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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


March 2005 Russia Special Weapons News



  • U.S., Canada Cooperate to End Russian Nuclear Proliferation Risk Washington File 31 Mar 2005 -- A cooperative agreement to permanently shut down one of Russia's last remaining reactors that produce weapons-grade plutonium was signed by Canada and the United States March 30, according to a Department of Energy press release.
  • Russian Official Decries Abuses In Chechnya RFE/RL 31 Mar 2005 -- Russia's top human rights official has denounced large-scale human rights violations in Chechnya by all sides in the conflict.
  • RUSSIA/CHECHNYA VOA 31 Mar 2005 -- Earlier this month (March 8th) Russian security forces killed Aslan Maskhadov, a prominent Chechen separatist leader.
  • RUSSIA/CHECHEN LEADERS VOA 30 Mar 2005 -- For the past 10 years, Chechnya has been the scene of violence as Russian troops try to defeat separatist rebels. Earlier this month Russian security forces killed one of the separatist leaders, Aslan Maskhadov.
  • RUSSIA TO HELP DEVELOP NUCLEAR-POWERED SPACECRAFT RIA Novosti 29 Mar 2005 -- Russia that has developed state-of-the-art rocket engines is ready to use them within the framework of the international space program. Consequently, Russia is quite eager to explore deep space with the rest of the world.
  • RUSSIAN MI-24 HELICOPTER CRASH-LANDS IN TAJIKISTAN RIA Novosti 29 Mar 2005 -- According to a Russian uniformed official, a Mi-24 helicopter operated by the Russian border guards in Tajikistan has crash-landed 100 km away from the capital city of Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
  • CONSOLIDATED AIRCRAFT COMPANY: PROS AND CONS RIA Novosti 29 Mar 2005 -- Russia's aircraft-industry enterprises will soon become part of a consolidated aircraft corporation.
  • U.S., U.K., Russia Reaffirm Support for Biological Weapons Pact Washington File 28 Mar 2005 -- To mark the 30th anniversary on March 26 of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation have issued a joint statement reaffirming their strong support for the pact and their determination to press "for full implementation of, and compliance with, the Convention by all its States Parties."
  • RUSSIA/KYRGYZSTAN VOA 26 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered his help to the new Kyrgyz leadership. Meanwhile, reports in Moscow say that ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has taken refuge in Russia.
  • RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN SET TO ORBIT SATELLITES FROM MIG-31 FIGHTER RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russia and Kazakhstan have pondered the project of launching small satellites into space from the Russian fighter MiG-31, the spokesman for Roskosmos (Russian Space Agency) has told RIA Novosti on Friday.
  • RUSSIA PLANS TO SEND MILITARY OBSERVERS TO SUDAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russia plans to send 50 Russian military observers and 20 civil police officers to be added to the makeup of the UN Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS), as well as consider other forms of supporting the UN mission in Sudan.
  • RUSSIANS APPROVE OF MASKHADOV'S ELIMINATION RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Two-thirds of Russians (68%) are convinced that the elimination of Aslan Maskhadov, the leader of the so-called Chechen resistance, was the duty of the Russian special services.
  • NEXT ROUND OF TALKS ON RUSSIAN BASES IN GEORGIA SCHEDULED FOR EARLY APRIL RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The next round of the talks on the terms of stay of the Russian military bases in Georgia will be held in early April in Tbilisi, Georgia's charge a'affaires in Russia Teimuraz Gamtselidze told RIA Novosti.
  • MOSCOW TO BACK NEW KYRGYZ REGIME RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- The Kyrgyz velvet revolution triumph was something of a surprise even to its leaders-such a rapid and unexpected turn yesterday's events took in Bishkek.
  • MOSCOW NOT TO INTERFERE IN DEVELOPMENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Moscow does not intend to interfere in the developments in Kyrgyzstan, the information and press department of the Russian Foreign Ministry said commenting on statements in Kyrgyzstan that Russia planned to deploy troops in the country.
  • PRESIDENT PUTIN TO ASSIST IN SOLUTION OF KARABAKH ISSUE RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes that Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents will hold a regular bilateral meeting.
  • RUSSIA AND CHINA HAVE COMMON VIEWS ON SOLUTION OF NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR PROBLEM RIA Novosti 25 Mar 2005 -- Russia and China have formed a common position on the solution of North Korean nuclear problem, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Alekseyev told the journalists at the end of a round of consultations with Chinese officials in Beijing.
  • Russia: Moscow Grapples With Meaning Of Kyrgyz Uprising RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Leading Russian political figures on 24 and 25 March rushed to comment on the unfolding events in Kyrgyzstan, with government officials stating unequivocally that Moscow does not plan to intervene in the former Soviet republic.
  • Russian FM Blames OSCE For Kyrgyz Unrest RFE/RL 25 Mar 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is partly responsible for the unrest in Kyrgyzstan.
  • RUSSIA TO REFORM ARMY'S INFORMATION-TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM BEFORE 2010 - SERGEI IVANOV RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Before 2010 Russia is to thoroughly improve the quality, capability and efficiency of the army information-telecommunication system on the basis of state-of-the-art technologies, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said.
  • NEW AIRBORNE COMBAT VEHICLE DEPLOYED SUCCESSFULLY FROM AIRCRAFT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- On Thursday, the 106th Airborne Division, Russian Airborne Troops, successfully deployed the 12-parachute Sprut, a new Russian-designed airborne combat vehicle, from an aircraft in a command post exercise, First Deputy Russian Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Belousov told RIA Novosti.
  • RUSSIAN AIRBORNE TROOPS TRY NEW AIRBORNE INSERTION TACTICS RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- In a Thursday command post exercise of the 106th Airborne Division the Russian Airborne Troops, staged near the village of Zhitovo, Ryazan region the Russian Airborne Troops are making a first field test of the serial tactics of airborne insertion, Russian Airborne Troops Commander Alexander Kolmakov told reporters.
  • PARACHUTE FAILED DURING AIRBORNE TROOPS EXERCISE RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, the parachute of one of deployable vehicles failed to open as heavy combat vehicles were dropped from an aircraft during a command post exercise of the Russian Airborne Troops.
  • RUSSIA'S INTERIOR TROOPS TO GET A NEW ARMORED CAR RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The interior troops of Russia are to get a new armored car able to fulfill missions in cities, Colonel-General Nikolai Rogozhkin, commander-in-chief of the interior troops of Russia's Interior Ministry, told journalists on Thursday.
  • RUSSIA, CHINA AGREE ON WAR GAMES RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Russia and China have removed all political discrepancies on an upcoming maiden bilateral military exercise, China to host. The information reached RIA Novosti from Vladimir Moltenskoi, second in command of the Russian land troops, who leads an ad hoc team to prepare the games.
  • FIRST RUSSIAN-CHINESE MILITARY EXERCISE TO BE HELD IN AUGUST RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- - The scenario of the first Russo-Chinese exercise has been determined, Colonel General Alexander Belousov, first deputy defense minister of Russia, told journalists in the village of Zhitovo on Thursday.
  • KYRGYZSTAN: RUSSIAN AIR BASE BUILDS UP RIOT SECURITY RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Russian Air Force base in Kant, not far from the Kyrgyz capital, is building up safety against raging riots, Army General Yuri Baluyevsky, Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said to the media.
  • MASKHADOV'S BODYGUARD KILLED IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Alvi Tosuyev, Maskhadov's closest assistant, has been killed in Chechnya, the joint press center of the Russian Interior Ministry reports.
  • WARLORD KILLED IN CHECHNYA WAS EX-U.S. MARINE RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Rizvan Chitigov, who was killed in the district center Shali in Chechnya on Wednesday and was the third most influential warlord after Shamil Basayev and Doku Umarov, had graduated from an elite U.S. subversion and reconnaissance school and had served on a contract basis in a U.S. Marine battalion, Kommersant reports.
  • MI-8 CRASH IN CHECHNYA CAUSED BY HUMAN ERROR RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The crash of the Mi-8 helicopter on Tuesday was not caused by external factors, Gen. Nikolai Rogozhkin, the commander in chief of the internal forces of the Russian Interior Ministry, said Thursday.
  • HOW CAN RUSSIA DISSUADE UKRAINE FROM JOINING NATO? RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Despite the absence of threats, the new authorities in Ukraine say they want the country to join NATO.
  • RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: RUSSIA-NATO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WILL SETTLE KOSOVO PROBLEM RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry is convinced that the recently developed strategic partnership between Russia and leading western states and Russia and NATO will help find a sound and just solution to the Kosovo problem by joint efforts with the participation of the UN, the European Union, Belgrade and Pristina.
  • AVOIDING A RUSSIA-VS-WEST RIFT OVER KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Is Kyrgyzstan following the footsteps of Ukraine and Georgia, as yet another opposition movement takes to the streets to threaten the status quo?
  • Analysis: Russian Police's 'Clean-Up Operations' Extending Beyond Chechnya? RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Allegations of police beating law-abiding citizens during clean-up operations are no longer confined to Chechnya and are now being recorded in the rest of the Russian Federation. Following reports of a four-day long rampage by police in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan last year, three more Russian cities have reported similar cases this month of police actions involving the rounding up of large numbers of citizens who were allegedly beaten up -- and even tortured -- in police custody.
  • 116 CRIMINAL ASSOCIATIONS OPERATING IN RUSSIA RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- At present, there are 116 criminal associations in Russia, numbering over 4,000 active members, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told the Federation Council during the so-called "government hour" on Wednesday.
  • RADIOACTIVE GOODS PREVENTED FROM CROSSING RUSSIA'S BORDER RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Some 200 cases of goods and transport with an increased level of ionizing radiation traveling across the Russian border were revealed in 2004.
  • RUSSIAN WARSHIP TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL MARITIME FESTIVAL IN TURKEY RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- The Russian warship Pytlivy will participate in the International Maritime Festival in Turkey.
  • EXPLODED CAR TO BE EXAMINED RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Swedish authorities are examining a Russian diplomat's car that was exploded in Stockholm, press secretary of the Russian Embassy in Sweden Sergei Petrovich said by telephone.
  • RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: DOUBLE STANDARDS ARE IMPERMISSIBLE WITH REGARD TO TERRORISM RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Chizhov told the ambassador of Sweden in Moscow about the impermissibility of double standards with regard to terrorism and stated that Moscow would judge Sweden's adherence to international cooperation in combating this evil by its concrete actions.
  • AIR FORCE AND AIRBORNE TROOPS EXERCISE TO BE CONDUCTED IN RYAZAN AND IVANOVO REGIONS RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- On March 24, during a joint command-post exercise (CPX) of the Air Force (RusAF) and Airborne Troops, crews of the Komsomolsk Transylvania military transport air regiment are to airdrop paratroopers of the 106th Airborne Division at the Zhitovo drop zone in the Ryazan Region, the RusAF commander, Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, told the media on Wednesday.
  • RUSSIAN BASES TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM GEORGIA RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Russia's proposals on withdrawing its military bases from Georgia were made in consideration of the Georgian party's interests, Igor Savolsky, head of the Russian delegation in Russian-Georgian talks on military issues, stated on Wednesday.
  • PUTIN APPROVES STAFF OF RUSSIAN COMMISSION FOR COOPERATION WITH NATO RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- President Vladimir Putin has approved the staff of the Russian intergovernmental commission for cooperation with NATO and implementation of the basic act on mutual relations, cooperation and security between the Russian Federation and the North Atlantic alliance.
  • RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN TALKS BEGIN IN MOSCOW RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Moscow hopes that dialog with Tbilisi will yield serious progress regarding the presence of the Russian military bases in Georgia, said Russian Ambassador at Large Igor Savolsky, opening the Russian-Georgian talks here Wednesday.
  • RUSSIA LOSING OUT TO CHINA IN RUN-UP TO EXERCISE RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- The planned exercises between Russia and China this fall are becoming a source of increasing concern for Taiwan.
  • MOSCOW SEES LINKS BETWEEN STOCKHOLM ATTACK AND BASAYEV'S INTERVIEW WITH SWEDISH MEDIA RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- The terrorist attack, in which the car of a Russian diplomat in Stockholm was blown up, is linked by Moscow with the spreading of views of Chechen terrorists the Swedish media give floor to, a Russian diplomat told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
  • SHOULD RUSSIA AND THE WEST CONTINUE DIALOGUE ON CHECHNYA? RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Russia and the West spent years discussing the meaning of a political settlement in Chechnya.
  • CHECHEN PRESIDENT ON DOUBLE STANDARDS RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Chechen President Alu Alkhanov calls on human right activists not to resort to the double standard approach in assessing the situation in Chechnya.
  • BASAYEV AIDE KILLED RIA Novosti 23 Mar 2005 -- Federal forces in Chechnya killed Rizvan Chitigov, a ringleader close to Chechen separatist Shamil Basayev, a spokesman for the regional operational headquarters for controlling the anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus reported.
  • WILL RUSSIA LOSE ITS INFLUENCE IN TRANSDNIESTRIA? RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- A fortnight after the elections in Moldova, it is still uncertain whether pro-western or pro-Russian forces have won, as both the incumbent authorities and opposition are claiming victory.
  • KEEP ARMS RACE OFF SPACE, CALL RUSSIA & CHINA RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- Russia and China appeal to the world to prevent space-based arms race and make a respective treaty.
  • SPETSNAZ TO BE REORGANIZED RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- Russia plans to create a new arm, the Special Operations Forces (SOF).
  • RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT-CAPABLE CRUISER TO ENTER BARENTS SEE FOR EXERCISE RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- Very soon the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-capable heavy cruiser will enter the combat training range of the Northern fleet in the Barents sea.
  • RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER NAMES THE COST OF MILITARY BASES WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- The withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia will cost approximately $250-300 million.
  • WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN BASES FROM GEORGIA IS POSSIBLE ONLY ON COMPROMISE RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- The head of the State Duma committee for the CIS affairs and relations with compatriots, Andrei Kokoshin, hopes that a compromise decision will be found at the Russian-Georgian negotiations on withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia.
  • RUSSIAN NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINE PLACED NO NUCLEAR TORPEDOES IN MEDITERRANEAN IN 1970 RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- Command of the Russian Navy refuted the allegations of several foreign media that a Soviet submarine placed "an unknown number of nuclear torpedoes" in the Mediterranean in 1970.
  • RUSSIA DE JURE ACCEDES TO VIENNA CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the federal law On Ratification of the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, a Kremlin spokesperson reported.
  • OSCE MONITORING MISSION ON GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN BORDER NOT TO BE RESUMED RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- The OSCE monitoring mission on the Georgian-Russian border will not be resumed, nor the setting up on its technical base of a training mission for passing experience to Georgian border-guards is expected, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgi Gomiashvili has told Novosti-Georgia.
  • OPERATIVE COOPERATION TO BE RUSSIA-NATO COUNCIL'S PRIORITY RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- The top priority of the Russia-NATO Council for 2005 should be the development of operative cooperation, Director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow Isabelle Francois said live on the Echo of Moscow radio.
  • NO ONE KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASH IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- According to updated information, no one was killed in the MI-8 helicopter crash in Chechnya, a spokesman for the Regional Operational Headquarters for the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus told RIA Novosti on the phone.
  • INTERIOR MINISTRY'S HELICOPTER CRASHES IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- According to preliminary information, six people were killed and two gravely injured in the crash of a Mi-8 helicopter, a sources in the headquarters of the United Group of Forces in the North Caucasus told RIA Novosti.
  • EXTREMIST WANTED LIST INCLUDES 1,200 RIA Novosti 22 Mar 2005 -- About 1,200 legal and physical entities have been included into a list of suspects in extremist activities.
  • RUSSIAN CABINET FOR ADOPTING NEW LAW ON TERRORISM RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Russian Deputy Justice Minister Yevgeni Sidorenko believes that the current law On the Struggle Against Terrorism is "hopelessly out of date" and a new law, On the Opposition to Terrorism, should be adopted without delay.
  • TAIWAN CONCERNED OVER RUSSIAN-CHINESE JOINT EXERCISE RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Taiwan is concerned over the future Russian-Chinese joint military exercise, Lai Yichong, member of the board of directors of the Taibei-based analytical center "Taiwan", told RIA Novosti.
  • RUSSIA SEEKS TO RESTORE CONTACTS WITH ARMENIAN DEFENSE ENTERPRISES RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Russia should pay special attention to restoring and maintaining contacts between Russian and Armenian defense companies, Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko told RIA Novosti.
  • AIRBORNE DIVISION BEGINS EXERCISE IN RYAZAN REGION RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- A command-post exercise (CPX) of the 106th Airborne Division, with parachute jumping and live fire, will be held in the Ryazan region from March 21 to 25, reports the press service of the Airborne Troops.
  • EXPERTS: CRISIS IN NAVY'S NUCLEAR DETERRENT CAN BE ENDED RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- In 2005, the Russian Navy will receive the latest 4th generation Project 955 Borei (Boreas) strategic nuclear submarine (SSBN).
  • RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS DETAINED IN GEORGIA-ABKHAZIA CONFLICT ZONE RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- The Georgian law-enforcement agencies have detained four armed Russian peacekeepers in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
  • RUSSIA'S TOP NUCLEAR ENERGY OFFICIAL DESCRIBES ACCUSATIONS AGAINST IRAN AS UNFOUNDED RIA Novosti 21 Mar 2005 -- Alexander Rumyantsev, Director of the Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy, does not think there is any valid evidence to prove that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Mr Rumyantsev is currently in Paris, attending the international conference "Atomic Energy for the 21st Century."
  • Putin, Yushchenko Pledge Partnership, End To Disputes RFE/RL 20 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who made his first visit to Ukraine since last year's Orange Revolution and the rise of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko to the presidency -- described talks with Yushchenko as being "highly constructive."
  • PUTIN/YUSHCHENKO VOA 19 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first official visit to Ukraine since last year's disputed presidential election. During his brief visit, Mr. Putin met with Ukraine's president Victor Yushchenko, who took office in January.
  • Analysis: Chubais Under Fire RFE/RL 19 Mar 2005 -- The 17 March attempted assassination of Unified Energy Systems (EES) head Anatolii Chubais, the architect of Russia's much-maligned 1990s privatization program, rocked Russia's political elite and the country's security community. Although Chubais is one of the most widely disliked people in Russia, such a brazen assault on one of the country's leading national political figures is unheard-of, even in the notoriously violent post-Soviet Russia.
  • SPACE TRAINING CENTER SHOULD REMAIN MILITARY INSTITUTION - RUSSIAN COSMONAUT RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2005 -- Alexei Leonov, the world's first man to walk out into the outer space, told a Friday news conference gathered at the 40th anniversary of his space flight onboard the Vostok-2 space vehicle that he was firmly against making the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center a civilian institution.
  • NORTHERN FLEET SUBMARINES RETAIN TOP COMBAT READINESS RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2005 -- The submarine forces of the Northern Fleet have preserved a high level of fighting capacity, Fleet Commander Mikhail Abramov told journalists on eve of the Submariners Day, marked on March 19.
  • RUSSIAN WEAPONRY SUPPLIED TO SYRIA DOES NOT THREATEN ISRAEL RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2005 -- Russia is ready to show interested experts that Russian weapons supplied to Syria cannot threaten Israel, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov said in an interview with Israeli television.
  • PREMIER OF CHINESE STATE COUNCIL HIGHLY ASSESSES RUSSIAN-CHINESE MILITARY TALKS RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2005 -- During the meeting with chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Yury Baluyevsky, Premier of the Chinese State Council Wen Jiabao said he considered Russian-Chinese military talks to be highly productive.
  • NUKE NONPROLIFERATION TREATY STAYS TOPICAL, SAYS RUSSIA RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- world is encountering ever more problems in the nuclear nonproliferation field.
  • RUSSIA MAY HAVE BN-800 FAST-NEUTRON REACTOR BY 2012 RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- has everything ready for completing by 2012 the construction of the promising fast-neutron reactor BN-800, enabling the use of stockpiled regenerated plutonium.
  • STRONG INTERNATIONAL BLOCK SHOULD BE RAISED FOR NUCLEAR MATERIALS CONTRABAND RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- International efforts should be pooled to oppose the contraband of nuclear materials, deputy chief of the board for nuclear facilities' information protection at the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) Vladimir Prostakov has said.
  • NORTH RUSSIAN AIR CRASH KILLS 29, INJURES 24. INVESTIGATION ON RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- An AN 24 passenger plane crashed in European Russia's north, yesterday afternoon. 29 died and 24 were injured.
  • IN MOSCOW MCC FIXES PROCEDURE FOR DEMILITARIZATION OF GEORGIA-SOUTH OSSETIA CONFLICT ZONE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The co-chairmen of the Mixed Control Commission for settling the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict have agreed upon a procedure for demilitarizing the conflict zone, Georgian State Minister for Conflict Settling Georgi Khaindrava said at the RIA Novosti news conference on Thursday.
  • ISLAMIC UNDERGROUND SPREADING ACROSS RUSSIA RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- A cell of the radical Islamic organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party) was exposed in Chelyabinsk, the largest city of South Urals, the press service of the deputy prosecutor general of Russia in the Urals Federal District reported today.
  • BOMB BLOWN UP BEFORE CHUBAIS'S CORTEGE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- A bomb equivalent to 500g of TNT was blown up in front of the car cortege of RAO UES head Anatoly Chubais in Minskoye Shosse (Highway), RIA Novosti was told in the Interior Ministry department for the Moscow region.
  • CHUBAIS SAFE AFTER ATTACK ON CAR RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- Board Chairman of RAO UES Rossii Anatoly Chubais was not wounded as his car came under fire, RIA Novosti was told by energy holding board member Andrei Trapeznikov.
  • PUTIN, CHAVEZ TALK OVER THE PHONE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela talked to each other over the phone in the evening of March 16, discussing topical bilateral-cooperation issues and practical measures to expand such relations still further.
  • BALUYEVSKY GOES TO CHINA TO DISCUSS PREPARATIONS FOR MILITARY EXERCISE RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The forthcoming Russia-China military exercise denotes progress in bilateral military relations, said Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.
  • RUSSIA-CHINA MILITARY EXERCISE: PROGRESS IN MILITARY RELATIONS RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The forthcoming Russia-China military exercise denotes progress in bilateral military relations, said Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.
  • Pro-Russian Chechen Leader Rules Out Separatist Talks RFE/RL 17 Mar 2005 -- Pro-Moscow Chechen administration head Alu Alkhanov today ruled out any talks with separatists in the republic.
  • CHECHEN FEMALE TERRORIST'S PRISON TERM REDUCED RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- Russia's Supreme Court has reduced a prison term for Zara Murtazaliyeva convicted for preparing a terrorist act in Moscow in 2004.
  • RUSSIA AGAINST BIAS IN ASSESSING IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- Russia is interested in the objective assessment of Iran's activities in the nuclear field.
  • RUSSIAN-CHINESE MILITARY EXERCISE IS QUITE LEGITIMATE AND TRANSPARENT RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- The forthcoming Russo-Chinese military exercise is not directed against any third parties, Russian General Staff Chief, General of the Army Yury Baluyevsky, now visiting Beijing, said Thursday.
  • CHINA TRYING TO USE RUSSIAN ARMY FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES RIA Novosti 17 Mar 2005 -- Yesterday, Chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky left for China to settle a scandal over the first Russian-Chinese military exercise, Commonwealth-2005, which is due to be held this fall off the Yellow Sea coast, writes Kommersant.
  • AMUR COSSACKS TO RE-CREATE ARMY RIA Novosti 16 Mar 2005 -- The Amur Cossack Army will be re-established in the Russian Far East. The decision came up as the Council for Cossack Affairs under the presidential envoy plenipotentiary to federal district Far East gathered for session in Khabarovsk today.
  • RUSSIA TO HELP OTHER COUNTRIES GUARD NUCLEAR PROJECTS RIA Novosti 16 Mar 2005 -- Russia is willing to help any other interested countries guard their nuclear projects, says Anatoli Kotelnikov, Federal Nuclear Energy Agency deputy director.
  • RUSSIAN ARMY BASES IN GEORGIA: TALKS DUE WITHIN MONTH RIA Novosti 16 Mar 2005 -- Moscow and Tbilisi have agreed to arrange negotiations on Russian military bases in Georgia within this month's closing ten days.
  • RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS SHARING EXPERIENCE WITH TAJIK COLLEAGUES RIA Novosti 16 Mar 2005 -- The officers of the Border Directorate of Russia's FSB will hold a 40-day training methods conference for the commandants of border offices and heads of border stations of the Border Committee of Tajikistan. The conference will be held at the Pyandzh border group on the Tajik-Afghan border on March 16-18.
  • CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OF RUSSIA'S ARMED FORCES TO LEAVE FOR BEIJING AND SEOUL ON A VISIT RIA Novosti 16 Mar 2005 -- Chief of the General Staff of Russia's Armed Forces Yuri Baluyevsky will pay working visits to the PRC and South Korea, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported.
  • East: FBI Breaks Weapons-Smuggling Ring Linked To Russia, Caucasus RFE/RL 16 Mar 2005 -- A lengthy investigation by U.S. agents has led to 17 people in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami being charged with various weapons-trafficking offenses. Armenian and South African nationals are among those arrested in connection with an alleged scheme to smuggle rocket-propelled missiles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and other Russian military weapons into the United States for sale. Prosecutors say the case raises alarm over the willingness of traffickers to sell arms to terrorists.
  • Russia: What's Behind Putin's Reappointment Of Powerful Tatar Leader? RFE/RL 16 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday nominated the longtime head of the Republic of Tatarstan to serve again after his current term expires next year. The nomination came after Mintimer Shaimiev sought Putin's support under a provision of a new law allowing regional leaders to request a confirmation of confidence from the president. Observers say the move is a plus for Putin, who has faced criticism from foreign governments and liberals at home over a law he pushed for last year ending the election of leaders of Russia's administrative regions. But what is Shaimiev getting out of the deal?
  • Russian General: Bases In Georgia For Three More Years RFE/RL 16 Mar 2005 -- A Russian general today said that Russia's two remaining military bases in Georgia will remain operational for a "minimum" of three years.
  • CHECHNYA: MASKHADOV ASSASSINATION A 'PYRRHIC VICTORY' FOR PUTIN US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 15 Mar 2005
  • FSB: Will Pay $10 Million To Find Basaev RFE/RL 15 Mar 2005 -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it will pay $10 million for information leading to the man who has become the Kremlin's number one foe, radical Chechen commander Shamil Basaev.
  • Analysis: Chechen Resistance Closes Ranks RFE/RL 15 Mar 2005 -- The death on 8 March of Chechen President and resistance commander Aslan Maskhadov has not resulted in the split within the ranks of the resistance that some Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen officials predicted. On the contrary, within 36 hours Akhmed Zakaev, Maskhadov's envoy in London, announced in a statement posted on chechenpress.co.uk, that Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev (or Saidullaev), chairman of the Sharia Supreme Court, will serve as president and military commander until such time as free elections can be held in Chechnya. Senior field commander Shamil Basaev pledged his support for Sadulaev on 10 March.
  • Chechnya: Russia Refuses To Hand Over Maskhadov's Body For Burial RFE/RL 15 Mar 2005 -- The Kremlin is refusing to return for burial the body of Aslan Maskhadov, who was killed on 8 March in an apparent gun battle with federal forces in Chechnya. Russian officials say the slain Chechen leader was a terrorist, and that by law his body should n-o-t be handed over to relatives. Federal forces also destroyed the house where Maskhadov was allegedly killed. But rights groups are warning that Russia's actions could have dire consequences.
  • Russia's Wounded Imperial Consciousness RFE/RL 15 Mar 2005 -- Many observers in Russia and abroad believe that recent events in Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova have rung the death knell for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the fragile association that rose up in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
  • SATAN MISSILE BECOMES PEACEFUL AND PROFITABLE RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Space Forces have started preparations for launching a Dnepr carrier rocket, a civilian version of the heavy R-36M2 Voyevoda intercontinental ballistic missile, or the SS-18 Satan in NATO classification. The launch is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.
  • MASKHADOV SECRET HIDEOUT BLASTED RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- The house in the Tolstoi-Yurt village, Grozny district of Chechnya, in which the leader of Chechen separatists Aslan Maskhadov was hiding, has been blasted for operative considerations.
  • DAGHESTAN: FEDERALS KEEP ON FIGHTING BESIEGED BANDITS RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- Federal rangers are besieging bandits in a private house in the center of Khasavyurt, Daghestani town close to the Chechen border. The operation started seven hours ago.
  • TRANSDNIESTRIA CONFLICT TO BE "UNFROZEN"? RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is going to "unfreeze" the conflict in Transdniestria (the Dniester left-bank territory with polyethnic, mostly Russian-speaking, population.
  • DAGHESTAN: RANGERS STORM PARAMILITARY STRONGHOLD RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- A mobile unit of Russia's Interior Ministry has started storming a private house where a paramilitary gang has found refuge after federal soldiers blocked it in a special operation.
  • SPECIAL OPERATION AGAINST JARAKH'S BANDIT GROUP CONDUCTED IN DAGHESTAN RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- Federal forces conducted a special operation in the village of Batash-Yurt in the Khasavyurt district of Daghestan (a republic in the North Caucasus, neighboring with Chechnya) aimed at elimination of a bandit group led by Arab mercenary Jarakh, officials from the regional operative headquarters of the anti-terrorist operation in the Northern Caucasus (ROH) told RIA Novosti.
  • 13 WOUNDED IN ATTACK ON COMMANDANT'S OFFICE IN GROZNY RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- Thirteen people were wounded in an attack on the Commandant's Office in the Leninsky district in Chechen capital Grozny on Monday morning, an officer on duty at the second Commandant's Office in Grozny told RIA Novosti.
  • BESLAN PROBE COMMISSION GETS FILES OF AL-QAEDA EMISSARY RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- Members of the parliamentary commission probing into the Beslan tragedy, currently working in Vladikavkaz (the capital of North Ossetia, North Caucasus), have got hold of some files from the archive that belonged to Al-Qaeda emissary Abu-Dzeit killed in Ingushetia, Alexander Torshin, the chairman of the commission, has told RIA Novosti.
  • COMMAND-STAFF EXERCISE OF RUSSIA AND NATO ON ANTI-MISSILE DEFENCE TO BEGIN RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- The second command-staff exercise on the theatre of operations (TVD) anti-ballistic missile defence (ABM), Collaborative Arrow 2005, will be held at the De Peel air base in the Netherlands under the aegis of the Russia-NATO Council from March 14 to 23.
  • MOSCOW EXPECTS HEAD OF NATO MILITARY COUNCIL RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- Moscow will host a meeting between Thomas Baptiste, the head of the NATO Military Council, and representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Defense Ministry's press service reports.
  • MIDDLE EAST TOUR OF RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL SECRETARY RIA Novosti 14 Mar 2005 -- Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov passed a message of the Russian President to Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem on Monday, announced the press service of the Security Council.
  • FEDERATION COUNCIL APPROVES AIR TRANSPORT SECURITY ENHANCEMENT RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The Federation Council approved the federal draft on amending some laws of the Russian Federation concerning security measures in air transport on Friday.
  • RUSSIAN AND US EXPERTS DISCUSS ANTI-EXTREMIST MEASURES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Russian and the US law enforcement experts gathered at a conference Climate of Trust in Veliky Novgorod (an ancient city in the north-west of Russia) on Friday to discuss anti-extremist measures.
  • Georgia: Russia Calls Parliamentary Resolution On Bases 'Counterproductive' VOA 11 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Defense Ministry has criticized as "counterproductive" a unanimous vote by the Georgian parliament pressuring Moscow to close two Russian military bases in Georgia. The nonbinding resolution, passed yesterday, demands that Russia agree a timetable by 15 May for vacating the bases and withdrawing some 4,000 troops. Should Russia fail to do that, the Georgian lawmakers have vowed to outlaw any Russian military presence in their country from 1 January 2006. The dispute is at the heart of ongoing bilateral negotiations. But the Georgian side appears convinced that the Kremlin's heart is not really in those talks.
  • RUSSIAN ARMY TRAINED LIE DETECTOR OPERATORS RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Last month a team of 26 lie detector operators, certified psychologists trained under a three-week program, graduated from the Russian Military University, reports Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozrenie, an independent Russian defense weekly.
  • OFFICERS WHO HAVE CONTRACTED AIDS WILL NOT BE DISMISSED RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The officers who have contracted AIDS will not be dismissed, lieutenant-general Igor Bykov, chief of the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Russian defense ministry, told a press conference.
  • RUSSIA WILL NOT ACCEPT ULTIMATUMS RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the International Committee of the Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian Parliament), regrets the decision taken by the Georgian Parliament the day before on the withdrawal of two Russian bases from Georgia.
  • MOSCOW WILL CONTINUE DIALOGUE WITH GEORGIA ON MILITARY BASES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Russia's readiness to continue negotiations with Georgia on the issue of the presence of Russian military bases on the Georgian territory.
  • RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER DOES NOT REQUIRE INTERNATIONAL CONTROL RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The situation on the Russian-Georgian border does not require international control. This was disclosed in Vienna March 10 by Alexei Borodavkin, Russia's permanent representative at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), reports the Russian Foreign Ministry's official web site.
  • RUSSIA RATIFIES CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The Federation Council has ratified the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage on Friday. 133 members of the upper house voted for the decision, 1 was against it, and 1 abstained.
  • BORDER GUARDS CHANGE THEIR MISSION RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Amendments to Russian legislation will change the ideology of the border service.
  • MOSCOW READY TO PULL OUT OF GEORGIA WITHIN THREE YEARS RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Moscow is ready to pull its forces out of Georgia within three to four years, Colonel General Anatoly Mazurkevich, Chief of the Russian Defense Ministry's International Military Cooperation Directorate, said yesterday, Vedomosti informs its readers.
  • RUSSIA, VENEZUELA INK FIRST CHOPPER-SALE CONTRACT RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Venezuela has signed the first contract for the purchase of Russian-made military helicopters. This was disclosed to RIA Novosti over the phone at Russia's embassy in Caracas.
  • Chechnya: Succession Could Signal Shift Toward Battle-Hardened Youth RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Chechen rebel leaders announced on 10 March that the duties of their president are being passed to the young head of a religious court who was hand-picked by his predecessor. While relatively little is known about Abdul-Kharim Saidulaev, independent observers suggest his elevation marks a shift among Chechen leaders toward younger, battle-hardened men infused with strong religious faith. The change could spell trouble for those seeking a negotiated peace to this long-running conflict in southern Russia.
  • FINAL IDENTIFICATION OF MASKHADOV'S BODY TO BE CONDUCTED IN MOSCOW RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- The body of the Chechen terrorist leader Aslan Maskhadov, killed in Chechnya on Tuesday, was transported to Moscow, an informed source in the Russian security-related structures told RIA Novosti.
  • THERE IS NOBODY TO NEGOTIATE WITH IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov's death has helped generate a myth about missed opportunities. His supporters believe the demise of the "moderate" Maskhadov means the end of the negotiation process between Moscow and the separatists in Chechnya.
  • MASKHADOV IS DEAD. WHAT IS NEXT? RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- In 1993, Alexander Korzhakov, the chief of the president's security service, reported to Boris Yeltsin that the rebellious parliament had been put down and placed the pipe of the hated Chechen speaker, Ruslan Khabulatov, on his table. Yeltsin angrily flung the pipe at the wall, the dismissed bodyguard later said.
  • A RADICAL WAHHABI TAKES MASKHADOV'S PLACE RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Warlord Abdul Saidulayev, the chairman of the Ichkerian Shariat court, has become the new separatist leader after the death of Aslan Maskhadov, ex-president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen separatists' sites reported. Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Kommersant discuss the succession.
  • GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER: DOMESTIC SECURITY COMES FIRST RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Chairwoman of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burdzhanadze has confirmed that Georgian authorities will not allow any foreign military bases to operate on Georgian territory.
  • INVESTIGATION INTO BESLAN CONTINUES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- Documents found after the killing of Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov and Abu-Dzeit will be given to the parliamentary commission for further investigation into the terrorist siege of a Beslan school last September.
  • VERSION OF CRASH OF MI-8 HELICOPTER IN CHECHNYA IS VIOLATION OF FLIGHT RULES RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- criminal case was launched on the fact of the crash of a Mi-8 helicopter in Chechnya under Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "violation of the rules of flights and preparation for them," RIA Novosti was told in the military Prosecutor's Office of the Joint Group of Forces.
  • HELICOPTER CRASH: VERSION RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- A Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Chechnya yesterday, killing 15 people. One more person was injured as a result. Talking to RIA Novosti, a well-informed investigation-group source noted that technical problems were perceived as the main cause of the crash.
  • CHINA SUPPORTS RUSSIA IN FIGHTING TERRORISM RIA Novosti 11 Mar 2005 -- China firmly supports Russia's efforts in fighting terrorism, Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that RIA Novosti received on Friday.
  • Russia Says Georgian Vote 'Counterproductive' RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Russia's Defense Ministry has criticized as "counterproductive" a unanimous vote by the Georgian parliament urging the Georgian government to set a deadline of next January for Moscow to close two Russian military bases in Georgia.
  • Russia Plays Down Base Dispute With Georgia RFE/RL 11 Mar 2005 -- Russia is playing down a dispute with Georgia over two Russian military bases in Georgia.
  • IS RUSSIA PREPARING A MISSILE SHIELD? RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- It was reported yesterday that in January Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov had discussed Russia's withdrawal from the Soviet-US Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with his American counterpart, Vedomosti writes.
  • RUSSIA CALLS FOR WORLD CONVENTION TO PREVENT NUKE TERROR RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- The world is not to put off the adoption of an international convention on efforts against nuclear terror acts, stressed Igor Ivanov, Russia's Security Council Secretary.
  • GEORGIA'S PARLIAMENT TAKES A DECISION ON THE RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- On Thursday, the Georgian parliament passed a resolution on the Russian Federation's military bases in Georgia, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent from the parliament's session.
  • RUSSIAN BASES IN GEORGIA STILL SPARK DEBATE RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- Russia will insist on its military bases remaining on Georgia's territory as long as possible, State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov told journalists Thursday.
  • RUSSIA TO ERADICATE TERROR RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- The death of Aslan Maskhadov, the leader of bandit groups operating in Chechnya and outside its borders, is the greatest achievement of the Russian security structures so far.
  • CHECHNYA: 12 DIE AS ARMY COPTER CRASHES RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- Twelve died and one was injured in a MI 8 helicopter crash in Chechnya, say preliminary reports. The information reached Novosti from the North Caucasian United Armed Forces Group HQ.
  • MOSCOW BAFFLED BY WARSAW'S REACTION TO MASKHADOV'S DEATH RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry says that a recent statement by a Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman calling the killing of Chechen terrorist leader Aslan Maskhadov "a mistake" has baffled Moscow.
  • MASKHADOV'S ELIMINATION NOT TO INFLUENCE SITUATION IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- Russian President's authorized representative in the Southern Federal District Dmitry Kozak believes that the elimination of Aslan Maskhadov will not influence the situation in Chechnya.
  • MILITARY HELICOPTER CRASHED IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- A military helicopter crashed on the border of the Urus-Martan district and Zavodskoi district in Chechnya, an officer on duty of the Chechen Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti.
  • NO GENETIC EXAMINATION OF MASKHADOV'S BODY IS REQUIRED RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- There will be no genetic examination of Aslan Maskhadov's body, Chechnya's prosecutor's office said.
  • 20% OF RUSSIANS DO NOT KNOW WHO MASKHADOV WAS RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- About 20% of Russians do not know who Aslan Maskhadov was.
  • WILL MASKHADOV'S DEATH DEEPEN RUSSIA-WEST DIVIDE? RIA Novosti 10 Mar 2005 -- The death of Aslan Maskhadov exposed anew the chasm between how the West sees Russia and how Russia sees itself. Once initial emotions die down, will his absence deepen this divide or help bridge it?
  • Chechens Name Maskhadov Successor RFE/RL 10 Mar 2005 -- Leading members of Chechnya's resistance movement have named a successor to rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, who was killed by Russian forces in Chechnya.
  • NATO and Russia to conduct joint Theatre Missile Defence Exercise NATO 09 Mar 2005 -- Under the aegis of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), the Theatre Missile Defence Ad Hoc Working Group will conduct the second in a series of joint NATO-Russia TMD Command Post Exercises - 'Collaborative Arrow 05' - from 14-23 March 2005 at Airbase De Peel, the Netherlands.
  • RUSSIA / CHECHNYA REACT VOA 09 Mar 2005 -- Chechen Separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov's reported death in a Russian anti-terrorist raid this week is raising renewed questions about the long-term future of the breakaway republic and long-standing resistance to Russian rule.
  • PUTIN SIGNS SECURITY AGREEMENTS WITH KAZAKHSTAN AND KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the federal law "On ratification of the agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on joint military planning in the common security interests of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan," said the press service of the Russian president.
  • RUSSIA TO ENTER NATO AGREEMENT RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a resolution to join the agreement between NATO member-states and other participants in the Partnership for Peace Program.
  • RUSSIAN BASES IN GEORGIA AS FACTOR OF STABILITY IN CAUCASUS RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Russian military bases in Georgia are a factor of stability in the Caucasus as a whole, Dmitry Ragozin, state Duma's Rodina faction leader, opined.
  • INTERIOR MINISTRY FOCUSES ON ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Interior Ministry has increased its attention to anti-terrorist operations, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said.
  • TERRORIST THREAT TO RUSSIA EMANATES FROM NORTH CAUCASUS RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The main terrorist threat to Russia emanates, as before, from the bandit formations of the North Caucasian region, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev stated speaking in the State Duma during the "government hour."
  • EU Calls For End To Rights Abuses In Chechnya RFE/RL 09 Mar 2005 -- The European Commission today reacted to the news of yesterday's death of Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov with a call on Russia to end the conflict and stop the endemic human rights abuses there.
  • EXPERT: MASKHADOV'S DEATH PUTS WEST IN NO SIMPLE SITUATION RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov's death puts the West in a complex situation, Moscow Carnegy Center scientific board member Alexei Malashenko, Doctor of History, told RIA Novosti.
  • CHECHEN SEPARATISTS TO GET LESS HELP FROM ABROAD WITH MASKHADOV GONE: PUTIN'S ADVISER RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov, prominent on the Chechen separatist top, is gone. Overseas aid to separatists is sure to drastically shrink with his death, expects Aslambek Aslakhanov, adviser to federal President Vladimir Putin.
  • CHECHNYA: UMAROV TO REPLACE DEAD MASKHADOV? RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Doku Umarov is the most likely to take dead Aslan Maskhadov's place on Chechen separatist leadership, expects Aslambek Aslakhanov, adviser to federal President Vladimir Putin.
  • MASKHADOV'S DEATH SPARKS DIVIDED OPINION RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov's death will result in a more stable situation in the south of Russia, says Murat Karaketov, chief of the Karachaevo-Cerkessian president's office.
  • MILITANT CLOSE TO MASKHADOV REPORTED HIS WHEREABOUTS TO LAW ENFORCERS RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Aslambek Aslakhanov, an adviser to the Russian president, believes Maskhadov's whereabouts had been reported to law enforcers by someone from among the militant leader's close entourage.
  • SET OF SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS PRECEDED MASKHADOV'S ELIMINATION RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- A set of special arrangements by Russian secret services in the North Caucasus preceded the elimination of Chechen terrorist leader Aslan Maskhadov, a source in Russian secret anti-terrorist structures informed RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
  • MASKHADOV'S RELATIVES IDENTIFY HIS BODY RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The relatives of Aslan Maskhadov, the leader of Chechen separatists, have officially identified his body, RIA Novosti learnt in the Chechen prosecutor's office.
  • ERA OF TERRORIST-PRESIDENTS IN CHECHNYA ENDS WITH MASKHADOV RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- "The international terrorist and bandit formation leader, Maskhadov, has been killed." This is how Nikolai Patrushev, the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), chose to phrase his report to President Putin on Aslan Maskhadov's death in Chechnya.
  • WILL RUSSIA BENEFIT FROM THE DEATH OF MASKHADOV? RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov, the former president of Ichkeria and separatist leader, was killed in Chechnya during a special operation on March 8.
  • AFTER MASKHADOV RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- On March 8, International Women's Day, President Vladimir Putin received a surprise gift when he was giving presents to Russian women who had fought in World War II. Aslan Maskhadov, the ex-president of Ichkeria and the leader of Chechen separatists, was killed in a cement bunker 2 meters underground in the settlement of Tolstoi-Yurt.
  • COMMISSION ON BESLAN TO ASK FSB TO GIVE DOCUMENTS FROM MASKHADOV'S ARCHIVES RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The parliamentary commission for investigating the terrorist act in Beslan intends to ask the Federal Security Service (FSB), in case documents or materials, having to do with the Beslan terrorist act, are found in Aslan Maskhadov's archives, to give the copies of these documents to the commission.
  • MASKHADOV'S ELIMINATION TO WEAKEN CHECHEN TERRORIST LEADERS RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The elimination of Aslan Maskhadov will, no doubt, weaken the leaders of Chechen terrorists, the Federation Council's [the upper house of the Russian parliament] Defense and Security Committee Chairman Viktor Ozerov told RIA Novosti.
  • MASKHADOV'S ARCHIVE FOUND RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The Federal Security Service's special forces have found the archive of separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov inside his bunker.
  • WHAT WILL FOLLOW MASKHADOV'S DEATH? RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov, a Chechen separatist leader and No.2 on the Kremlin's list of most wanted terrorists after Shamil Basayev, was reported killed near Grozny, the Chechen capital, on March 8, writes Vedomosti.
  • STATE DUMA DEPUTIES ON MASKHADOV'S DEATH RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- Members of the Russian State Duma believe that it will be easier to fight terrorism after Maskhadov's death.
  • LIQUIDATION OF MASKHADOV A SUCCESS FOR RUSSIAN SECRET SERVICES RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The liquidation of Chechen militant leader Aslan Maskhadov can be considered an undoubted success for Russian secret services, believes American political expert Dmitry Simes, president of the Nixon Center in Washington.
  • MASKHADOV'S BODY TAKEN TO KHANKALA RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- "The body of the Chechen militant leader, Aslan Maskhadov, who was liquidated on the day before, has been taken to Khankala for further operational-investigative actions," an informed source at the headquarters of the joint grouping of troops in the North Caucasus told RIA Novosti.
  • BLACK SEA FLEET SHIPS TO CRUISE IN MEDITERRANEAN RIA Novosti 09 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Black Sea Fleet's Azov large landing ship left Sevastopol, the main Russian Black Sea naval base, for the Mediterranean on Wednesday, the Black Sea Fleet spokesman told RIA Novosti.
  • Chechens Vow To Fight On After Maskhadov Death RFE/RL 09 Mar 2005 -- Chechen rebels have vowed to continue their fight against Moscow's rule following the death of resistance leader Aslan Maskhadov.
  • Russian Officials Praise Death Of Maskhadov RFE/RL 09 Mar 2005 -- Russian officials today are praising the killing of Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov by Russian security forces.
  • Chechnya: Was Maskhadov A Terrorist Or A Legitimate Leader? RFE/RL 09 Mar 2005 -- Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov's death at the hands of Russian special forces yesterday has highlighted the dispute that has long raged over his role in the war-ravaged republic. Who was Maskhadov? The international terrorist that Moscow has branded him, or a legitimate leader of the Chechen people? The answer depends on whom you ask.
  • Reports Say Chechen Leader Maskhadov Killed RFE/RL 08 Mar 2005 -- Russia says Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed today in a gun battle with federal forces in the Chechen village of Tolstoi-Yurt. If confirmed, the action removes a man Moscow considered a terrorist but who was seen by mainstream Chechens as a moderate independence leader.
  • Analysis: What Comes After Maskhadov? RFE/RL 08 Mar 2005 -- Chechen President and resistance commander Aslan Maskhadov was killed on 8 March in a special operation in Tolstoi-Yurt, north of Grozny, Russian agencies reported, quoting Colonel Ilya Shabalkin, spokesman for the Russian federal forces in the North Caucasus.
  • Russian Army Says Chechen Leader Maskhadov Killed RFE/RL 08 Mar 2005 -- The Russian army says federal troops have killed Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov.
  • Russia Says Chechen Separatist Leader Maskhadov Killed VOA News 08 Mar 2005 -- Russian security officials say Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed in the Russian breakaway republic.
  • SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION UNDER WAY TO WIPE OUT BANDITS IN SOUTHERN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 07 Mar 2005 -- Over the past two days, the Defense Ministry's special units have been carrying out a combat operation against the militants entrenched in Chechnya's Vedeno and Nozhai-Yurt districts, a well-informed source in the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces in the North Caucasus told RIA Novosti.
  • DOUBLE MILITANTS WHO HELPED PREPARE BESLAN TERROR ACT DETAINED IN CHECNHYA RIA Novosti 07 Mar 2005 -- Twelve militants who made part of the doubling group when the Beslan terrorist act was prepared have been detained in Chechnya, RIA Novosti was told by Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman Ruslan Atsayev.
  • Chechen Leader Gives Exclusive Interview To RFE/RL RFE/RL 07 Mar 2005 -- Aslan Maskhadov supplied extensive answers on 4 March to questions submitted two weeks earlier via the Internet by RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service. The Russian text of the interview was also posted on 4 March on the pro-Maskhadov website chechenpress.co.uk.
  • Entire Bushehr project under IAEA control, says Russian IRNA 03 Mar 2005 -- Iran`s nuclear reactor in Bushehr poses no risks to peace in the Middle East and Moscow has received no protests from the west about its assistance on the project, says Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.
  • Annual Report to Congress on the Safety and Security of Russian Nuclear Facilities and Military Forces National Intelligence Council Dec 2004, Released Mar 2005 -- Congress has directed the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to submit to the Congressional leadership and intelligence committees an annual, unclassified report assessing the safety and security of the nuclear facilities and military forces in Russia.
  • MOSCOW AIRPORTS THROUGH ANTI-TERROR SAFETY CHECK RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- The Federal Transport Inspection checked three Moscow airports for terror safety, two weeks ago. The results were made public today, announced Alexander Neradko, inspection chief.
  • RUSSIAN FIGHTERS TO REPLENISH MALAYSIA'S AIR FORCE FLEET RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- Within the next two years Malaysia plans to give up seven US fighters F-5E in favor of the Russian Su-30MKM, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Defence Zainal Abidin Zin stated on Thursday.
  • ITALY/RUSSIA VOA 04 Mar 2005 -- Russia's defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, said Friday his country reserves the right to launch preventive strikes on suspected terrorist bases outside the national territory. Mr. Ivanov's comments follow talks in Florence with his Italian counterpart.
  • HAZING AND POVERTY RUSSIAN ARMY'S WORST PROBLEMS RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- Hazing is one of the basic kinds of misdemeanors by the Russian Armed Service conscript soldiers. It accounts for 20 to 30 per cent of all soldier crimes, Lieutenant General Victor Buslovsky said to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, popular Moscow daily. General Buslovsky is second in charge of the Russian Armed Forces Central Personnel Board.
  • IVANOV SURPRISED AT GEORGIA'S REACTION TO RUSSIA'S POSSIBLE ANTI-TERRORIST STRIKES RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov is surprised at Georgia's permanent attention to Russia's possible attack on terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge.
  • MOSCOW BORDER GUARD UNIT TO PASS UNDER TAJIK COMMAND BEFORE APRIL'S END RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- Russian border guards will pass the Moscow unit's stretch of the Tajik-Afghan frontier to Tajik soldiers before April's end, formalities starting, April 1, reports Tajikistan's State Frontier Guard Committee.
  • RUSSIA'S AIR FORCE WILL PUT Yaks-130 INTO SERVICE RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- In 2005, the Russian Armed Forces are starting procuring the training-cum-combat version of Yak-130 aircraft produced jointly by Russia and Italy, according to Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov.
  • SECRETARY OF RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL ARRIVES IN KIEV RIA Novosti 04 Mar 2005 -- Igor Ivanov, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, will go on a working visit to Kiev on Friday.
  • Beslan Suspects Killed In Russian Raid RFE/RL 04 Mar 2005 -- Russian authorities say a police raid has ended in the deaths of five people suspected of aiding in the seizing of a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, last September.
  • SECURITY ON THE MOSCOW METRO RIA Novosti 03 Mar 2005 -- Up to 10 million passengers use the Moscow metro every day. The system's tracks cover over 600km and there are 170 stations.
  • RUSSIA, GERMANY HAVE NO SECRETS FROM EACH OTHER RIA Novosti 03 Mar 2005 -- Russia and Germany have no secrets from each other in military-technological cooperation, German Defense Minister Peter Struck told reporters.
  • RUSSIA, GERMANY MAY COOPERATE IN MILITARY TRAINING RIA Novosti 03 Mar 2005 -- Sergei Ivanov, the Russian defense minister, believes that Russia and Germany may cooperate in military training in the future.
  • RUSSIA OPPOSES IRANIAN NUCLEAR-FUEL CYCLE RIA Novosti 03 Mar 2005 -- While speaking at a recent RIA Novosti press conference, Alexander Rumyantsev, the director of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power (Rosatom), said, "As the Iranians are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, there is nothing that can prevent them from developing their own nuclear-fuel cycle. We advise not to do this, though, as it is economically impractical."
  • BUSH-PUTIN SUMMIT: 'THE ISSUE OF RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 02 Mar 2005
  • Novovoronezh center trains 650 specialists for Bushehr NPP IRNA 02 Mar 2005 -- The Novovoronezh center of the Russian Rosenergoatom Atomic Energy Concern has trained 650 specialists for the Bushehr nuclear power plant of Iran, a representative of the Atomic Energy of Iran Organization in Voronezh told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
  • Russia`s chances of building more n-plants in Iran high IRNA 02 Mar 2005 -- Russia`s chances of winning contracts to build more nuclear power plants in Iran are rather high, Russian ambassador in Tehran, Alexander Maryasov has told Tass.
  • Bushehr gives Russia chances to build more stations in Iran IRNA 02 Mar 2005 -- Russia has rather good chances to build more nuclear power plants in Iran, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iran Alexander Maryasov told Itar-Tass.
  • Russia-Iran interaction doesn`t threaten non-proliferation: Lavrov IRNA 02 Mar 2005 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday Moscow`s interaction with Tehran in building the nuclear power plant in Bushehr does not pose a threat to the regime of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
  • RUSSIA CAN DO A SHARE IN UNFOLDING EUROPEAN MISSILE DEFENSE RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- Russia can propose operating systems for the creation of the European antimissile defense, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told a briefing in Berlin. He is on a working visit in Berlin.
  • RUSSIANS TO TRAIN AT FBI SCHOOL IN US RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- Russian security service personnel will undergo training at an FBI training facility in the United States, the FBI's Antiterrorist Center chief John Lewis told the media in Novosibirsk.
  • LEVEL OF CRIME IN RUSSIAN ARMY GROWS RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- The level of crime and the death rate among servicemen grows in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Viktor Buslovsky, the first deputy chief of the Main Department for Educational Work of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, told reporters on Wednesday.
  • RUSSIAN MILITARY MANNED BY LACK-ALLS RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- At present, the Russian armed forces mirrors the most destitute part of the people, Navy Captain 1st Rank Leonid Peven, chief of the Defense Ministry's Sociologic Center, told the media on Wednesday.
  • RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER TO HAVE LARGE AGENDA IN BERLIN RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has arrived in Berlin, where he is to attend bilateral Russian-German negotiations on military and military-technical cooperation and discuss matters of common interest with his German opposite number, Peter Struck.
  • STATE DUMA RATIFIES CONVENTION ON LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- The State Duma ratified the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage on Wednesday.
  • MILITANTS PLANTING LANDMINES IN FIELDS PRIOR TO SOWING CAMPAIGN RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- Chechen militants plant landmines in the fields in anticipation of the sowing campaign, RIA Novosti was told by a spokesman of the Regional Operative Headquarters running the antiterrorist operation in the North Caucasus.
  • ONE KILLED, 18 WOUNDED IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- On Tuesday, one policeman was killed and 16 wounded in the shelling of the building of the local police department, a source in the Chechen Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti.
  • IRAN SHOULD NOT RESUME URANIUM-ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS, LAVROV SAYS RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- Russia does not want Iran to resume its uranium-enrichment programs, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday.
  • IAEA ENDORSES AGREEMENT BETWEEN IRAN AND RUSSIA ON RETURN OF NUCLEAR FUEL RIA Novosti 02 Mar 2005 -- A treaty between Russia and Iran on the return of spent nuclear fuel, signed on Sunday in Tehran, is of positive significance, an informed source in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a RIA Novosti interview in Vienna. He is attending a session of the IAEA board of governors.
  • RF develops close ties with EU over Iran nuke standoff - FM IRNA 01 Mar 2005 -- Russia established very close cooperation with the EU troika to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran`s nuclear program and the compliance with the IAEA Board of Governors resolution, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
  • EU, RF agree Iran should comply with NPT protocol IRNA 01 Mar 2005 -- The EU and Russia are convinced that Iran should comply with the protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said.
  • A SUMMIT OF OVERTURNED EXPECTATIONS RIA Novosti 01 Mar 2005 -- The Bratislava meeting between the Russian and American presidents can be described as "the summit of overturned expectations."
  • BUSH-PUTIN BOND INTACT, FOR BETTER OR WORSE RIA Novosti 01 Mar 2005 -- The "democracy question" loomed large, but it didn't derail George W. Bush's talks with Vladimir Putin. In the end, all that talk of democracy failed to change either man's mind.



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