S-500 Samoderzhets
In 2004 it was reported that the merged Almaz-Antei consortium had developed a new surface-to-air missile system designated Samoderzhets (Autocrat, not Emperor). This nomenclature is probably associated with the S-500 designation, though some sources associate the Samodyerzhets designation with the S-400M [formerly SA-20 Gargoyle B, later SA-21B Growler B]. Not all sources would associate Samoderzhets with S-500. According to one source "The S-500 has been described as an S-300P follow-on system. The S-500 will likely not enter development for some time, and will represent the next generation of Russian SAM systems, perhaps finally breaking out of the S-300P family's mold."
The new Samoderzhets missile system was described as being "fifth-generation" -- the term fourth-generation having been used to describe the S-400 Triumf. It may combine the ground systems, radar, and shorter range 9M96 and 9M96/2 missiles of the S-400 with the long-range 9M82M missile originally developed for the S-300VM Antei-2500. The Samoderzhets system could be the same "fifth generation" system as that referenced in a January 2007 report in Voyennykh Novostey, which quoted Antei designers saying that the new system would be available by 2012.
Samoderzhets - Nomenclature
In Russian usage, Emperor (Imperator) was quite a distinct term in the Tsar's title from that of Autocrat (Samoderzhets). From Peter the Great in 1721 onwards, the formal titles of the Tsar began with "By the Grace of God Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, ...' (Bozhe milostyu Imperator i Samoderzhets Vsekh Rossisskikh...'). The Autocrat of All the Russias ruled over a realm that included Great Russia, Little Russia (Ukraine), and White Russia (now Belarus). Samoderzhets Vsekh Rossisskikh is sometimes rendered as Autocrat of All the Russians, but this seems less apt, since Russia is not a nation state. From the start it has been a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual polity - an empire. [see "'All the Russias . . .'?" Simon Franklin and Emma Widdis]
The decree of 11 November 1721 : "We, Peter I, by the grace of God emperor and autocrat [Imperator i Samoderzhets] of all the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod; tsar of Kazan', tsar of Astrakhan', tsar of Siberia; sovereign of Pskov, and grand duke of Smolensk; prince of Esthonia, Livonia, Karelia, Tver', Ugra [former Novgorod possessions in the Arctic region], Perm', Viatka, Bulgaria [on the Volga], and of other [principalities]; sovereign and grand duke of Novgorod of the Nizovian land [i.e. Nizhnii Novgorod], of Chernigov, Riazan', Rostov, Iaroslavl', Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia [the last three names designate the former Novgorod possessions in northwestern Siberia], and overlord of all the Northern land; sovereign of the Iverian land [part of Georgia], and of the Kartalinian and Georgian tsars; and hereditary sovereign and suzerain of the Kabardinian land and of the Circassian and mountain princes [Cherkasskikh igorskikh kniazei, i.e. in the northern Caucasus]."
The term Tsar [Caesar] continued in used through modern times, it was an informal usage rather than a formal title. Isabel de Madariaga made the argument that in 18th-century Russian usage the term samoderzhets -- autocrat -- was used as the precise counterpart to the French souverain. Contrary to received wisdom, it did not connote a specifically Russian notion of despotism, she concluded, but confirmed that Russia was part of the European mainstream. [Ivan The Terrible: First Tsar of Russia ] Ivan IV, "the Terrible" (1533-1584), is one of the key figures in Russian history, yet he has remained among the most neglected. Notorious for pioneering a policy of unrestrained terror - and for killing his own son - was credited with establishing autocracy in Russia.
The status of his predecessor Grand Duke of Vladimir Moscow Ivan III in relation to other previously independent princes changed after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In 1476 Ivan III ceased to render tribute to the Golden Horde, and in 1480 his armies prevented the Horde from crossing the Ugra river. "Standing on the Ugra" finished in a bloodless victory of Muscovy, and the Golden Horde Yoke was overthrown once and for all. Thereafter, Ivan assumed the title of Samoderzhets, a style which had already been used by Grand Prince Boris Alexandrovich of Tver (1425-1461), Ivan Ill's principal rival.
In the final decades of Soviet power, the preferred name for the strong state, the construction of which began in the late 1920s, was derzhava (great power). This term was borrowed from the Tsarist vocabulary, and was particularly popular in conservative circles. In Lenin's time a derzhavnik (an advocate of derzhava) was the derogatory term for supporters of ruthless nationalism. Its later popularity came from an association with samoderzhets (autocrat) - the official term for the power of the Tsar. As of 2007, this title had devolved to H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Maria I, Titular Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias (born in 1953).
S-500 System
The earliest attestation of the S-500 was in June 2000, when Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), Chair of the House Armed Services Committee's Military Research and Development Subcommittee, led a US delegation to Moscow to meet with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Mikhailov and several senior Russian generals. In these discussions, two new Russian surface-to-air missile systems were mentioned: the S-400 Triumf, then still under development, and the S-500, which at that time was said to exist solely on paper.
By 2004 Defense Ministry experts were working with their counterparts of the Russian defense industry to specify the performance of the future air defense system to be developed at the Almaz-Antei Air Defense Holding Company. At that time, Army General Alexei Moskovsky, Armed Forces Chief for Armament and Deputy Defense Minister, said that the first thing was to come to a mutual agreement with the defense industry on the development of a single system on the basis of the work done by Almaz-Antei. He explained that he meant the S-300V for Land Forces and the S-300P system for long-range air defense.
Moskovsky stated that the existing fleet of air defense systems in service should be combined with new solutions. "The new systems are the same S-300s. And we should not forget that the S-400 system's official tests are scheduled for next year [ie, 2005]. It is obvious that we need an effective answer to this question. Samoderzhets is not simply an anti-aircraft missile system, but a program aimed to find the most effective solution to make the maximum use of various AD systems," the general said.
The new system should be made with due account of the new trends in aerospace attack assets development. "An aerospace defense concept should specify the performance of single systems. Therefore, the second goal of the Samoderzhets program is to find the most optimum performance specifications of the new system," Moskovsky said. He added that the systems already fielded would have to be adjusted for the new concept, as well as the S-400s to come. "We will most likely choose this road. But will step on it only as soon as we have clear and agreed performance specifications".
The Samoderzhets is intended to become the basis for the unified anti-aircraft missile complex for all types of the Russian military forces. It can also become the basis of a theater missile defense (TMD) complex ensuring protection from short-range ballistic missiles on the battlefield. The system combines the long range of the S-300VM missile and the advanced electronics of the S-400 missile. As a result Russian designers have developed a system that they claim is better by all parameters then the newest American system, the PAC-3 Patriot.
The 9M82M missile has a maximum range of 200km against large aircraft targets and can engage ballistic missiles re-entering at speeds of up to 4.5km/s. The latter velocity is associated with missiles with a range of 2,500km. Its warhead creates 20g fragments.
On 08 August 2007 it was reported that the Russian Air Force commander stated that Russia was developing a fifth-generation air defense missile system that is superior to S-400 Triumf complex and capable of hitting targets in space. "While working on the S-400, we have been developing a fifth-generation air defense system, which will be more compact, more maneuverable, and will certainly have superior technical characteristics," Colonel General Alexander Zelin said. According to Zelin, the new missile system will combine elements of air, missile and space defense, and will be developed by the Almaz-Antei air defense consortium. The Air Force commander said major enhancements would be made to the system's electronic components. "The enhancement of electronics will allow the systems to see farther, higher and react quicker, which will significantly expand the range of their capabilities, including repelling strikes from space," Zelin said.
