Political unrest nearing Russia's southern border

Political unrest nearing Russia's southern border - February, 2012

Couple of Washington's several propaganda organs operating in Armenia are jointly reporting that Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha has publicly stated that the CSTO will help Armenia in "domestic emergencies" and "critical situations".

I think we all know what "domestic emergencies" mean. Moscow is getting ready to react to any Western-instigated uprising in Armenia during Armenia's upcoming presidential elections. Currently, Western activists throughout Armenian society are actively seeding Armenia for political unrest and some activists are even going as far as claiming that "Arab Spring" type demonstrations are being organized in Armenia. Being that Armenia plays a vital geostrategic role for senior officials in Russia, Moscow is not going to leave anything to chance, nor is it going to blindly rely on Armenians to confront this potentially serious problem. Therefore, I think we can all expect Moscow to take more drastic measures as Western-instigated wars and political unrest reach Russian borders.

The escalating unrest and "critical situations" in regions adjacent to Russia's vulnerable underbelly is elevating the importance of the already very important geostrategic significance of the Caucasus for Moscow. As Western-instigated wars and political unrests encroach on Russian interests in the region, Moscow is beginning to take on a more aggressive political posture. Libya was the pawn Moscow reluctantly gave up in its desperate effort to protect its bishops, Syria and Iran. Realizing now that its presence in the strategic region are directly threatened by the Anglo-American-Zionist alliance and friends, Moscow has finally decided to do away with diplomatic niceties and draw a firm line in the sand.

There are no worries with regards to Armenia's and Artsakh's territorial integrity. I can confidently state that Moscow will protect the embattled little republic in the Caucasus as if it is a part of Russia itself. For centuries Armenia has been protecting Russia's southern gate and it has been an effective hedge against regional Turks and Muslims. The geostrategic significance of Armenia today is as important for Russian officials as it was for Czarist officials, if not more. In a region that is saturated with powerful Turkic and Islamic influences, Armenia's national independence and its alliance with Moscow will be zealously protected by Russian officials. If Moscow was ready to go to war when Armenia was threatened by Turkey in the early 1990s, in a time when Moscow was literally on its knees, I think the reader can use his/her imagination as to what Moscow would be willing to do today if outside forces threatened Armenia. Let me put it this way. If Moscow is willing to forcefully standup to the West and the rest over Syria and Iran, we can safely expect Moscow to activate its nuclear arsenal if Armenia is in any way threatened.

Russia’s top secret bases

Russia’s top secret bases

Over 400 modern ground- and sea-based ICBMs, 8 ballistic missile submarines, about 20 general purpose attack submarines, over 50 surface ships and some 100 military-purpose spacecraft, over 600 modern aircraft, including fifth-generation fighters, more than a thousand helicopters, 28 regimental sets of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, 38 division sets of Vityaz air defense systems, 10 brigade sets of Iskander-M tactical missile systems, more than 2,300 modern tanks, some 2,000 self-propelled artillery systems and guns, and more than 17,000 military vehicles. These are the figures of the massive rearmament program announced by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin in an article published on February 20 by state-owned newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

New Russian ICBM against US missile shield

New Russian ICBM against US missile shield

This week, 50 years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to go into space. While media from all over the world have been reminding the importance of such a historical event, little attention has been paid to statements released by the former chief of staff of Russia’s Strategic Missile Force, Colonel-General Viktor Yesin. As reported by Itar-Tass, Yesin, who is currently an adviser to the commander of the Strategic Missile Force, said Russia in 2018 will have a new heavy silo-based liquid propellant megaton-class ICBM that will replace the RS-20 missile Voyevoda. The new rocket, unlike its well-known predecessor, will have increased survivability thanks to heavily fortified protection of the launcher and other measures of passive and active defense.

Nakhchivan: the next post-Soviet conflict?

Nakhchivan: the next post-Soviet conflict?

On 21-22 February 2011, a European delegation paid an official visit to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The visit was an opportunity for EU Ambassadors and representatives to discuss all aspects of their relationship with Nakhchivan in the context of the Eastern Partnership, since the autonomous republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan separated from the rest of the country by a strip of Armenian territory.  

Although Nakhchivan is not officially claimed by Yerevan, some Armenian political groups claim that the territory of the Azerbaijani autonomous republic should belong to Armenia, as huge Armenian religious and cultural remnants are witness of the historic presence of Armenians in the region. Turkey, which shares an 11-kilometer border with Nakhchivan, has long acted to provide support to ensure that the landlocked territory of 400,000 people survived. Both Ankara and Baku cite the 1921 Treaty of Kars, which defined Nakhchivan as part of Azerbaijan, as the basis for this support. Today, that relationship has become less about Nakhchivan’s immediate survival, and more about long-term projects for the exclave, especially in the wider context of energy cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Turkmenistan: US secret ally in Eurasia

Turkmenistan: US secret ally in Eurasia

On Wednesday, at a meeting of the State Safety Council of Turkmenistan, the Turkmen president and commander in chief of the armed forces Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stated that the permanent neutrality status chosen by Ashgabat and recognized by the U.N. General Assembly in 1995 allows the country to realise its peacekeeping potential, making positive initiatives to resolve the urgent issues concerning all progressive mankind. “Peace lies at the basis of military doctrine, having an exclusively defensive character,” Berdimuhamedov said, adding that “the Turkmen government will continue to take all measures to ensure a high level of combat readiness of its Armed Forces”.

Turkmenistan became the first Central Asian state to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 1994, and Turkmen officers have indeed participated to several PfP exercises. In January 2011, Gen. James N. Mattis, Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), visited Turkmenistan and met with President Berdimuhamedov. Reportedly, the two sides discussed about Ashgabat’s possible role in the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), the rail, road and air network that ferries supplies across Central Asia to US and NATO troops in Afghanistan whose importance has increased considerably since the closure of the Pakistani-Afghan border to non-military freight in late 2011. Although Turkmenistan is not officially part of the NDN because of its neutrality status, all five Central Asian states in facts allow US military overflights over their territories, thereby cooperating to Washington’s was effort in Afghanistan.

The geostrategic significance of South Ossetia

The geostrategic significance of South Ossetia

During a recent visit to the headquarters of the Russian 58th army in Vladikavkaz, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the 2008 South Ossetia War stopped NATO expansion. Discussing developments concerning the partially-recognized republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Medvedev said “had we hesitated in 2008, the geopolitical scenario would have been different,” stating that NATO would currently rank Ukraine and Georgia among its members.  

the battle of Sarikamish

 the battle of Sarikamish

Ccommemorating the 97th anniversary of an epic Russo-Armenian military campaign that inflicted upwards of 100,000 casualties upon Ottoman army regulars at the battle of Sarikamish. Imperial Russian forces supported by a significant number of battle-hardened Armenian volunteers from the Caucasus preempted an Ottoman strike against the Russian Empire by advancing west towards Erzerum from the Russian held Armenian city of Kars. It was late December 1914, the initial stages of the First World War, when the two imperial armies met on the snow covered mountainous landscape at Sarikamish on the outskirts of Kars. When the historic battle was over some four weeks later, the entire Ottoman army under the leadership of Enver Pasha lay decimated. Thousands upon thousands of frozen Ottoman corpses lay strewn across the snow clad battlefield. According to some accounts, out of a force of nearly 100,000 Ottoman troops about 80,000 is said to have perished, the rest being either wounded or taken prisoner. The exact number of Ottoman casualties may be disputed by historians today. What's not in dispute, however, is the fact that an entire Ottoman army was decimated by imperial Russian forces. 

The Russian force that defeated the Ottoman army at Sarikamish was essentially the same contingent that went on to liberate the ancient Armenian cities of Van, Erzrum, Artvin and Trapizon from the bloody clutches of Turkish and Kurdish tyrants. The Ottoman defeat at Sarikamish had finally opened the gates to historic Armenia. By late 1916, a significant portion of Ottoman occupied Western Armenia was liberated. Russian successes in Western Armenia enabled a significant portion of the region's native Armenian population to escape the genocidal campaign of Turks. After suffering several hundred years of Turkic oppression and periodic massacres, Armenians were finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Then, suddenly, fate struck. Alas, the sun was not to shine on the Armenian Highlands.

http://www.facebook.com/Panos-Kammenos/

«Ανεξάρτητοι Ελληνες» το όνομα του νέου κόμματος του Πάνου Καμμένου

Την ίδρυση του κόμματος «Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες» ανακοίνωσε μέσω των μέσων κοινωνικής δικτύωσης (facebook, twitter) ο ανεξάρτητος βουλευτής Πάνος Καμμένος, τα ξημερώματα της Παρασκευής. -

Το σήμα του κόμματος αποτελείται από ένα γαλάζιο γλάρο, τον τίτλο «Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες» σε μπλε χρώμα, με υπογραμμισμένη τη λέξη «Ανεξάρτητοι» με κόκκινο χρώμα.

Στο μήνυμα που συνοδεύει το σήμα του κόμματος, που αναρτήθηκε στα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης, ο Π.Καμμένος σημειώνει: «Το δικό μας κίνημα γεννήθηκε. Η Παναγία να είναι βοηθός και προστάτης. Είμαστε Πολλοί. Είμαστε Ανεξάρτητοι. Είμαστε Έλληνες».

Iran’s role in the geopolitics of Greater Russia

Iran’s role in the geopolitics of Greater Russia

When Peter the Great started the Azov Campaigns against the Tartars, in 1695, his aim was to give Russia access to the Black Sea. From that moment, the need of providing the country with an outlet to the warm seas became one of the geopolitical imperatives of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union. The end of Moscow’s rule over Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia marked a setback to Russian naval ambitions, leaving Russia struggling for regaining lost ground on the continent.

One of the means for the restoration of Russia’s role in Eurasia, facing both NATO’s Eastward expansion and China’s economic rise, could be the creation of a Russian-led Eurasian Union along the lines of the European Union, as proposed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia is seen as the base upon which to push for further integration among post-Soviet economies. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have already expressed interest in the project, while Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan seem to be less interested in joining the proposed union.

The Hughes Falcon Missile Family

The Hughes Falcon Missile Family  in PDF  <<
(by Sean O’Connor )

Cold War Spreads Over Arctic - Russia to Field First Arctic Brigade in 2015

Russia to Field First Arctic Brigade in 2015

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in July 2011 that two arctic brigades would be established in “Murmansk or Arkhangelsk or some other place.” The first motorized rifle arctic brigade will be deployed in 2015, Russian Ground Forces Chief Col Gen Alexander Postnikov said on Tuesday. President Dmitry Medvedev has called for “extra measures” to protect Russian interests and reinforce its borders in the Arctic. Russia is to deploy a combined-arms force to protect its political and economic interests in the Arctic by 2020, including military, border and coastal guard units to guarantee Russia's military security in diverse military and political circumstances.

Maritime jurisdiction and boundaries in the arctic region (PDF)
Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF)

Cold War Spreads Over Arctic

Northern Fleet warships guard Arctic resources

Down to recent times the Arctic militarization issue has been absolutely theoretical by climatic reasons. Because of ice pack in the Arctic Ocean and extreme environmental conditions, activities of Russian armed forces in Arctic were either hampered or impossible at all. By the way, with the end of cold war, even those rare troops deployed in the Arctic were reduced or disbanded.

Things have changed in recent years when the ice began extensively melt and large hydrocarbon deposits were discovered on the Arctic shelf. Possible disappearance of ice cover creates conditions for year-round navigation of merchant vessels and warships along the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage, seasonal traffic in polar latitudes and shelf hydrocarbon production. Take note, the Northern Sea Route from Europe to Asia is almost 5,000 km shorter than the way through Suez Canal, and the Northwest Passage is 9,000 km shorter than the course via Panama Canal.

Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security – Rogozin

Any conflict on Iran is a direct threat to Russia’s security – Rogozin

The escalating conflict around Iran should be contained by common effort, otherwise the promising Arab Spring will grow into a “scorching Arab Summer,” says Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s former envoy to NATO.“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military hardships, this will be a direct threat to our national security,” stressed Rogozin.

IRANIAN EXILES MOVE TO NEW IRAQ CAMP !!

IRANIAN EXILES MOVE TO NEW IRAQ CAMP !!

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Several hundred Iranian exiles arrived at a UN-approved site near Baghdad on Saturday, a first step in a process that aims to see them resettled outside Iraq, where they have been based for decades.The move is part of a December 25 deal between the UN and Iraq, reached after extensive talks, under which around 3,400 Iranians opposed to the regime in Tehran are to move from their long-time base, Camp Ashraf, to a new location called Camp Liberty, with the aim of eventually moving them to other countries."We are arriving at the gate to (Camp) Liberty," Behzad Saffari, the legal adviser for residents of Camp Ashraf, told AFP by telephone around 6:00 am (0300 GMT).

Iranian Ships Docks in Syria Port - Iran began construction of destroyer Jamaran 2

Iranian Ships Docks in Syria Port

supply vessel Kharg 

Iranian warships have docked in the Syrian port of Tartus, Iranian media reported on Sunday. The Mehr news agency said the deployment caused “extreme worry for zionist forces,” al Jazeera television reported. Iranian officials usually refer to Israel as the “Zionist regime.

Battle off the coast of Abkhazia

Battle off the coast of Abkhazia ..

The Battle off the coast of Abkhazia was a naval engagement between vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and patrol boats of the Coast Guard of Georgia during the 2008 South Ossetia War. According to a purported eyewitness account posted in the Ukrainian Communications Portal (UPK.com), the skirmish took place, during a night-time landing of Russian troops at Ochamchira, where the troops were to meet up with their vehicles and supplies, arriving from Russia to Abkhazia by railroad 

New Russian Tank to Appear in 2013 ..(based on object 195?)

New Russian Tank to Appear in 2013

Russia will complete the first prototype of the new Armata main battle tank by 2013 and begin production and deliveries to the Russian Armed Forces in 2015, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and the CEO of tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod Oleg Sienko told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Lenta.ru news portal reported.  Uralvagonzavod and the military are testing the main components of the new tank. No other details were reported. “The Russian armed forces will have a new main tank with fundamentally new characteristics, fully automated loading and separate crew compartment by 2015,” Lieutenant-General Yuri Kovalenko, former First Deputy Head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Automotive Armor Directorate said last April. Kovalenko said work from other projects, including Object 195 and Black Eagle, will be incorporated in Armata's design.

New generation nuclear facility launched in Iran

New generation nuclear facility launched in Iran

 An image grab taken from a broadcast on February 15, 2012 on the state-run Press TV shows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inside Tehran's research reactor. Ahmadinejad led a ceremony inserting Iran's first domestically produced, 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel into Tehran's research reactor

Elite Syrian units take by storm rebel-seized area in Damascus

Elite Syrian units take by storm rebel-seized area in Damascus

Elite Syrian Army units, reinforced by infantry combat vehicles, are taking by storm the Barza area, in downtown Damascus, where rebels and terrorists of the so-called Free Syrian Army have been active. Mechanized division units and the Republican Guards have set up checkpoints on the main streets of the area. Heavy fighting has also engulfed other parts of Syria. According to the SANA news agency, a large gang was wiped out in the environs of the city of Aleppo.In Homs, rebels were blocked in several residential quarters. They are firing mortars and blowing up dwelling houses. Earlier today, the rebels exploded the city oil pipeline.

Comdr. of Syria's al-Farouq rebels Abdul Razzaq Talas killed

 << Comdr. of Syria's al-Farouq rebels killed

Syrian rebel group leader Abdul Razzaq Talas, whose al-Farouq group is accused of participation in terror attacks in the country, has been killed.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: What Is Space?

Οι Σύριοι υποδέχονται με ενθουσιασμό τον LAVROF

Οι Σύριοι υποδέχονται με ενθουσιασμό τον LAVROF

Syrian opposition agrees to Russian mediation

The opposition Syrian National Council does not object to Russia coordinating the talks with the Syrian government.

"The Syrian opposition needs all the help there is. Considering the good relations between the Russian and Syrian nations, Russia has a good chance of playing this part," George Sabra, a senior member of the council, told Interfax news agency on Tuesday.  

20 million yr old Antarctic lake 'drilled'

After 30 years spent drilling through a four-kilometer-thick ice crust, researchers have finally broken through to a unique subglacial lake. Scientists are set to reveal its 20-million-year-old secrets, and imitate a quest to discover ET life.

Τhe main inspiration for the project – the Russian scientist who posited the lake’s existence – died just six months before the moment of contact with the lake’s surface.

T-50 vs F-22A. The technology of Quantum Well Imaging Photodetectors (QWIP) will upset the balance

Consider a QWIP technology “OLS-50M” installed in the PAK-FA. Such a device could be design-optimised for simultaneous detection and tracking of aircraft exhausts, jet-plumes and missile flares to ranges of 70 nm and beyond

Suppose the Russians don’t quite master stealth to the degree of the F-22A, but manage a RCS of 0.01 square metres from all aspects. The F-22A’s APG-77 will detect the PAK-FA at ~40 nm and the F-35’s APG-81 at ~30 nm. Passive electronic surveillance might increase detection ranges, but this still makes long-range missile shots problematic, as tracking depends upon the opponent emitting, which smart opponents will try not to do.

The PAK-FA’s radar can be expected to be an improvement on the IRBIS-E so at front-on aspects might detect the F-22A at ~15 nautical miles and the F-35 at ~28 nautical miles; and from side and rear aspects, the F-22A at ~43 nautical miles and the F-35 at ~51 nautical miles. 

Infrared sensors are the next growth area in air combat. Every air combat jet has unavoidable infrared signatures – converting kerosene into thrust at prodigious rates does that. The existing OLS-35, developed for the Su-35BM, is credited with the ability to detect a ‘fighter type’ target head on from 27 nautical miles, and from behind at around 50 nautical miles, through a 90° sector. It uses conventional detector technology, and provides similar performance to the Eurofighter Typhoon PIRATE infrared sensor.