Russia 111005 Basic Political Developments

Development of S-500 air defense systems behind schedule - paper

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20111005/167395154.html
07:11 05/10/2011

MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti)

The development of Russia's formidable S-500 air defense system is lagging behind schedule by at least two years, the Izvestia daily said on Wednesday citing a defense industry source.

According to the source, the first prototypes will be ready and tested by 2015, while the deliveries to the Russian army could start in 2017 at the earliest.

"The production cycle of this system is about two years. Therefore, even if the prototypes are ready by 2015, the military will not receive production models earlier than in 2017," the source said.

A source in the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the earlier announced schedule of S-500 deliveries in 2015 was "too optimistic," as the prototypes should have already been undergoing field tests to meet the deadlines.

The S-500, a long-range air defense missile system, is expected to become the backbone of a unified aerospace defense system being formed in Russia.

The system is expected to have an extended range of up to 600 km (over 370 miles) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets.

The Russian military has demanded that the system must be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles and plans to order at least ten S-500 battalions for the future Russian Aerospace Defense.

Russian Space Forces to conduct 14 rocket launches by yearend

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111005/167393714.html
05:18 05/10/2011

MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's Space Forces will carry out 14 launches of various carrier rockets until the end of 2011, SF commander Lt. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko said.

"About 14 launches will be carried out from the Plesetsk and Baikonur space centers," Ostapenko told reporters on Tuesday.

He added that the list includes test launches of ballistic missiles and scheduled space launches.

Earlier reports indicated that the SF would be responsible for the launch of at least three additional Glonass-M satellites by the end of 2011 to complete the Glonass satellite navigation grouping.

Russia currently has a total of 28 Glonass satellites in orbit, although only 23 of them are operational.

The complete Glonass grouping must have 24 operational and 2-3 reserve satellites for the Glonass network to operate with global coverage.

No privatization of nuclear icebreakers before 2017 – Atomic Fleet

http://www.interfax.co.uk/

5/10/11 8:37AM GMT

MURMANSK. Oct 5 (Russian Military News) – Privatization of nuclear powered icebreakers will not be possible before 2017, said Andrei Smirnov, Deputy General…

http://www.ria.ru/economy/20111005/449687602.html

Приватизация атомных ледоколов в России начнется не ранее 2017 года

09:44 05/10/2011

Russia to sell off its nuclear ice-breaker fleet

http://rt.com/news/prime-time/nuclear-icebreaker-fleet-russia-065/
Published: 4 October, 2011, 22:32
Edited: 4 October, 2011, 22:32

A state-run company that operates atomic ice-breakers in Russia may soon become private.

AtomFleet has been removed from the list of previously untouchable assets.

This, however, does not mean the state is going to sell it off completely. The presidential order is expected to allow the fleet to be put up for auction, while still keeping 100 per cent of it as state property under the supervision of RosAtom.

Military specialists say the main reason behind the move is economic. Ever since the company became part of state-owned RosAtom, the losses experienced have amounted to millions of dollars annually. Private companies operating in northern Russia immediately started looking for cheaper alternatives.

The situation was worsened by the growing popularity of diesel ice-breakers. As a result, the demand for nuclear-powered icebreakers went down, while the maintenance cost of nuclear-powered icebreakers remained the same, making them highly unprofitable to operate.

Russia has been the only country to produce nuclear-powered icebreakers. Currently, Russia’s atomic fleet owns four two-reactor icebreakers (“Rossiya”, “Soviet Union”, “Yamal”, and “50 Years of Victory”), two one-reactor icebreakers (“Taimyr” and “Vaigach”), the “Sevmorput” container ship, and five floating technical aid units.

Nuclear icebreakers are not the only pieces of Russian equipment rumored to be put aside.

Earlier there were media reports that the Russian Navy was getting rid of its most powerful submarines, the Typhoon class.

Designed to carry big nuclear warheads, the Typhoon-class submarines are the largest in the world. However, their immense size was said to be the main reason why the country decided to decommission the underwater veterans.

The vessels, it was said, did not meet the terms of the new START treaty signed by Russia and the US in the spring of 2010. The long-awaited treaty considerably limited the strategic arsenals of each country to 1,550 nuclear warheads.

The rumors, however, proved to be a hoax.

"Eurasian Union - priority for Putin" - official

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/05/58190384.html
Oct 5, 2011 11:18 Moscow Time

The creation of 'the Eurasian Union' will be one the priorities for Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is to run for the presidency in March, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. 

According to him, the member states of the Eurasian Union, which will comprise a number of CIS countries will keep their political sovereignty, while the management of the national economies will be integrated to the maximum.

He named the EU as the closest model to the Eurasian Union.

In particular, Moscow would like to establish a single currency for the Eurasian Union with a single emission center.

On Tuesday, the idea of establishing the Eurasian Union was presented by Putin in his article in the Izvestia newspaper. (Interfax)  

04:57 05/10/2011ALL NEWS

No one knew in advance about decision announced at URP congress

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/239870.html

MOSCOW, October 5 (Itar-Tass) — The governing tandem's decision made public by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the recent congress of the United Russia party (URP) was an absolute surprise to everyone, Dmitry Peskov, the Premier's press secretary, told the Dozhd (rain) television channel on Tuesday night in a live broadcast, acknowledging that he was "dumbfounded" by such a decision.

"No one knew about that. If someone asserts that he knew that in advance, he tells you a lie. I did not think that that would happen so early. It seemed to me that that would be done closer to the elections," the press secretary said, assuring the TV channel audience that he, just as all his colleagues, had learned about the decision only at the moment of its being made public.

At the end of September, at the URP congress, Putin suggested that Medvedev head the URP Federal list at the State Duma elections and later on head the country's government. The President, for his part, stated that the now Premier must be a URP candidate at the forthcoming presidential elections.

03:18 05/10/2011ALL NEWS

Kudrin refusal to work in future govt no affront -- Peskov

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/239863.html

MOSCOW, October 5 (Itar-Tass) — The refusal by ex-Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin to work in a future government if it is headed by Dmitry Medvedev should not be regarded as an affront, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, told the Dozhd (rain) television channel on Tuesday night in a live broadcast.

"The words about disagreement either with Putin or Medvedev cannot and should not be interpreted as a personal affront in any way," Peskov said. The press secretary's opinion is that such words can be only perceived as unpreparedness or unwillingness to work together with this or that superior.

Peskov also pointed out that Kudrin's pronouncements were made by him without clarifications or explanations, which was "incompatible with the position held by Kudrin in the Cabinet of Ministers".

At the end of September Alexei Kudrin, who was attending a session of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, stated that he was not planning to work in a new government after the 2012 presidential polls, if it is headed by the now Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Kudrin said his attitude is accounted for by the existence of a number of differences between him and Medvedev over economic policy. In reply, the Russian president demanded that Kudrin give explanations, and then suggested that he tender his resignation.

On September 26, Kudrin, after taking counsel with Prime Minister Putin, petitioned Medvedev in a request to relieve him of the duties of Vice-Premier and Finance Minister.