The Russian stock market has delivered the biggest returns to investors around the world this year. Global rate cuts and increased dividend payouts have been driving investor interest in Russia. The MSCI Russia Index which tracks the 23 largest Russian publicly-listed companies has surged 44 percent since the start of the year, according to Sberbank analyst Cole Akeson. [...]

Washington officials are reportedly demanding that Turkey “destroy or return” its Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to get back in the good books and rejoin the F-35 fighter program – but Ankara has no intention of complying. [...]

On 29 September, General Nick Carter, chief of UK Defence Staff made an incendiary speech to the Cliveden Literary Festival. A number of his comments sparked widespread outcry – not least his suggestion the distinction between conflict and peace no longer existed, and Britain was effectively “at war”. [...]

The cottage industry of ‘experts’ predicting the inevitable demise of Russia for years is ignoring the hard evidence of progress such as the infrastructure projects that the West is unable or unwilling to undertake itself. [...]

Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the symbols of the Cold War, Europe remains divided because it chose confrontation over a common future, Willy Wimmer, Germany’s former State Secretary for Defense believes. [...]

On Sunday President Trump announced that Baghdadi had been killed during the US-raid in Idlib. The number one terrorist was reportedly under the Pentagon's surveillance for quite some time before the conditions were ripe to eliminate him. The leader of the Daesh* terrorist group Abu Bakr Baghdadi was "the brainchild of the United States", and his elimination has not yet been confirmed, Russian For [...]

Maria Butina, a Russian gun activist who spent months in a US jail for failing to properly register as a foreign agent, has landed in Moscow. Her case sparked outcry in Russia and accusations of “prosecutorial overreach.” She has arrived in Sheremetyevo airport after a long flight from Miami, Florida on Saturday. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Defense Ministry published satellite intelligence images proving that oil from Syria was sent abroad under the guard of US servicemen before and after the defeat of the Daesh terrorists, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday. [...]

Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers and other military aircraft have touched down in South Africa. The planes covered over 11 thousand kilometers to get there, staying in the air for more than 13 hours.  The two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers landed at Waterkloof air force base in Tshwane on Wednesday. Russian Il-62 and An-124 military transport planes have also touched down. [...]

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in the Russian city of Sochi to discuss an array of issues, with the situation in Syria and the Turkish military operation there expected to be the main topic of their conversation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that foreign forces that are currently deployed in Syria unlawfully must leave its territory. He added that Turkey shares this vis [...]

Russia defends Iran, backs Bashar Assad in Syria and criticizes Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Riyadh would seem a risky balancing act – but is instead a pragmatic move rooted in mutual interest. Putin arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday, his second visit to the country after his 2007 trip. [...]

The timing is not merely coincidental. The shambolic policymaking of the Trump administration has thrown the Middle East into further chaos, while countries are increasingly viewing Russia as a source of stability. The high respect afforded to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit this week to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates speaks of a new geopolitical reality in the region. [...]

Further turning away from the greenback, Russia is eyeing the yuan and the euro as currencies for Eurobonds next year, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said on the sidelines of an IMF and World Bank meeting. Answering journalists’ questions about the impact of US sanctions on the Russian sovereign debt market, Siluanov said that Moscow will consider the issue as it has been creating t [...]

The United States intends to deprive Russia of its right to the Northern Sea Route (NSR) which lies in Arctic waters and within Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. That’s according to media reports, saying Washington believes that the NSR should be open to the entire world community, and not only to Russia. [...]

A casual aerobatics flyover, another butchered cover of the Russian anthem and faux Russian road police – the United Arab Emirates have gone royally over-the-top to make Russian President Vladimir Putin feel comfortable. [...]

Russia agreed to look into the September aerial attack on the Saudi Aramco oil facilities and will condemn whoever was behind it, but will not take sides in the feud between Riyadh and Tehran, President Vladimir Putin says. [...]

The Russian-built Pantsir S-1 system (NATO designation, SA-22 Greyhound) is a daunting combination of radar, cannons, and missiles. It can detect and take out any target, even while on the move. Armed with 12 surface-to-air guided missiles and two dual 30mm guns, the Pantsir can strike enemies both in the air and on the ground, and it can take them both out simultaneously. Its missiles are fast [...]

Russia began trial production of the next-generation mobile air defense system earlier this year, and plans to start mass production of the system in the second half of next year. The operational effectiveness of Russia’s S-500 air and missile defense system “greatly exceeds any active air defense system in the world,” China’s Sina news portal has suggested. [...]

A missile-attack warning system that Moscow is helping Beijing put together will drastically increase China’s defense capabilities, President Vladimir Putin said, noting that only Russia and the US currently have such technology. [...]

Russia and Turkey are discussing possible deliveries of Russia's Su-35 or Su-57 fighters, with Ankara expressing significant interest in this purchase, Russia's federal military-technical cooperation service reported, following Erdogan's visit to Moscow. [...]

Under development since 2012, the 20+ tonne stealthy flying wing design began rigorous military testing earlier this year. The Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle may one day become a full-fledged replacement for all sorts of combat aircraft, including the latest generation of Russian fighter jets, Izvestia has reported, citing the military and a military aircraft specialist [...]

The US Treasury Department designated a Russian maritime company, three Sovfracht directors and five vessels for an alleged scheme to evade sanctions to facilitate the delivery of jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria. [...]