reporters from the Washington Post, exposing the Watergate Scandal:  who went by the name “Deep Throat” a fact that points to his political neutrality in American politics.What is not know about Mr. Felt...

Treason!   USA sold us to Russia.   ( http://www.efakt.pl/Zdrada-USA-sprzedaly-nas-Rosji,artykuly,52626,1.html ) (translation from Polish)[The end of anti-missile shield! Americans break promises. There will be neither a US base in Poland nor a radar in Czech Rep.What about our security now?! We've been left on the thin ice.] The strategic ally? The solid rock of our national security? The end of illusions. United States, which could always rely on us, turned its back to us. The President of USA just threw to the garbage bin  the project of building the Anti-Missile Shield in Poland and Czech Rep. The powerful military fascility could strengthen our...

President Obama is making so many foreign-policy blunders that he is starting to make us yearn for the national-security acumen of the Carter administration. His official announcement scrapping the planned missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic was long expected but still landed with a thud. It is hard to remember a strategic choice that is so obviously wrong on so many levels.

The Soviet Union was never comfortable living in the same world with the Vatican. The most recent disclosures document that the Kremlin was prepared to go to any lengths to counter the Catholic Church’s strong anti-Communism. In March 2006 an Italian parliamentary commission concluded “beyond any reasonable doubt that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla,” in retaliation for his support to the dissident Solidarity movement in Poland. In January 2007, when documents disclosed that the newly appointed archbishop of Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus, had collaborated with Poland’s Communist-era political police, he admitted...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported promise to Israeli President Shimon Peres that Moscow will reconsider the sale of powerful S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran could determine whether Israel - and the United States for that matter - launches pre-emptive strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. "President Medvedev promised to review this issue once again after I explained that it would have an impact on the balance of forces in our region," Peres said Wednesday following his meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow on Tuesday. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran's controversial nuclear program for many months because the Jewish...

Dogs in Moscow are ubiquitous, whether they are homeless or housebroken. Those who live on the streets can be found on almost every corner looking for food; those who have owners, like this dachshund near a pond in the Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo region of northern Moscow, have a more leisurely lifestyle.

Two Russian military jets collide Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets have collided during rehearsals for a flying display at a big air show near Moscow. "The jets collided about 5km (3 miles) from Zhukovsky airfield," RIA news agency quoted a witness as saying. Two pilots from the elite Russian Knights aerobatic team parachuted to safety, Russian media said. But the fate of a third pilot is unclear, with unconfirmed reports that he died in the accident, RIA-Novosti and Interfax news agencies said.

ZHUKOVSKY, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - President Barack Obama has banned U.S. Air Force planes from participating in MAKS-2009 air show in Russia citing the ongoing economic crisis, the show organizer said on Friday. "Eight U.S. aircraft were originally set to be showcased at MAKS and two more to participate in demonstration flights. But the U.S. president's last-minute decision was not to send the planes, which is due to economic, rather than political, reasons," said Vladimir Borisov of the Aviasalon firm. Earlier reports said over 711 companies, including 465 Russian firms, will participate in the biennial air show outside Moscow...

For anyone with Cold War–era naval experience, it’s déjà-vu all over again. Russia has announced its intention, long suspected by Western observers, to improve its forward naval base at Tartus, Syria, and increase its support capacity for warships. During the Soviet era, the base at Tartus was in constant use, but only a handful of brief warship visits have been made there since 1991. Soviet reconnaissance aircraft also used to fly regularly from a nearby airbase and coastal- and air-defense missiles were installed to protect the Soviet-navy assets. Now Russia’s remaining aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, has visited twice in the...

Another eyewitness account, emailed to us from a very close friend. Made my way down the west side of Laleh Park, large crowd was gathered around a radio listening to Rafi give the sermons, moved down to Keshavarz Blvd, where people had already started to taunt the bassijis who look like teenagers with Darth Vader helmets that was one size too big for them. The main slogans were “Baradar’e basiji chera Baradr Koshi” (”Brother basiji, why do you kill your brother?”, the speaker after Rafi was urging people to shout “death to America” and “death to Israel” people responded in...

This brave woman wrote this about the role of military in today'sa Russia http://obozrevatel.com/news/2008/8/26/255012.htm It is in Russian but i strongly suggest that you read it with the help of http://translate.google.com/translate_t# She explains that Russia basically ruled by GRU of General Staff which is highest military intelligence body in Russia. It is The most disturbing news coming from a very high level expert in russian military affairs. And she was badly punished for that. In my opinion it is a pure miracle that she is still alive. ------------------------------------------- This is what heppened to her. ------------------------------------------- I have been released after...

MOSCOW — If Paris is for lovers, it looks like Moscow is for families. After passing on dinner with the French president to go on a date in the City of Light with his wife last month, President Obama took leave of his Russian hosts on Tuesday night to seclude himself in his Moscow hotel with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters. The first family enjoyed a relaxed evening at the O2 Lounge, the super-chic, super-pricey rooftop club at the new Ritz-Carlton, although no doubt the Secret Service first cleared the place of most if not all of the swaggering...

Yikes! Obama Screws Up Story of How He Met Michelle (Moscow Video)Politico: “I don’t know if anybody else will meet their future wife or husband in class like I did, but I’m sure that you’re all going to have wonderful careers,” he said as he warmed up the audience before delivering a commencement speech at an economics school in Moscow Tuesday. Obama seemed to be playing off an introduction that referred to him meeting his future wife, Michelle Robinson, while he was a student. But the truth is that the couple met not “in class” but at a law firm...

NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Tuesday to consider Russia's concerns on missile defense and to respect Moscow's interests in the post-Soviet space, a senior Russian government official said. "Obama said Russia's concerns would be given more consideration when discussing [missile defense plans]," said Yury Ushakov, a deputy chief of staff at the Russian government. Obama has shown less interest than President George Bush in opening a missile interceptor base in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, which Moscow fiercely opposes as a security threat. According to Ushakov, Obama and Russian...

Obama's claim that "in 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonising other countries. The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over" will have drawn mirthless laughter in Moscow. That is precisely how many Russians see the US behaving around the world, particularly in the Middle East. If national sovereignty is paramount in Georgia, they routinely ask, why not in Serbia and Kosovo? The speech was not televised on the major Russian channels and the applause inside the lecture hall was polite. Russia is not vulnerable to Obamania....

MOSCOW, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President Barack Obama began his first meeting with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday morning at the Russian prime minister's country residence outside Moscow. Obama, on his first visit to Russia since becoming president, held extensive talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, resulting in a framework agreement for a new strategic arms reduction treaty. After exchanging pleasantries, Putin told Obama that Russia is hoping for better relations with the U.S., following the disagreements that arose with the previous administration. "We link your name with our hopes for the development of Russian-U.S. relations," he...

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday it is necessary to link any resolution of the U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe with other countries' interests. "No one says missile defense is in itself harmful or creates a threat to someone. On the contrary, it is aimed at resolving a number of specific problems. The issue is to link this or that missile defense configuration with other countries' interests," Medvedev said at a joint news conference after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Moscow. Medvedev also said the Obama administration, unlike its predecessor,...

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and the United States signed on Monday an agreement on military transit, both overland and by air, via Russian territory to Afghanistan. The deal was signed at Kremlin talks during President Barack Obama's first visit to Russia and was praised by the U.S. leader as Moscow's willingness to help in the war against the Taliban. Russia was reported to allow 4,500 flights a year to carry U.S. troops and weapons to the country across its territory free of charge. "President Medvedev and I have agreed on the need to combat the threat of...

July 6, 2009 Barack Obama makes basic error over balance of power in Kremlin Tony Halpin. President Obama has made his first mistake in Russia even before he arrives in Moscow today. His attempt to cast Vladimir Putin as yesterday’s man and to drive a wedge between the Prime Minister and President Medvedev demonstrates a misreading of relations in the Kremlin. Mr Medvedev is in office but not in power and whether he becomes President in more than name depends on Mr Putin’s support and intentions. Mr Medvedev may represent a more accommodating face of Russia but this is only...

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Sexual minorities have dropped plans for a protest outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow during President Barack Obama's visit, citing security concerns, Russian media reported on Monday. Activists had intended to gather near the embassy on Tuesday, the second day of Obama's visit to Moscow, to protest against bans on gay pride parades in the Russian capital and to demand that same-sex unions be made legal in the country. Organizers cited heightened security measures during the American leader's first visit to Moscow on July 6-8 as a reason for calling off the action. Moscow...

In Moscow have already arrived «Boeing» from the «good squad» American delegation. . In one of them - incredibly navorochenny Presidential «Cadillac» with two machine guns (see detailed map). It was, however, does not mention an important piece - say that in the bottom of the machine is «special metallic liquid», which, in the event of a disaster or disruption of the car will not let him roll. During the flight «Boeing» Obama over Russia will be vigilant of our on-call forces the Air Force and Air Defense. The airfield landing now comes in a double ring «environment» air defense...

Russian and US media continue to discuss the forthcoming official visit of US President Barack Obama to Russia on July 6-8. Obama gave an exclusive interview to Itar-Tass news agency and Russia TV Channel. In his first-ever interview for the Russia media, the US president spoke about the relations between the two countries and shared his thoughts about the Russian leaders – President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The interview will be broadcast on July 4 on Russia TV Channel. The US president said that the recent years of the US-Russian relations left much to be desired. Mr....

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has cancelled plans to visit Moscow with President Barack Obama and will send someone in her place, a State Department official said Wednesday.

Wooing Moscow by: Emily Kanyi, June 25, 2009 Days ahead of the President’s planned visit speculations are rife in Washington as to what the outcome of his Moscow trip will be. During a June 24, 2009 conference held at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C. based think tank, a panel of experts expressed little hope that Obama’s visit will succeed in mending relations between the two countries. “Whatever optimism there might be about Obama reaching out to Russia [is] unrealistic,” said David Satter, a senior fellow at Hudson and former Moscow correspondent. Satter called for the President to exercise caution...

Moscow , June 19 Russia will shoot down the North Korean missile if it strays towards its air space, a top military official today said, even as the country's military is monitoring in "real time" the preparations of its renegade neighbour. "If the North Korean missile would veer towards us, we will shoot it down. All our air and missile defence means are ready for this," Deputy Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen Aleksandr Burutin was quoted as saying by' Vesti FM's radio.

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

MOSCOW -- Russians are marking the Day of Russia with mixed feelings, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. June 12 has been commemorated as the Day of Russia since 2002, but it symbolizes both the rebirth of Russia and the demise of the Soviet Union, which many Russians still regret. From 1990-2001 it was known as the Day of Russia's Sovereignty, as Moscow declared its sovereignty on June 12, 1990, one year before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Former Russian Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Baburin says that the day should be marked as the "day of unhappiness" because it was the...

MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's sexual minorities plan to gather in Moscow in favor of same-sex unions during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit on July 7, the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported on Tuesday. The parade organizer Nikolai Alekseev said participants of the unauthorized event are expected to demand that Russian authorities make same-sex civil unions in the country legal. Alekseev wrote in his livejournal: "Since Obama's arrival at the White House the issue of sexual minorities has reached significant progress." In the U.S. there are currently six states where gay marriage is allowed. Meanwhile, he criticized the U.S....

Decription President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder Neil L. Andersen visit the Russian Union of the Gospel Christians Baptist church in Moscow Apostles Recall Historic Sermon by Ezra Taft Benson at a Moscow Baptist Church MOSCOW 5 June 2009 Amid their meetings with members and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia and Ukraine this week, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency and Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles paused for a tour of a historic Baptist church in Moscow that hosted another senior Church leader nearly 50...

Naomi Campbell has become a frequent guest to Moscow after she developed a close relationship with Russian oligarch Vladislav Doronin. In the beginning of May, the couple enjoyed each other on Spain’s iconic Ibiza. “Naomi and Vladislav dine either at Pushkin or at Bolshoi restaurants – they are very expensive restaurants in Moscow. Vlad always looks like a very serious man. He is always up to every move. Naomi is his antipode – she always like to have fun,” a person close to the oligarch told The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper on conditions of anonymity. Last week, the couple joined their...

Riot police broke up several gay rights demonstrations in Moscow on Saturday, hauling away scores of protesters hours before the capital hosted a major international pop music competition. No injuries were reported, but the detentions could damage Russia's reputation on gay rights and its image as a modern nation, as the country tries to play gracious host during an event being televised around the world. City officials had warned they would not tolerate marches or rallies supporting the rights of gays and lesbians. Activists had targeted Moscow, which was holding the finals of the Eurovision song contest, to press their...

MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow police detained on Saturday about 40 people, who had allegedly taken part in an unsanctioned gay parade, a police spokesman said. The head of the Gay Russia project Nikolai Alekseyev, U.S. gay rights activist Andy Thayer, and Peter Tatchell from the U.K. were among those detained in the capital's southwest a few hours ago. "They were detained not for breaking the law, but as a warning that holding events unsanctioned by the authorities is unacceptable. After a cautionary talk and establishing all their identities, the detainees will be released," he said. Moscow police...

MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow police will stop any attempts by organizers to hold an unauthorized gay parade due to take place in the Russian capital on May 16, a deputy head of the police public order department said Friday. Earlier gay parade organizers said they would still go ahead with plans for a "Slavic gay parade," involving not only Russian nationals but guests from Belarus as well. The organizers have also called on foreigners attending the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow to join them. "Police officers have clear instructions to prevent public order violations, including the...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Moscow has banned a gay parade planned to coincide with its hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest because it will "destroy morals" in the capital, a spokesman for the city's mayor said Thursday. Gay rights activists have staged small unsanctioned parades in Moscow without government approval over the past few years. But they have faced arrests and severe beatings by anti-gay and neo-fascist groups. "The Moscow government is saying: Moscow has never had gay parades and it never will," said Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's spokesman, Sergei Tsoi. "Not only do they destroy morals within our society, but they...

Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Blog Details Russian Official: Iran, Russia – Regional Powers The vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia said yesterday that Iran and Russia are the two leading regional countries that play an important role in ensuring stability in the region. Georgy Petrov told IRNA that the two countries enjoy amicable cooperation that benefit the Caspian Sea littoral countries, the Caucasus, and the Central Asian states. He said that the "Tehran-Moscow cooperation threatens no country," and added that gas cooperation between Iran and Russia is not only within the framework...

MOSCOW – A Moscow district police chief opened fire on the street and in a supermarket early Monday, killing three people and wounding seven others — four of them critically, Russian investigators said. Police Maj. Denis Yevsyukov, who heads a southern Moscow police department, opened fire just after midnight and was detained after killing a driver, a supermarket cashier and customer, federal investigators said in a statement. Yevsyukov, whose wife had recently left him, finished his late shift Sunday and hitched a ride to the supermarket, Moscow police chief Vladimir Pronin told Russian television. Yevsyukov was in civilian clothes, with...

ANOTHER RUSSIAN fighting for human rights and the rule of law has been murdered in Vladimir Putin's Moscow. Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who defended Chechens brutalized by Russian troops and journalists who wrote about the abuses, was shot in the head yesterday by a masked man carrying a silencer-equipped pistol. An opposition journalist who tried to intervene, Anastasia Baburova, was also fatally shot in the head. This occurred in broad daylight, on a busy street in central Moscow less than half a mile from the Kremlin. It was another demonstration that assassinations are a dominating feature of political life under...

As fears grow regarding Russia’s growing militancy and seemingly anti-western posturing after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that he will deploy a short-range missile system on the doorstep of the EU in the enclave of kalingrad a prominent Jewish Refusenik has stated that the US will be at war with Russia within five years.

BOGOTA (AFP) – A flood of Russian weapons recently sold to Latin American governments could unleash an arms race in the already volatile region, Washington's ambassador to Colombia warned in remarks published in local media here Sunday. "It's important to proceed carefully in introducing new weapons and weapons systems in the hemisphere," said US ambassador William Brownfield, speaking to the El Tiempo newspape