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Latvia Says Under Fire Russian Ex-Minister Not Seeking Residency

2012/12/30

RIGA, December 30 (RIA Novosti) – Latvia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Russia’s former defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, had not applied for a residency permit in the Baltic state.

Serdyukov was fired by President Vladimir Putin on November 6 after almost six years in the post as the Defense Ministry became embroiled in a scandal over alleged real estate scams involving nearly $100 million run by state defense firm Oboronservis.

He visited the HQ of Russia’s Investigative Committee on Friday in connection with the case, but declined to answer questions on the high-profile case without his lawyer, who was ill.

Serdyukov, who is a witness, rather than a suspect in the case, has been summoned to appear again for questioning on January 11, Investigative Committee spokesperson Vladimir Markin said.

Media reports on Saturday said Serdyukov had vanished from Moscow and there were reported sightings of him in Latvia and speculation that he was seeking residency in the former Soviet republic. His lawyer, Riga-based Genrikh Padva, rubbished claims that Serdyukov had fled Russia.

The high-profile case has seen charges brought against Serdyukov’s former subordinate, Yevgeniya Vasilyeva. Media reports said Serdyukov was in Vasilyeva’s Moscow apartment when she was arrested after a police raid in October. She is currently under house arrest.

The case is part of the Kremlin's much-vaunted anti-corruption campaign. Russia ranked 133rd out of 174 countries in the latest Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International published in December.

Crash Plane Carried Russian Football Stars - Ex-FA Spokesman

2012/12/30

MOSCOW, December 30 (R-Sport) - A plane that crashed on landing in Moscow carried Russia’s national football team - including world famous trainer Guus Hiddink and Arsenal player Andrei Arshavin - to matches, the Russian FA’s former spokesman has said.

The Red Wings-operated Tupolev Tu-204 crashed at Vnukovo airport Saturday, killing five crew members. No passengers were on the plane.

The Russian Football Union’s crest and inscription “national football team” are clearly visible in photographs of the wrecked fuselage.

The plane “carried none other than the Russian national football team,” ex-FA spokesman Andrei Malosolov wrote on his blog late Saturday.

“In 2009, on precisely that plane, Guus Hiddink’s Russian national team flew to the Azerbaijan-Russia World Cup qualifying match in Baku. I flew together with the team then as head of the RFU press service.”

That game finished 1-1 in Baku and featured stars including goalscorer Arshavin, Alexander Kerzhakov and others.

Malosolov posted photographs on the blog of Russia players on board a Red Wings plane and disembarking from a Red Wings Tu-204. It could not be verified that this was the same plane that crashed Saturday.

Malosolov, who worked for the FA until 2010, criticized the FA’s travel policy, saying that the national team at the time “flew on any kind of commercial, charter rubbish” and that “old planes” and “little-known companies” were hired.

Two other planes, one hired for the Russia team and one for Belgium, also displayed signs of being unsafe, he added.

Some Russian media have reported that the crashed plane also carried the team to Euro 2008, in unsourced reports.

Red Wings and the FA signed an agreement in 2009 to carry the national team.

Last year, a plane crash killed the entire roster of Russian KHL hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, among 44 fatalities.

Bodies of Moscow Air Crash Victims Identified

2012/12/30

MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti) – The bodies of all victims in Moscow’s Vnukovo air crash victims were identified, the Russian Investigative Committee reported on Sunday.

A Russian Tupolev Tu-204 medium-haul airliner overshot the runway while landing at Russia’s third busiest airport and caught fire on Saturday evening, killing four and injuring four other people.

Russia has set up an inter-governmental commission comprising the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Federal Transport Oversight Service to investigate the causes of the air disaster. Pilot error is currently being viewed as the probable cause.

“The bodies of all the victims have been identified by now. As soon as the state of the crewmembers injured in the air crash stabilizes, they will be interrogated. An additional inspection of the crash site is being conducted,” the Investigative Committee said.

The persons killed in the air disaster included the crew commander, the second pilot, a flight engineer and a stewardess, according to Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

“A video material made by an air crash eye-witness will be attached to the investigation materials,” the Investigative Committee said.

Four persons injured in the air crash were hospitalized in a grave condition, with no improvements reported in their health so far.

The flight recorders from the Tu-204 wreckage have been found and delivered to the Inter-State Aviation Committee for study.

There were eight people on board the plane, all of whom were crewmembers, flying from the Czech Republic.

The plane belonged to Red Wings, a Moscow-based airline that operates 8-10 Tu-204 planes, each with capacity to carry up to 210 passengers.

The Moscow city transport prosecutor's office has launched a criminal probe into the airline's compliance with Russian aviation safety regulations.

Russia-India partnership

2012/12/30

India and Russia are genuine and natural strategic partners, and are the only two major powers in the entire annals of international relations which have never had any clash of interests. One of the most important elements of Indo-Russian strategic partnership is defence cooperation. Seventy per cent to 85 per cent of our Air Force, Army and Navy are equipped with military hardware of Soviet or Russian origin.

Russia to Pay Compensation to Moscow’s Vnukovo Air Crash Victims

2012/12/29

MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Moscow government will pay cash compensations to the families of Russians killed in an air crash at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, the Moscow Mayor’s press secretary, Gulnara Penkova, said on Sunday.

Four people were killed when a Russian Tupolev Tu-204 medium-haul airliner overshot the runway while landing at Russia’s third busiest airport and caught fire on Saturday evening. Four other people were hospitalized in a grave condition.

“Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has instructed corresponding departments to render necessary financial aid to the victims’ families, which will be paid 1 million rubles [$32,000] each,” she said.

The cause of the incident was not immediately clear. Sources in the Emergencies Ministry said pilot error is currently being viewed as the probable cause.

There were eight people on board the plane, all of whom were crewmembers, flying from the Czech Republic.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a special commission to be set up to investigate the accident, government press spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.

The plane belonged to Red Wings, a Moscow-based airline that operates 8-10 Tu-204 planes, each with capacity to carry up to 210 passengers.

The Moscow city transport prosecutor's office has launched a criminal probe into the airline's compliance with Russian aviation safety regulations.

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