HOW RUSSIAN ECONOMY IMPACTS ITS FOREIGN POLICY

Written by Constantine Sivkov, appeared at VPK; translated by Don Courter exclusively for SouthFront

Russian foreign relations enter into contradiction with production opportunities?

Russian foreign vectors and internal politics are diametrically opposed. The first is leading to the revivification of Russian status and influence on the world stage and the second is pulling the country to the direction of liberalism, depriving Russia’s foreign policy initiatives of adequate financial support.

The end of November, continuing into early December, was a time of many significant geopolitical events. Turkey’s recent downing of our SU-24 bomber followed by Ankara’s insistent refusal to recognize the illegality of their aggression and apologize. The sanctions imposed on Russia and the publishing of compelling evidence that revealed Turkey’s bulk purchases of oil from ISIS are both related to the political maneuvers of the American and European elites. The Turkish military’s invasion of Iraq caused much outrage with Baghdad and Ankara’s request of Russia for an extension of bombing coverage into Iraq to strike enemy troops – i.e to protect the Mosul Turkish tank battalion. All of these events formed the backdrop in which the Parisian terrorist attacks and the destruction of a Russian plane over the Sinai Peninsula occurred, starting with the actions of the French navy and British Air Force against Russia’s ban on the “Islamic State” that resulted from President Hollande’s unsuccessful attempt to create a Russian – Western anti-terrorist coalition.

South China sea area issues

Yemen TV : Yemeni army launched Anti-Ship missile destroying Saudi warship

Barzani .. what an oportunist

Barzani .. what an oportunist

Σε μια εποχή που ο τουρκικός στρατός διεξάγει ευρείες και αιματηρές επιχειρήσεις κατά των Κούρδων του ΡΚΚ στην Τουρκία και βομβαρδίζει σε τακτικά διατήματα θέσεις στο Βόρειο Ιράκ, πρόσφατα μάλιστα είχαν αναπτυχθεί και για μερικές μέρες τουρκικά στρατεύματα βαθειά στο εσωτερικό του Ιράκ (χωρίς όμως με τη συνήθη αποστολή - καταπολέμηση των Κούρδων στο Βόρειο Ιράκ), και απειλεί με παρέμβαση στη Βόρεια Συρία ενάντια στα στρατεύματα των Κούρδων της Συρίας (YPG / YPJ), συσφίγγει, σχεδόν επιδεικτικά, τη συνεργασία με την Κουρδική Περιφερειακή Κυβέρνηση (KRG) στο Βόρειο Ιράκ. Η συμμαχία της Τουρκίας με τον πρόεδρο της KRG Μασούντ Μπαρζανί έχει ήδη εγείρει σοβαρές ανησυχίες μεταξύ των άλλων γειτονικών άλλων χωρών, ιδίως με το Ιράν.

Η αυξανόμενη σημασία των σχέσεων Τουρκίας-KRG φαινεται από την πρώτη επίσκεψη στο Βόρειο Ιράκ ενός επικεφαλής της τουρκικής διπλωματίας, Φεριντούν Σινιρλιόγλου (αν το μεταφράζω σωστά από τα τουρκικά δημοσιεύματα), μετά τις εκλογές του Νοεμβρίου στην Τουρκία. Η επίσκεψη αυτή έλαβε χώρα στην πρωτεύουσα της KRG - Ερμπίλ. Στις 9 Δεκεμβρίου, λίγες ημέρες μετά την ανάπτυξη/εισβολή των τουρκικών στρατευμάτων στην ιρακινή επαρχία της Νινευή ο Μασούντ Μπαρζανί αφίχθη στην Άγκυρα, όπου συναντήθηκε τόσο με τον πρωθυπουργό Νταβούτογλου, καθώς και με τον πρόεδρο Ερντογάν, καθώς και με εκπροσωπους της τουρκικής μυστικής υπηρεσίας - ΜΙΤ. Αυτή ήταν η πρώτη επίσκεψη ενός Κούρδου προέδρου στην πρωτεύουσα της Τουρκίας και η πρώτη συνάντηση με τον Τούρκο αρχηγό του κράτους, παρά το γεγονός ότι ο Μπαρζανί συναντήθηκε ήδη το 2013 με τον Ερντογάν, αλλά αυτό ήταν στο Ντιγιαρμπακίρ, και ο Ερντογάν δεν ήταν ακόμα πρόεδρος, αλλά ο πρωθυπουργός της Τουρκίας. 

Ο ηγέτης των Τούρκων εθνικιστών - MHP, Ντεβλέτ Μπαχτσελί, με ένα μάλλον υστερικό ύφος σχολίασε σχετικά με τη συνάντηση με τον Μπαρζανί ως επικεφαλής κράτους, και ότι όλα αυτά αποτελούν ένα είδος αποδοχής από τις τουρκικές αρχές του σχεδίου για την δημιουργία του Μεγάλου Κουρδιστάν και την απώλεια του ελέγχου επί της Ανατολικής Τουρκίας (τουρκικό Κουρδιστάν). Ο Μπαχτσελί αναφέρθηκε και στο αντάρτικο πόλης των Κούρδων, το οποίο μέχρι στιγμής δεν συνιστά πραγματική απειλή για την ακεραιότητα της Τουρκίας, αν και η κατάσταση μπορεί να αλλάξει μέσω τρίτης χείρας - Ρωσία. Αλλά σίγουρα όχι ως αποτέλεσμα της Ερμπίλ. Πάντως, για να το θέσω πιο ήπια, η εχθρότητα, μεταξύ των Τούρκων και των Κούρδων εξακολουθεί να κυριαρχεί στις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις τους, τις διαπροσωπικές, αν θέλετε και αλλιώς.

Ωστόσο, για να καταλάβουμε τι ακριβώς συνδέει την Άγκυρα και την Ερμπίλ, και πώς επηρεάζει την κατάσταση αυτή η σχέση, θα πρέπει να εξετάσουμε τα δρώμενα υπό το πρίσμα και των δύο πλευρών, έστω και συνοπτικά. Ήδη από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '90, μετά τον πόλεμο του Κόλπου υπήρχαν διάφορες ιδέες σχετικά με την κουρδική κάρτα της Τουρκίας, προκειμένου να αποκατασταθεί η (νεο)οθωμανική επιρροή στη Μέση Ανατολή. Αυτό αφορά τα σχέδια του Τουργκούτ Οζάλ, ως πρωθυπουργός και στη συνέχεια ως πρόεδρος από το 1983-1993, όπου μετά τον πόλεμο του Κόλπου προσπάθησε να προσαρτήσει το βόρειο τμήμα του Ιράκ και τη Συρίας και να δημιουργήσει κάποιο είδος τουρκο-κουρδικής ομοσπονδία. Ο Οζάλ, ο οποίος ήταν και ο ίδιος μισο-Κούρδος, ήθελε επίσης να τερματιστεί η σύγκρουση με το ΡΚΚ μέσω διαπραγματεύσεων.

Και είναι ακριβώς λόγω αυτών των σχεδίων που το 1983 δηλητηριάστηκε από τον τουρκικό στρατό. Η περίπτωση του Οζάλ είναι σημαντική από την άποψη του τι συμβαίνει αυτή τη στιγμή στην Τουρκία, επειδή ο Ερντογάν, 10 χρόνια μετά τη δολοφονία του Οζάλ, κατά κάποιο τρόπο συνέχισε την πολιτική του έναντι των Κούρδων. Επιπλέον, το κόμμα του Ερντογάν έχει μια ομάδα που συνδέεται με τους πολιτικούς του Πατριωτικού Κόμματος, του οποίου ηγέτης ήταν ο Οζάλ. Θα πρέπει να σημειωθεί, ωστόσο, ότι η διαφορά μεταξύ του Οζάλ και του Ερντογάν είναι, μεταξύ άλλων, ότι ο Οζάλ ακολούθησε μια πολιτική πιστος στο ΝΑΤΟ, και κυρίως τις ΗΠΑ. Η Τουρκία υπό την ηγεσία του υποστήριξε την πρώτη επέμβαση των ΗΠΑ στο Ιράκ, ενώ η Τουρκία υπό την ηγεσία του Ερντογάν αρνήθηκε την υποστήριξή της κατά τη διάρκεια της δεύτερης παρέμβασης/επέμβασης.

Παρά το γεγονός ότι από αυτές τις ιδέες του Οζάλ εχουν περάσει κάπου 25 χρόνια, η δημιουργία μιας κουρδο-τουρκικής (συν)ομοσπονδίας όχι μόνο δεν έχει χάσει τη σημασία της, αλλά αντίθετα, εξακολουθεί να είναι πολύ επίκαιρη. Το θέμα είναι ότι αν και τα δύο μέρη (Κούρδοι και Τούρκοι) έχουν να κερδίσουν πάρα πολλά από μια τέτοια εξέλιξη, δεν είναι έτοιμοι για ένα τέτοιο ενδεχόμενο, ιδίως οι Τούρκοι, λόγω του εθνικισμού τους.

Qasem Soleimani

Qasem Soleimani

Qasem Soleimani (Persian: قاسم سلیمانی‎‎, born 11 March 1957) is a major general in the Iranian Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC) and since 1998 commander of its Quds Force—a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations.A veteran of the Iran–Iraq war, he has been active in many conflicts in the rest of the Middle East, especially in Iraq and the Levant. His methods have been a blend of military intervention through ideological proxies and hard-nosed strategic diplomacy. The Quds Force has long provided military assistance to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. After the United States invasion of Iraq, Suleimani has always had political and military influence in the Iraq through the Shia & Kurdish Political Parties; who rebelled against Saddam in the 1991 uprising in Iraq. Iran had armed equipped the rebels against Saddam.In 2012, Soleimani helped bolster the Syrian government, a key Iranian ally, during the Syrian Civil War. Soleimani also assisted in the command of combined Iraqi government and Shia militia forces that advanced against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2014–2015.

In 2015 Soleimani started to gather support from various sources in order to combat the newly resurgent ISIL and rebel groups which were both successful in taking large swathes of territory away from Assad's forces. He was reportedly the main architect of the joint intervention involving Russia as a new partner with Assad and Hezbollah.  According to Reuters, at a meeting in Moscow in July, Soleimani unfurled a map of Syria to explain to his Russian hosts how a series of defeats for President Bashar al-Assad could be turned into victory - with Russia's help. Qasem Soleimani's visit to Moscow was the first step in planning for a Russian military intervention that has reshaped the Syrian war and forged a new Iranian-Russian alliance in support of Assad. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei also sent a senior envoy to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. "Putin reportedly told the envoy 'Okay we will intervene. Send Qassem Soleimani'. Gen. Soleimani went to explain the map of the theatre and coordinate the strategic escalation of military forces in Syria.  Soleimani, who assumed overall command in the Aleppo offensives of 2015, had a decisive impact on the theatre of operations and led to a strong advance in southern Aleppo with the government and allied forces re-capturing two military bases and dozens of towns and villages in a matter of weeks. There was also a series of major advances towards Kuweiris air-base to the north-east. By mid-November, the Syrian army and its allies has advance deep into the southern countryside of Aleppo capturing numerous rebel strongholds. Soleimani was reported to have personally led the drive deep into the southern Aleppo countryside where many town and villages fell into government hands. Soleimani reportedly commanded the Syrian Army’s 4th Mechanized Division, Hezbollah, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi), Kataebat Hezbollah (Iraqi), Liwaa Abu Fadl Al-Abbas (Iraqi), and Firqa Fatayyemoun (Afghan/Iranian volunteers). In response to reports about his injury or death during offensive in the southwest of Aleppo, he responded as "martyrdom is what I seek in mountains and valleys but isn’t granted yet".

Crimea. The Way Back Home.

The events of January through March of 2014 were cataclysmic for Ukraine, a wholesale and virtually overnight change of an entire country and political climate. I will not go in to the political effects nor will I expound on the outside influences before, during and after the coup d’etat, it is common knowledge.

The events of December, January and February in Kiev were watched in Krimea with rapt attention. Make absolutely no mistake, President Yanukovich was not loved or admired in Krimea or for that matter in Ukraine. However, he had been elected to replace President Yushenko in an election that even US and EU grudgingly admitted was fair and aboveboard, therefore he was the internationally recognized legal president of Ukraine. While my wife and I personally are not aware of all the events that took place in Krimea in those three months we are quite aware of many of them and we were aware of certain events before and during their execution.

This video is amazing in the fact that President Putin took the time for the very extensive interviews involved in the composition and it is also obvious that various security apparatus of Russia were as open as OpSec would allow in the making and technical informations provided in this film.

There is enough real footage of the events in the dramatizations of certain events that you can see for yourselves that all the events shown in this video did take place and the events themselves are true and it is also true that a couple of the events were so taut with tension that one nervous finger on a trigger could have started a vicious action between armed groups that would have spread armed conflict with Ukrainian troops and the citizens throughout the peninsula.

In essence the tragedy of the events in Kiev and Ukraine and the triumph of Krimea and Sevastopol returning to Russian Federation or Russia proper by the will of the citizens of The Autonomous Republic of Krimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol are portrayed well.

SUKHOI Fighter Jet Aircrafts Family History - From Su-27 to PAK FA 50

Origins of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria)

Origins of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria)

Feasibility of the US strategy against ISIS

Interactive map on Syria

http://sputniknews.com/infographics/20151130/1030993895/russia-syria-operation-interactive.html

Hunt and fount , his name Anatoly Dugout from Chechnya

WANTED

Hunt and fount , his name Anatoly Dugout from Chechnya

In his  hometown of the executioner he is   remembered only thanks to a rare surname, and not because of the merits. The 28-year-old executioner Anatoly Dugout, nicknamed little Jihadi-Tolik, finished the 3rd school  in the city of Noyabrsk of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous district. 

However, former teachers remembered him with great difficulty, and that is because of his rare surname. It turned out that a future extremist-thug in school was a quiet person. He was not bully, on the contrary, the so called a gray was  silent and demure. He studied poorly, his rating was, say, 2+ in the best case.  It is known that the Dugout had joined terrorist organizations in Syria in 2013.

His victim  bruraly executed

he is the 23-year-old Magomed Khasiyev  and lived in the orphanage of Nadterechny district of the city of Grozny. In the orphanage he came from Chelyabinsk region after his mother was deprived of parental rights.

North - Север .. Πιο βόρεια δεν γίνεται - the island of Aleksandra

Στο νησί της "Αλεξάνδρας"  θα επαναλειτουργήσει η νέα Ρωσική βάση στην Αρκτική που θα εξοπλιστεί με SU34.

At the air base on the island of Aleksandra, in the archipelago of the Land of Francis Joseph, will be built permanent facilities to accommodate the bombers  Su-34. Within the set of measures that have been put into practice to enhance the Russian arctic is the refurbishment of the runway of the base on the island of Alexandra in the archipelago of the Land of Francis Joseph, so this can accomodate military transport aircrafts. 

The only track known in the area had 1700 m length but the information published these days indicate that now the runway has 2500 m which means that the have increased considerably

The "Arctic Trefoil" compound, located on 80th parallel north has been built using the latest technologies to prevent energy loss, Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday. The construction teams have paved the roads on the remote island and the main building is 97 percent complete, according to the officials. Once finished, the base would allow "comfortable accommodation and fulfilling of military duties for a group of 150 people," the ministry said on its website. 

The soldiers would be able to move between different sections of the base without going out to face the extreme cold. Winter temperatures dip to minus 47 degrees Celsius (-57 Fahrenheit) in the region. The military also constructed a fueling station on Alexandra Land, which would pump fuel from tankers and pass it to the compound. The 14,000 square meters (150,000 square feet) base should be able to function autonomously for a year and a half.

According to the representative of military Department, currently on the future of the airport is clearing and multilayer rolling snow in preparation for the receiving aircraft. Klimov added that the landing of military transport aircraft is complicated by hills and rocky surface of the island. So pilots at the moment will go to the airfield by driving to radio stations with the mandatory visual observation of the strip and only in normal weather conditions.On the island of Alexandra Land (since 1947) already existed the base of Arctic aviation Nagurski. Since 1950s and up until 2009 it was used as an airfield hop Long-range aviation of the air force. At the moment, the airbase is used by the aviation of the border guard service of the FSB.
A polar bear killed a Builder of military bases on the Land of Franz-Joseph

An employee of the company "Zapsibgazprom-Gasification" died in the attack the polar bear on the island Alexandra Land (archipelago of Franz Joseph). On 14 January reported press service of the national Park "Russian Arctic". "Fitter born in 1961 after a lunch break headed to the work site along the fuel depot, where he was attacked by a bear. The man walked alone, thereby violating the safety regulations and instructions with which he was acquainted", — stated in the message.

Ranets E - High Power Microwave Directed Energy Weapon

Ranets E - High Power Microwave Directed Energy Weapon

The Ranets E is a High Power Microwave (HPM) weapon system intended to produce electrically lethal damage or disruption and dysfunction in opposing airborne systems, be they aircraft or guided munitions in flight. The system was first disclosed by Rosoboronexport in 2001, but little technical detail has been disclosed since then. The weapon uses an X-band pulsed 500 MegaWatt HPM source, generating 10 to 20 nanosecond pulses at a 500 Hz PRF, and average output power of 2.5 to 5 kiloWatts. The antenna is large enough to provide a gain of 45 to 50 dB in the X-band, for a total weapon weight of 5 tonnes. The weapon has been described as a "radio-frequency cannon" and Russian sources credit it with a lethal range of 20 miles against the electronic guidance systems of PGMs and aircraft avionic systems.

The cited lethal range figures are predicated on the assumption that the target is vulnerable to a field strength of the order of ~1.0 kiloVolt/m and the antenna has a gain between 45 and 50 dBi. If we assume target hardness for typical COTS electronics, the lethal radius is between 3.8 and 7.0 nautical miles, if the target hardness is greater, the lethal footprint is reduced accordingly. What is clear is that the Ranets E will be a credible electrically lethal weapon at ranges typical for a terminal point defence weapon weapon.

The product brochure for the weapon shows its deployment on the MAZ-7910 chassis using the 54K6 command post cabin to house the Ranets system, with an roof mounted turntable for the steerable parabolic antenna. Other lower quality illustrations (not reproduced) show the Ranets E vehicle linked via cables to a 85V6 Vega/Orion Emitter Locating System (ELS) used as the targeting element. In the absence of an integrated targeting system on the Ranets E - problematic due to the risk of fratricide as even sidelobes would be electrically lethal at short ranges - it is likely that an operational system would be remotely aimed by another asset. Other than an ELS a SAM system engagement radar with sufficient angular accuracy would be suitable.

The CONOPS for the system would involve attaching one or more Ranets E systems to a battery of SAMs and integrating them with the battery fire control system, such that the Ranets E systems would be cued, aimed and fired remotely. The APA illustration shows the system deployed on the MZKT-7930 chassis as that is the current production replacement for the original MAZ-7910.

The yuan has the dollar: China has signed currency agreements with Canada and Qatar

Active global de-dollarization continues. Still has a special role is played here by China, which has now signed currency agreements with Canada and Qatar.

Canada thus becomes the first offshore hub for the yuan in North America, and the volume of trade between Canada and China may in the near future to double or even triple, thereby reducing the need for dollars.

But that's not the most dangerous news for the petrodollar this week. China also signed an agreement with Qatar on direct currency swaps between the two countries using the yuan.

The fact that China began thus to interact with the OPEC countries, suggests that it beats in the heart of the petrodollar system. And last strikes are more and stronger. Typically, canadian exporters forced to use American currency when trading with China, and this increases costs and leads to longer waiting the completion of the transaction.

And this is exactly what has made the canadian authorities. In particular, Stephen Harper would like to increase the number of small and medium businesses working with China, selling there products and services. The amount of the swap agreement between China and Canada is 200 billion yuan. Currency countries will be used not only in trade but also in investments.

"Virus" established the involvement of U.S. intelligence agencies to cyber attacks

Employees of "Kaspersky Lab" has found a unique way of cyber-espionage through the integration of spyware in hard drives from Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other leading manufacturers. According to Reuters with reference to the text of the research "Kaspersky Lab", these programs allowed us to intercept messages from computers around the world.

Study employees have established a link hackers with national security Agency of the USA.