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MOSCOW -- The artistic director of Russia's Bolshoi Ballet says he has forgiven the attacker who splashed acid in his face and has pledged to return to the stage.His head shaven and a bandage around his neck, Sergei Filin told a Russian television station from his hospital room that he was determined to return to work despite his injuries. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Filin, 42, suffered severe burns during the attack on his way home from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow late on Jan. 18. Doctors have performed two operations on each...

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian news agencies say the navy is sending another ship to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia has a naval base.

MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Two gunmen shot dead a ruling party official on Tuesday in Russia's North Caucasus, where the Kremlin is fighting to subdue an Islamist insurgency, investigators said. Unknown assailants burst into Boris Zherukov's office in Nalchik, capital of the province of Kabardino-Balkaria, and shot him twice in the head, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement. Zherukov was head of President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party faction in the local parliament. He was also rector of the local State Agricultural University. Insurgents fighting to carve an Islamic state out of a patchwork of mainly Muslim...

  "German Islamists Target Youth on the Internet" By Christoph Sydow 11/01/2012 "Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan." PHOTO CAPTION: "A growing community of German-speaking Islamists has developed on the Internet. Aiming to find new recruits, they glorify jihad and call for attacks on Germany. A new study warns that such online propaganda might foster a new generation of terrorists." SNIPPET: "International terrorist groups like al-Qaida recognized the importance of the Internet for recruiting new supporters early on." SNIPPET: "Intelligence services can also take advantage of the anonymity of Internet forums to deliberately plant false information or obtain insider...

A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine cruised within 200 miles of the East Coast recently in the latest sign Russia is continuing to flex its naval and aerial power against the United States, defense officials said. The submarine was identified by its NATO designation as a Russian Seirra-2 class submarine believed to be based with Russia’s Northern Fleet. It was the first time that class of Russian submarine had been detected near a U.S. coast, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of anti-submarine warfare efforts. One defense official said the submarine was believed to...

Russian attack sub discovered just 200 miles from the East Coast and given safe harbor from Hurricane SandyBy Daily Mail Reporter UPDATED: 00:15 EST, 6 November 2012 U.S. defense officials are downplaying the potential threat of a Russian attack sub detected just 200 miles from the East Coast and given safe harbor in Florida during Hurricane Sandy. The Russian Seirra-2 class submarine was believed to be part of the country's Northern Fleet, outfitted with SS-N-21 anti-submarine warfare missiles, SS-N-16 anti-submarine warfare missiles, and torpedos. **SNIP** Officials said the submarine was likely conducting anti-submarine warfare efforts against U.S. ballistic and cruise...

A senior Russian general has said Syrian rebels now have anti-aircraft weapons, including US-made Stingers. Gen Nikolai Makarov was quoted by the Interfax news service as saying the origin of the surface-to-air missiles should be "cleared up". Russia is the biggest supplier of arms to its Syrian government ally. Aerial bombardment of rebel-held towns continued on Wednesday, as the UN's Syria envoy prepared to brief the Security Council on ceasefire efforts. Lakhdar Brahimi has been trying to arrange a ceasefire between rebels and government forces over the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, which begins on Friday. Weapon supplies "We have...

<p>Russia's top anti-terrorism agency announces deaths days after Vladimir Putin led meeting of country's security council.</p> <p>Russian security forces have killed 49 militants in an operation across the North Caucasus region, where rebels are fighting to carve out an Islamic state, Russia's top anti-terrorism body has said.</p>

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/2012/russian-agent-and-10-other-members-of-procurement-network-for-russian-military-and-intelligence-operating-in-the-u.s.-and-russia-indicted-in-new-york Russian Agent and 10 Other Members of Procurement Network for Russian Military and Intelligence Operating in the U.S. and Russia Indicted in New York Defendants Also Include Texas- and Russia-Based Corporations; 165 Persons and Companies ‘Designated’ by Commerce Department U.S. Attorney’s Office October 03, 2012 BROOKLYN, NY—An indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging 11 members of a Russian military procurement network operating in the United States and Russia, as well as a Texas-based export company and a Russia-based procurement firm, with illegally...

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What's going on with our United States Armed Forces? Why are there so many Russians working at our State-Side Military Bases, in the Base Exchange, Commissary, and at the Base Gates as contractor guards, checking our I.D.s ? Has Obama sold us out to the Russians?

The Democratic National Convention’s final night included a stirring tribute to America’s veterans from a retired naval four-star admiral, complete with a backdrop of jets flying over a row of proud warships. But convention organizers may soon regret it. Norman Polmar, author of “The Naval Institute Guide to the Soviet Navy” and other military handbooks, told the Navy Times on Tuesday that the ships were Russian vessels. “The ships are definitely Russian,” Polmar told the military newspaper. “There’s no question of that in my mind.” The ships depicted in the Democrats’ backdrop had radar designs that the U.S. fleet doesn’t...

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Last month, the Russia Navy announced it was assembling a task force in the Mediterranean: a frigate, two corvettes, five landing craft (with, 3 reinforced Marines companys ) and a tanker. “to defend Russian shipping in the event of a naval blockade" of Syria by NATO naval forces. By the end of July, the two landing ships from the Black Sea fleet returned to Sevastopol. This month, the three landing craft from the North Fleet remaining “are planned to dock in Tartus” – the Russian naval base in Syria. After docking in Tartus, the Russian military command planned to send...

Recently there was another media report of a Russian SSN (attack sub) that was alleged to have recently operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks. This attracted the attention of professional submariners (especially retired ones, who could post more freely on the Internet). It was quickly determined that this was likely a made up story as attempts to trace it back to the source ended at the politically funded, as in 501(C)4, web site. The U.S. and Russian Navy refused to comment and attempts to confirm the incident have come up empty. Moreover, no law was broken...

If Dmitry Itskov's 2045 initiative plays out as planned, humans will have the option of living forever with the help of machines in only 33 years. It may sound ridiculous, but the 31-year-old Russian mogul is dead serious about neuroscience, android robotics, and cybernetic immortality. He has already pulled together a team of leading Russian scientists intent on creating fully functional holographic human avatars that house artificial brains which contain a person's complete consciousness - in other words, a humanoid robot. Together, they've laid out an ambitious course of action that would see the team transplant a human brain...

A Russian border patrol ship in the Sea of Japan opened fire on a schooner poaching under the Chinese flag, a news report said Tuesday. The crew of the Dzerzhinsky spotted the Chinese vessel Monday within Russia's exclusive economic zone and attempted to contact it, a border patrol spokesman told RIA-Novosti. But the ship did not respond and attempted to escape, prompting a three-hour pursuit in which Russian border guards first fired warning shots, then collided with the vessel and fired on it directly as the crew of the schooner tried to resist being boarded by Russian troops.

White House press secretary Jay Carney had an odd exchange with a reporter at today's press briefing—in Russian! Via the official White House transcript: Q (Speaks in Russian.) MR. CARNEY: (Speaks in Russian.) Q (Speaks in Russian.) Here's video: And here's the full context of the exchange, via the White House transcript: Q One final question. Do you believe there is any international mechanism for producing a result in Syria without Russia and China? MR. CARNEY: We’ve made very clear that Russia and China and the United States have disagreements about Syria, and that we strongly disagree with the vetoes...

A Russian ship believed to be carrying helicopters and missiles for Syria has been effectively stopped in its tracks off the coast of Scotland after its insurance was cancelled at the behest of the British government. The British marine insurer Standard Club said it had withdrawn cover from all the ships owned by Femco, a Russian cargo line, including the MV Alaed. "We were made aware of the allegations that the Alaed was carrying munitions destined for Syria," the company said in a statement. "We have already informed the ship owner that their insurance cover ceased automatically in view of...

A contingent of Russian special forces is on its way to Syria to guard the Russian navy’s deep-water port at the Syria’s Mediterranean coastal town of Tartus, Pentagon officials informed US NBC TV Friday, June 15. They are coming by ship. According to debkafile’s sources, the contingent is made up of naval marines and is due to land in Syria in the coming hours. In a separate and earlier announcement, US Defense Department sources in Washington reported that the US military had completed its own planning for a variety of US operations against Syria, or for assisting neighboring countries in...