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I am writing a novel set in Russia and need some help with airplanes. Does anyone you know the make of any Russian plane that would regularly fly into the coldest regions? I flew into Enta (Komi Republic) one time and landed on skis. (rear loading, about 15-20 pax) It was surreal. And cool, I mean cold! :-) Thanks for any help.

US officials say Israel targeted advanced anti-ship cruise missiles near Syria's principal port city, Latakia, in an air attack this month, the New York Times reported. The officials say the attack on 5 July near Latakia targeted a type of Russian-made missile called the Yakhont that Russia had sold to the Syrian government, the paper's website reported. Russia is a key political ally and arms supplier of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime. The officials provided no details on the strike, including the extent of the damage and how many missiles were used. The Times reported that the officials declined to...

First appearance in the West

A Russian rocket crash yesterday (July 1) was likely caused by an emergency shutdown of the booster's engines 17 seconds into the flight, according to news reports. The unmanned Russian Proton-M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstanat 10:38 p.m. EDT (0238 GMT). The crash of the 17-story booster destroyed three onboard navigation satellites, which were worth almost $200 million. Video of the rocket crash from Russian state-run Rossiya-24 television shows the vehicle veering off course shortly after liftoff, and then breaking apart in mid-air and exploding in a fiery blaze once it hit the ground. The rocket was...

Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday offered Russian replacements for the peacekeeping force Austria wants to withdraw from the Golan Heights. Austria said it was concerned about the safety of its 370 soldiers because the conflict in Syria has spread to a strategic border crossing. Security conditions have deteriorated in the area around the U.N. Golan Heights headquarters since the Quneitra crossing became the site of a clash between Syrian and rebel forces, CNN reported Friday. Austria's announcement it will remove its soldiers slashes the number of U.N. troops in the Golan Heights by one-third. Filipino and Indian peacekeepers will remain...

Moldavian bishop Marcellus of Beltsy and Faleshty (Russian Orthodox Church) called on the Moldavian MPs to revoke the bill on equal rights. As the Moldavian media reports his statement, in the opposite case he’ll propose excommunication of the MPs. He said he had granted the MPs one-month term for the decision, “hoping that it’ll be enough to understand there’re other moral values apart from those which the EU is pressing”. The law adopted on May, 25 2012, has split the Moldavian society for two fractions. The country has adopted it since the EU had put it as a condition to...

"Seven smuggled forged 'eye scan pass' seals into UAE Seven Uzbeks, including a woman, brought 60 seals through Abu Dhabi and Sharjah airports" SNIPPET: "Seven Uzbeks, including a woman, allegedly smuggled 60 forged eye scan seals into the UAE through Abu Dhabi and Sharjah airports and used them, the Dubai Criminal Court heard."

 SNIPPET: "We also confiscated in his car some forged stamps. He confessed to getting the stamps from MJA who in turn had got them from MYY,” he testified. 

Searching his two flats in Al Nahda area, police confiscated ten other eye scan pass seals in addition to...

Due to the background of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the half-Chechen half-Avar brothers who bombed the Boston marathon, many Americans are suddenly very interested in the tortured history of the North Caucasus. I can’t credibly claim to be an expert on the multitudinous ethnic and linguistic groups that populate the area, so if you’re looking for in-depth analysis of Chechen politics, a data-driven account of the economics of Dagestan, or a blow-by-blow account of the past 20 years of the region’s history you should look somewhere else. If you’re still wondering “where in God’s name is Chechnya?” or “why are...

by John HillStand With ArizonaWebsite | Facebook | Twitter The failure of this Administration to protect our homeland from jihadist threats - despite clear warnings before the Boston attacks - continues to be exposed. And it also calls into serious question how the FBI and DHS can be trusted to handle the increased numbers of asylum visas called for under the 'Gang of 8' immigration bill. As we reported on April 19, the FBI was warned by a "foreign government" - reportedly Russia - that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a "follower of radical Islam" with a potential for "terrorist activities". The...

Multiple sources have identified Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, as the remaining suspect in the Boston marathon bombings. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, has been identified as the first suspect and died overnight following a firefight with police. NBC News' Pete Williams said earlier Friday morning that the two suspects likely had "foreign military training," and had been in the country for about a year. Later he said they were brothers, and added, "They were legal permanent residents. They were in this country legally, at least a year. They appear to be from Turkey, possibly Chechens from Turkey. That seems to...

One hundred Russian Jewish notables urged Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore recent pleas by American Jews calling on the Israeli prime minister to cede land for peace. In an open letter from Russia published Tuesday, the Russian Jews wrote that their message was a reaction to the April 3 letter initiated by the dovish Israel Policy Forum by 100 American Jews, including philanthropists Charles Bronfman, Danny Abraham, Lester Crown and Stanley Gold, and former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Dov Zakheim. Among the signers of the Russian letter were the president of the Russian Jewish Congress, Yuri Kanner, and businessman Mikhail Fridman,...

Apparently America has too many jobs so Obama will be spending taxpayer money to support Russia’s defense industry on behalf of Afghanistan. And he’s doing so over the bipartisan objections of Congress from both the right and left and a ban on buying them written into the NDAA. The US Department of Defense said Thursday it plans to sidestep a Congressional ban to purchase 30 helicopters from Russian state-owned defense firm Rosoboronexport, despite objections from US lawmakers who allege that the firm has equipped the Syrian government to commit brutal crimes against civilians.

In Russia, most analysts, politicians and ordinary citizens believe in the unlimited might of America, and thus reject the notion that the US has made, and continues to make, mistakes in the [Middle East]. Instead, they assume it’s all a part of a complex plan to restructure the world and to spread global domination,” writes Fyodor Lukyanov ... It’s instructive to view ourselves through a Russian mirror. The term “paranoid Russian” is a pleonasm. “The fact is that all Russian politicians are clever. The stupid ones are all dead. By contrast, America in its complacency promotes dullards. A deadly miscommunication...

Quick question about the phrase: Не имей сто рублей, а имей сто друзей. English: "Don't have a hundred rubles; have a hundrfed friends." The question is: Does this seemingly innocent phrase have a double meaning in Russian? Besides the obvious "have a lot of friends (and be poor)" meaning, Can it also mean - in context, "Better watch your back..."?? I have tried out this phrase with my poor Russian through the years to various Russians and they have not received the phrase well. Maybe it was my awful Russian, I don't know. This all has to do with a...

A Russian cruise ship with only rats aboard is floating aimlessly in the North Atlantic, hundreds of miles off the coast of Newfoundland after breaking loose from a tugboat. The MV Lyubov Orlova — named after an iconic Russian film actress — was being towed to a scrapyard in the Dominican Republic when a cable snapped, leaving the 295-foot vessel adrift. A brief effort to re-secure the boat was abandoned days later due to rough seas. As of Tuesday, the ship was roughly 760 miles off the coast of Newfoundland and 1,125 miles from Ireland, a U.S. intelligence agency told...

Poring over crowd-sourced footage, researchers Jorge Zuluaga and Ignacio Ferrin from the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, were able to use "simple trigonometry to calculate the height, speed, and position of the rock as it fell to Earth," says BBC News. More importantly, the duo was able to find out where Russia's most famous meteor was likely born. Using astronomy software developed by the U.S. Naval Observatory, Zuluaga and Ferrin gathered enough data to trace the meteoroid's origins in outer space. The information included the meteor's relative angle to the horizon, the shadows it cast, and video timestamps of...

Russian nuclear bombers intercepted near Guam U.S. military officials tell NBC News that two Russian bombers, capable of carrying nuclear cruise missiles, circled the U.S. island of Guam in the Western Pacific this week. U.S. Air Force F-15 jets scrambled from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam to intercept the bombers. According to one military official, the Russian Bear bombers remained in international airspace, the encounter between the U.S. and Russian aircraft “stayed professional” and there was no incident. The official said it’s impossible to determine whether the Russian bombers carried any nuclear weapons.

<p>On Wednesday, a private yacht sailed slowly and quietly up the Hudson River and docked near midtown Manhattan. This wasn't just any yacht, however. It was Eclipse -- the largest private yacht in the world. And its presence is sure to touch off a frenzy of speculation about its owners and future.</p>

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...