Iskander high-precision missile system in place during military exercises. The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed media reports on the deployment of short-range Iskander missiles in the country’s west, near its borders with the Baltic states and NATO members, saying that it does not violate international agreements. German newspaper Bild wrote this weekend that Russia stationed several Iskander... 

Russia will spend over 600 billion rubles on the World Cup. The funds will be allocated by the federal budget, regions and private investors. In June, the government adopted a program to prepare for the World Cup FIFA 2018, and is now discussing the allocation of resources and responsibilities between federal entities. The Director of the Department for Relations with the Regions of the organizing... 

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister says his country could block land transport to Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad if Russia maintains its opposition to stronger trade ties between Ukraine and the European Union. “As you know, the Kaliningrad region is isolated, geographically isolated, so we could apply some measures also to cut something,” the Reuters news agency quoted Linas Linkevicius... 

Iskander high-precision missile system Russia cannot see NATO expansion towards its borders as positive, as under certain circumstances the possibility of military confrontation remains, the Russian PM has said at the Euro-Arctic Council’s forum. When a reporter asked Dmitry Medvedev how the balance of forces in Europe will change if Sweden and Finland decide to enter NATO, the Russian Prime Minister... 

The four major Russian Navy fleets will hold a joint exercise in late January in the Mediterranean and Black seas. It will be the biggest such event in decades. ­Commands for the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets have been preparing for the exercises since December of last year, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced. Warships detached for the event are currently sailing to those... 

The Luzhniki stadium in Moscow FIFA President Sepp Blatter appeared on Russian national television to name the eleven cities where the 2018 World Cup will be played. ­There were 13 venues in the running, which were all visited by the FIFA inspectors during the two years after Russia won the World Cup bid. Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said earlier that the positions of Moscow, Saint... 

President Dmitry Medvedev has said that Russia may be forced to take new steps in response to further deployment of American missile defense system in Europe. “Our response to European missile defense will be gradual. The first stage has already been completed – that was the launching of the radar system in Kaliningrad,” Medvedev said at a meeting with his and Prime Minister Putin’s supporters... 

The Voronezh-DM over-the-horizon radar in Russia’s Kaliningrad region. The new radar station in the Kaliningrad enclave will be ready to monitor missile launches from the entire European continent already on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The new station plays a significant role in the complex of measures, which Russia takes in response to the growing power of the US missile defense system. The radar station... 

Inter RAO halted electricity supplies to Belarus as huge debt remains unpaid. Russia’s electricity export monopoly Inter RAO halted its supplies to Belarus at midnight as a huge debt remains unpaid. An agreement between Inter RAO UES and Belenergo stipulates the delivery of 3 billion kilowatt/hours of electricity to Belarus this year, with about 775 million kilowatt/hours having already been... 

Russia will have to respond as it is concerned by NATO’s active eastward expansion and the U.S. plans to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Europe, Russia’s top military officer said on Wednesday. “If we say that we should tackle possible threats together, we should respect each other and trust each other instead of strengthening military blocs near the Russian border,”... 

Pro-Russian Soviet-style government of Belarus declared Martial Law in the city of Baranovichi and its suburbs. It has also allowed six thousand Russian troops to enter the country. Russia and Belarus on Tuesday completed two days of massive joint military exercises on bases that are close to borders with NATO members. Officials said about 12,500 servicemen took part in the West-2009 exercises, roughly... 

Russian gamblers are placing their final bets before casinos close down for good in Moscow and other big cities. A new law that comes into effect Wednesday says gambling must now be confined to four far-flung special zones. Casinos and slot machines will now be allowed to operate only in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, the Primorsky region on the Pacific coast, the Altai region in Siberia and near the...