Posts tagged as:

Military

Russian military manual now has chapter on cell phone use

October 23, 2008

I have it on good authority that the Russian military manual is being re-written to ensure that logistics officers prioritise the procurement of cell phones for the Russian army:
MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax-AVN) – Half of the Russian peacekeeping commanders’ communication in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict were made the use of cell phone services, provided by a [...]

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Russia to build 6 new aircraft carriers

July 29, 2008

Russia has announced ambitious plans to build six new aircraft carrier battle groups, a move which could return Russia to the top ranks of naval powers.

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Nikolai Makarov – the man to reform Russia’s military?

June 10, 2008

Nikolai Makarov is the Russian armed forces’ new Chief of Staff, and he has a mandate to reform one of Europe’s most powerful, yet backward, militaries.

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Georgia releases footage of Russian MiG shooting down drone

April 21, 2008

Amazing video footage of an (allegedly) Russian MiG shooting down a Georgian drone over Abkhazia.

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Russia writes off Libya debt – $4.6bn

April 18, 2008

Russia has written off Libya’s $4.6 billion debt in exchange for bilateral trade deals. The world’s attention has been on the arms deal, but lower profile deals are more valuable.

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Britain intercepts Russian bombers every week

April 5, 2008

British RAF jets are intercepting Russian Tu-95 bombers once a week, at a cost of $12 million a year.

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Russian bombers ‘buzz’ US aircraft carrier

February 13, 2008

This weekend Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers violated Japanese airspace and then, in their most audacious flight for a fair few years, went on to ‘buzz’ the US Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz. Not just once – twice.

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Khalkhin-Gol: The forgotten battle that shaped WW2

January 21, 2008

In August 1939, just weeks before Hitler invaded Poland, the Soviet Union and Japan fought the largest tank battle the world had ever seen

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Top Russian General: ‘Not Russia’s job to defend world from evil Americans’

November 20, 2007

Americans might well be evil, says Yuri Baluyevsky, Russia’s top General, but it ain’t Russia’s job to save the world!
“Today, there is no need to be afraid of the Russian Armed Forces. However, I do not believe that the Russian military is obliged to defend the world from the evil Americans”.
Probably just as well. [...]

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The Putin years in statistics

August 31, 2007

The BBC has put together a fascinating statistical analysis of Russia during the Putin years.

The analysis has graphs aplenty, covering the Russia’s economy, Energy, Population (including a revealing statistic about HIV prevalence in Russia) and the Military.  Sometimes the stats are standalone, sometimes in comparison to other countries.  But all are well worth a quick look.

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Russian Tu-95 bombers intercepted over Guam

August 10, 2007

Wow – Russia really is starting to strut its military stuff on the world stage again.
Two Tu-95 bombers flew to the US island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, paying a surprise visit to the US military base there. Shocked US pilots on the base were forced to scramble to intercept the Russian bombers.
The [...]

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Putin orders increase in spying and military budgets

July 26, 2007

Russia is to increase its military and intelligence spending again:
“The situation in the world and internal political interests require the Foreign Intelligence Service to permanently increase its capabilities, primarily in the field of information and analytical support for the country’s leadership,” said Putin.
Or, to put it another way: ‘we need more spies’.
Which is probably a [...]

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Gazprom’s private army

July 4, 2007

The Russian Duma has today voted in favour of allowing Gazprom to form its own private army. Reuters reports:
A law backed by 341 lawmakers in the 450-seat State Duma lower house of parliament gave Gazprom, and oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, special exemption from strict limits on private businesses wielding arms.
The two state-controlled companies will [...]

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Military deaths rise and fall

June 21, 2007

More Russian servicemen are dying in combat this year than last, but overall deaths in the armed forces have fallen:
Battle casualties in the Russian Armed Forces continue to rise. They accounted for only 10 percent of all deaths in the Armed Forces in 2006, when 57 servicemen were killed in Chechnya. In the first five [...]

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Russian military uniforms to get makeover

June 14, 2007

Of all the things about the Russian military that need modernising, I’m not sure this is the most pressing:
According to Gen. Isakov, the new uniforms are being designed with active participation of the heraldry department and leading Russian fashion designers including Valentin Yudashkin. The project is under the supervision of the Central Research Institute of [...]

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