A key initiative of the Russian government is to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons. The arms industry has historically been a very important Russian export. However, it seems efforts to grow the domestic farm industry are paying off with agriculture exports currently running ahead of weapons shipments. Exports of…
The restrictions from the governor of the Novosibirsk region, Vladimir Gorodetsky, cover a wide array of employment sectors. His decree issued on Monday appears to be to protect key jobs for Russian citizens during a challenging economic period. It limits the areas where migrant workers – mainly from former Soviet…
“To all appearances, our Western colleagues have not yet become fully aware of the consequences of their military operations of the past few years in the countries of the Middle East and Africa,” Lavrov said, responding to a Russian state news agency TASS question. “They believed that they would destroy…
The Russian Defense Ministry has published video footage featuring the newest Sukhoi T-50 fifth generation fighter (PAK FA or Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation). The video was published for Russian Aerospace Force Day, reports Russia state news agency TASS.
Iran is set to begin negotiations on a new deal to buy Russian Sukhoi fighter jets, the country’s Defense Minister announced on Sunday. Speaking on Iranian television, Brigadier General Hossein Dehgan said that move made part of wider plans to develop the Iranian air force. Tehran has also recently received…
In a blow to the Obama administration’s feckless foreign policy in the Middle East, or a complete lack of one, NATO member Turkey seems set to join the Russia, Iran, Syria axis in the Middle East to support the Assad regime against the opposition and target the Islamic State. The…
Russian aircraft will be using the Shahid Nojeh air base in Hamedan for as long as it is required, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigade General Hossein Dehghan said during a news conference on Saturday. “For as long as they need,” he replied to a question for how long Russian aircraft will…
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko threatened to declare martial law in Ukraine if the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in East Ukraine worsens. Violence has escalated to the highest level since the Minsk peace accords were signed last year between the separatists, Russia, Ukraine an other Western powers. “If the situation escalates…
As a journalist and writer I have spent a great deal of time in Kiev, Ukraine. Last fall, I was introduced to the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and its head, Artem Sytnyk, former chief investigator of the Kiev Oblast. I spent an hour in person with his team…
The Russian navy is showing off its capability in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Syria where Russia has maintained a naval base at Tartus since the 1970s. Ships involved in the exercise include two corvettes, the Serpukhov and Zeleny Dol, armed with cruise missiles Russia used last year to…