Two suicide bombers, including one in police uniform, set off powerful blasts on Wednesday in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan, killing at least 12 people and injuring 27, just a couple of days after the terror attacks on Moscow metro claimed 39 lives.
India would be represented by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who arrived in Moscow on Wednesday night on a three-day visit.
Russia and the United States have made major 'progress' on a new deal to slash the nuclear arsenals during the cold war, replacing Soviet-era START-1 treaty that ended December last, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday.
Besides the deals worth $4 billion, including the final delivery agreement for Admiral Gorshkov, the two sides will also sign the final agreement for joint manufacture of fifth generation fighters, local media reported.
India and Russia are expected to sign the first of a series of agreements for the development of fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to meet futuristic requirements of the Indian Air Force during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi later this week.
"The Russian and US presidents will direct their respective delegations to speed up talks on a new arms control agreement," a Kremlin release issued late on Wednesday said after telephonic conversation of the leaders of world's largest nuclear stockpiles holders.
Lowering the threshhold for the use of nuclear weapons, Russia said on Friday that it reserves the right to hit back with nukes in case of an aggression, in a new doctrine which may be a veiled warning to China besides containing rising NATO powers at its borders.
"If we are not developing AMD, then there's a threat that when our partners create an umbrella over themselves to protect them against our offensive systems, they might feel completely safe. And that might mean that our partners will feel they can do anything they want -- the level of aggression in politics and economics will rise right away. The balance will be lost," Putin explained.
While Bangalore based state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will fork out $300 million, Russia's United Aircraft Cooperation (UAC) will invest a similar amount for the joint venture, which will start rolling out the aircraft by 2017.
The pipeline will enable Moscow to enter markets in Asia- Pacific region and reduce dependency on European customers.
India will receive its first new generation Nerpa Akula-II class nuclear attack submarine by March next year on a ten-year lease with the vessel being inducted into the Russian navy prior to its transfer.The submarine will be subsequently leased to the Indian Navy under the name INS Chakra in March for $650 million for a 10-year lease.The 12,000-ton K-152 Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear-powered attack submarine, belongs to the class of the quietest and deadliest submarines.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit India in March next year at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."I am very grateful to you for accepting my invitation in March next year. I am confident that your visit will give a new fillip to our ties," Dr Singh said a meeting with Putin in Moscow on Monday.
With these savings rate and investment rates, we can sustain a growth rate of nine per cent without difficulty.
As the Soviet achievements keeping the Russian economy afloat are waning, President Dmitry Medvedev, on Thursday, sought an urgent modernisation of the country, insisting that it should happen "through democratic values and institutions".
Union Defence Minister A K Antony arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for a crucial meeting of a key joint defence commission as the two countries are poised to finalise new co-ventures in strategic weapons, including investment and technical parameters of 5th generation fighters.
As part of the nation's ambitious programme of manned space flights, Indian Space Research Organisation is seeking a Russian spaceship for sending "space tourists" in orbit, an official said.
India has paid another staggering US $ 102 million to Russia, to speed up refit work on the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, pending a final agreement on a huge price hike of almost USD 2 billion demanded by Moscow.
Describing the second world war as the 'greatest tragedy' of the 20th century, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday slammed attempts to equate United Soviet Socialist Republic and Nazi Germany as its initiators.
At least 20 people, including policemen, were killed and over 60 injured when a suicide bomber on Monday rammed an explosive-laden truck into the gates of a police station in a southern Russian city in the restive Ingushetia region, neighbouring Chechnya. "At about 09:08 am Moscow time (10.38 am IST), a yellow Gazelle truck broke through a gate at a check point near the building. A powerful explosion followed shortly after that," a local investigator was quoted as saying.
"At several occasions our leadership has given public statements on the issue. Each and every step in the process of the refit of the aircraft carrier is monitored by Indian navy's technical team and they have never raised objections," Vyacheslav Davidenko, the official spokesman for the Rosoboronexport state corporation, told PTI in Moscow.