WesWorld

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Quoted

In a flyby for the photographers of our national press, the naval aviators of the heavy aircraft cruiser Afonskoye triumphantly revealed their new Tupolev Tu-4Ks

A flyby for the photographers... and no photos of the plane posted?

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the finest new ship-based strike aircraft now in service in the navies of the world!

I think other nations might agree if stats and a picture were posted. On the other hand nations may strongly disagree upon seeing stats and a picture with the Russian claim... :)

I don't do pictures anymore, unless it's a historical piece of equipment with no more than minor alterations. But as to specs...

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Quoted

Opponents of the change claimed that 'Sankt-Peterburg' sounded too German

See Bruce! It's not just the Belgians. The Russians have a problem with the Germans as well. It's not the all out paranoia of the Belgians but it is going into that direction. :D

That's Russian nationalism, not Russian germanophobia. :)

Quoted

I don't do pictures anymore, unless it's a historical piece of equipment with no more than minor alterations. But as to specs...

Considering the contra-rotating propeller, maybe I should imagine it looking like the Fairey Gannet... so I guess 'finest' no longer applies to it.

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That's Russian nationalism, not Russian germanophobia.

Russian nationalism = Russian everyoneophobia.

Or something closer to the original 1944 design for the Westland Wyvern...

The 1944 Wyvern Concept might look pretty similar to the original 1943 Tu-4 Design Concept, the one that competed against the Beriev Be-5. I haven't decided whether or not the cockpit and engine were switched back to the standard configuration during the redesign.

But I can guarantee it doesn't look anything like the Gannet.

Kapustin Yar, Russian Federation
Wednesday, May 1, 1946

Sergei Korolev crossed his arms and looked out the windows of the bunker. "How long do they want us to wait? Don't they realize a weather front is coming in?"

"No more than an hour," Aleksander Popov replied. "Apparently we are going to have a distinguished guest."

"Mm." Korolev frowned and said nothing. That probably meant Mikhail Bogomolov, who oversaw his design bureau on behalf of the Ministry of National Defense, was going to make an appearance. Korolev didn't care much for his boss. Bogomolov was a politician with no technical training and plenty of wrong ideas about how to solve critical technical issues. At least Bogomolov's boss in the Military-Industrial Commission, Polzin, managed to keep the apparatchik busy, and far away from OKB-1.

A telephone rang, and Popov answered. "Control. Yes? They're here? What did you say? Bozhe! ...thank you." The engineer hung up the telephone hastily. "Chief Designer, the front gate guard - it's Bogomolov and Polzin, and they brought the President!"

Korolev gave the launch director a flabbergasted look. "They what! Never mind, we're ready even so. Look alive - we'll make sure he has a good show."

A small convoy of cars arrived five minutes later - a quartet of Volgas with an escort of Internal Troops. Polzin got out first and held the door for President Fyodorov, while Bogomolov wafted behind, talking excitedly and self-importantly to anyone who would listen - which did not, Korolev noticed, include Fyodorov himself. Korolev's opinion of the man went up a few notches.

Polzin made the introductions. "Mr. President, the Chief Designer."

"Korolev, is it?" Fyodorov asked. "Pavlov Evgenivitch tells me you are doing excellent work here."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Korolev said, silently blessing Polzin's introduction. "This is Aleksander Popov, the launch center director."

Everyone shook hands, and Polzin stepped closer to Korolev and lowered his voice to a whisper. "My apologies, Sergei Pavlovitch. I could not warn you due to security."

"I understand," Korolev replied quietly.

"So what are we here to see today?" Fyodorov asked, turning back towards Korolev.

Bogomolov immediately leapt on the opportunity to begin talking - something about celebrating May Day by demonstrating the glorious triumph of the Russian blah blah blah - whereupon Fyodorov gave a tired sigh. "Thank you, but I am not a reporter from Pravda."

Korolev jumped in. "Mr. President, we are going to launch an R1 rocket. If you step over to this window, you can see it on the launch pad..."

"Hm! Larger than the military ones, these 'Katyushas'," Fyodorov said. "Different sort, I guess?"

"Liquid-fueled," Korolev replied quickly. "The 'Katyusha' is solid-fueled, designed to be stored for many years. R1 is somewhat more complex, as its size would indicate. This is the fourth R1 we have built and launched. We are going to bring the engine to full power today in order to achieve our maximum design range and altitude."

"Very good," Fyodorov said. "I presume, then, that you have duties to attend to - please do not let me interrupt them."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Korolev said. He stepped away and found Popov waiting at the control center. "Are we ready?"

"I'd have preferred another week, but we're as ready as we need to be."

"So would I." Korolev suspected Bogomolov's hand in rushing a May Day launch date, aiming for the socialist holiday of choice. "But we've done the work, and everything is as ready as it can be. Let's start the launch clock."

"Fifteen minutes to launch and counting... now!" a technician announced. Popov had a list of things that needed to be checked off, and he started running through them. Korolev remained on hand in case the launch director required his assistance, but after several minutes noticed Polzin gesture him over.

"The President was asking about the differences between solid-fueled and liquid-fueled rockets," Polzin explained. "Comrade Bogomolov was attempting to explain..."

"Ah," Korolev said. As if Bogomolov had the knowledge to tell the difference between one type of rocket and another! "Simply put, Mr. President-"

"Solid-fueled rockets are more reliable," Bogomolov interrupted. He was a great proponent of them.

"To some extent that is true," Korolev agreed, refusing to be bullied out of the conversation. "The R1, for instance, has a corrosive liquid fuel - we cannot store it in the tanks for very long without it eating through them. We must take a great many precautions. But a solid-fueled rocket can sit on the pad for months or maybe even years." He let Bogomolov enjoy his one advantage before pressing forward. "But to put it in layman's terms, the liquid fuel burns more energetically, and I get more thrust for the weight of my fuel. This is very important if we are ever to conquer Earth's gravity...

"Additionally," Korolev continued, "if we launched a solid-fueled rocket, the thrust would not stop until all the fuel is expended. This is well enough for a launch - but as we get more sophisticated systems, then we may wish to throttle up, or cut back thrust, in order to achieve a particular flight pattern... this is possible with liquid-fueled rockets."

Fyodorov nodded. "Ah. Just as in an automobile, you don't want the engine to be stuck open until it runs out of fuel."

"An excellent analogy, Mr. President," Korolev said. Now if only I could make Bogomolov understand these things.

"Two minutes and counting," Popov announced. "Launch Control is now beginning final checklist. All personnel, please move to your pre-launch positions..."

"You can watch from this window here, Mr. President," Korolev said.

A technician started counting down at thirty seconds while Popov checked off all his last items. "Tracking good, control good..."

"Twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight..."

"Ignition!" A jet of flame erupted from the bottom of the rocket, visible to the occupants of the launch bunker three-quarters of a kilometer distant. The President watched attentively, and Korolev mentally crossed his fingers.

"Two, one, launch." The jet of flame grew in volume and the R1 leapt off the launch pad. It tilted several degrees off center and then straightened out nicely. Korolev nodded in approval. In a few short moments, the R1 dwidled into a spec and disappeared, leaving behind only its smoky contrail.

"Tracking?" Popov demanded through a telephone.

"Tracking One, we have it on our scope," a technician thirty kilometers downrange announced. His French teledetecteur set was pointed at the sky to track the rocket. "Bearing two-six-nine, altitude... forty-eight kay, speed eighteen."

"Tracking Two, detecting target..."

Korolev strolled over to a board where a technician plotted the flight with the regular updates from the radio-telemetry. "Altitude?"

The technician listened for a moment in his headset before replying. "Ninety-eight kilometers, Chief Designer."

"Timed engine shutoff," Popov announced.

The R1 continued climbing for a few more minutes on the basis of its great momentum, reaching an altitude of a hundred and three kilometers before beginning its arc back down towards the ground. A few minutes later, Tracking Three confirmed that the rocket had fallen in approximately the correct target area, some three hundred kilometers downrange from Kapustin Yar.

"Very impressive work, Chief Designer," President Fyodorov announced. "I congratulate you on your success."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Korolev said, declining to explain that he did not yet count the test a success until he knew how close the rocket had come to its intended target.

"This is a great triumph for Russia and International Socialism!" Bogomolov crowed.

"Is there anything we might do to forward your work?" Fyodorov continued.

"Mr. President," Polzin interrupted, "Currently the program is overseen by Comrade Bogomolov's section of the Military-Industrial Commission and the Ministry of Armaments, but I feel OKB-1 and the whole project team at Kapustin Yar deserve a greater degree of autonomy, independence, and priority within my organization."

"Certainly," Fyodorov said. "It is your bureau, Pavlov Evgenivitch - I trust you shall organize it satisfactorily!"

"Thank you, Mr. President," Polzin said. "Chief Designer, we'll work out the details later...?"

"Yes sir," Korolev said, keeping his face impassive. It was difficult, considering the barely-restrained expression of horror on Bogomolov's face as OKB-1 and Korolev's section of the rocketry program passed out of his control.

Fyodorov's chief of staff gently pointed out that the president was expected to make a public appearance that evening in Volgograd, and the schedule was being taxed already. As they headed back to the cars, Korolev remained a few steps behind with Polzin.

"Thank you, Commissioner," Korolev said quietly.

Polzin smiled conspiratorily, and Korolev wondered if he'd plotted the entire upset. "Thank you for not disappointing me," he replied. "I need Bogomolov to concentrate on Amur and our collaboration with the French, and not interfere further with your good work at OKB-1. I'll need to see you next week in Petrograd to discuss how we can reorganize your section," he continued. "Bring Popov, Keldysh, and Glushko; we'll chat, the five of us, and reorganize a few things." He nodded quickly, then got into the car with the President.

Back at the bunker, Popov's face was filled with undiminished cheer. "Good news, Sergei Pavlovitch!"

"Without question!" Korolev agreed, noting the test center director had already pulled out the celebratory vodka. He gestured to the bottle.

"Ah - I thought we'd drink once to our good fortune, and then once again when we hear whether our rocket was a success," Popov said.

"Pour, Aleksander Alexeivitch," Korolev commanded with a grin. "I'm not sure about Bogomolov's 'international socialism', but this is a great day for Russia."

Understanding Russia's New Energy Economy
by John Q. Franklin

A number of my longtime readers back home in England have asked my view about Russia's "deregulation" of the national electric sector. This issue seems to have drawn a lot of uninformed speculation from the financial press in London, New York, and elsewhere; so perhaps it is time to set the record straight.

Russia has no shortage of available energy. There are ready supplies of coal and gas and sufficient generation plants, as well as hydro generation, to quite adequately power all of Russia. In fact, were it possible, Russia could very easily export enough excess electricity to light their own country and the whole of the British Isles - and still have some left over. There is no shortage, yet every three weeks my little home in Rostov-on-Don goes dark due for several hours in a regional blackout, as the electricity simply is cut off to the entire city. How does this happen?

President Mikhail Fyodorov was elected primarily on a platform of cracking down on corruption and improving efficiency within the Russian system, and one of the most inefficient and corrupt sectors was energy generation. This is mostly because, for many years, the Russian government artificially priced electricity below what it actually cost to produce, effectively subsidizing the electric sector with profits from wheat, oil, coal, or other natural materials being exported to western Europe. In the short term, this has proven beneficial to the workers in the cities, but detrimental to the nation as a whole.

Let us say that an average Russian home is heated and lit for a month, and the electricity to do this would cost ten rubles. In Britain, the producer would also charge you in order to meet their overhead costs for things like worker salaries and capital costs, which are poured back into the system to keep everything up to date. So if you were in Britain, electric power that cost ten rubles to produce will cost you, the owner of the house, twelve rubles. But in Russia, because of the government-enforced artificial pricing, it only costs the owner six rubles - and it costs Russia's export sector six rubles! Because of this, Russians have had very little negative incentives to conserve electricity, either in their homes and apartments or particularly in heavy industry, which uses sixty-four percent of all the electricity generated in Russia.

Small wonder, then, that the government-owned Unified Electric Power System which operates the national electric grid through sixty-four regional power distribution companies has become a haven for inefficiency. Last month I spoke with a senior technician for the local UEPS distributor, who told me how it is much harder to get five million rubles to upgrade a failing distribution system than it is to get fifteen million rubles to build a new power plant. When the five million rubles of improvements is approved, though, the vlasti, the bureaucrats overseeing the various commissions, must "process" the funds - a polite Russian euphamism for embezzlement - skimming off large sums for their personal use. For the politicians, a new plant looks good in the newspapers, brings construction jobs, and employs new workers; but in ten years the new plant will require maintenance or an upgrade which it rarely receives. As a result, the decay accelerates, and an electric system capable of supporting many millions of people begins struggling to keep the lights on.

When he came to office, one of Fyodorov's campaign promises was to bring serious reform to the energy sector. This is a painful moment for the Russian energy sector, since they must begin paying for the sins of the past. Fyodorov's plan is somewhat difficult to swallow for many people, as he is rolling back the subsidies bestowed (albeit indirectly) upon the consumers: for the next five years, electricity prices across the board will rise by seven and a half percent each year, beginning with heavy industry and transportation, and followed by residential and service sectors the following year. This is less drastic than Fyodorov's original requests, which were fiercely debated and challenged in the Duma, and only passed in watered-down form. In five years, the subsidies of the electric sector will still remain, albeit smaller than they were in 1944.

However, Fyodorov's proposal to limit the amount of export tariffs used to fund the electric sector was also voted down. In combination with the rise in rates, this means that for the next few years the electricity distribution companies have a surplus of funds. This is being carefully poured into badly-needed infrastructure upgrades, line replacements, and preventative maintenance, rather than into new power generation plants.

There is no doubt that electricity deregulation is causing disruption within the Russian economy. The sharp upswing in electric prices has started to be felt within Russian heavy industry this year, with decreased profitability seen in a number of key businesses. The Russian Federation government preemptively began to adjust through a series of actions. Exports of coal and gas to eastern Asia were cut by 10%, making those resources available for domestic use to lower the cost of electricity generation. A set of low-interest modernization loans for heavy industry was also arranged with a major French investment group, permitting smaller privately-owned industrial firms to modernize their equipment to reduce energy expenditures. (I will note that in my observation it is actually the privately-owned industrial concerns in Russia which lead the way in reducing energy use.) And finally, Russia is attempting to leverage its surplus of generation-capacity by exporting electricity abroad. Petrograd recently concluded formal agreements to export electricity to eastern regions of Poland, is working out a similar detail to export energy to eastern Nordmark, and has started pursuing opportunities with other neighboring states. It may seem odd to export energy in the middle of an energy restructuring, but it brings a non-trivial influx of foreign currency, which is then applied back into the system.

Simultaneous with the reorganization of hard infrastructure, the government has been aggressive in overturning the status quo of corruption within the energy commissions. Almost without notice, Fyodorov has enhanced the powers of the Russian judicial and investigative branches through the establishing the Prosecutor General's Investigative Committee, which has been assigned the duty of investigating and combatting serious crimes. The current Minister of Justice, Leonid Utkin, has placed a good deal of focus on investigating corruption, particularly within the ranks of the Unified Electric Power System. A local example comes in the case of Ivan Filipov, an official in the UEPS living in Rostov-on-Don, who oversaw the disbursement of maintenance funds for the regional energy commission. According to the charges now leveled against him, over the last ten years Filipov apparently diverted enough official funds into his personal accounts to import a nice English Rolls-Royce (a real rarity in Russia) and purchase a country house where he hosted wild parties. On February 22nd of this year, Investigative Committee agents crashed one of Filipov's parties, arresting him on numerous charges of corruption. One of Filipov's subordinates has since been arrested for complicity, and a second was arrested just last week on charges of perjuring himself on the witness stand while testifying in Filipov's defense. The lurid tale - and the legal proceedings against several other electric sector officials arrested at the same time - continues to make the headlines of major Russian newspapers, serving notice that corruption, unofficially accepted for so many years, is no longer tolerated.

Although the Prosecutor General has so far launched relatively few legal cases against bureaucrats, the crusade against corruption has had a notable effect. During my research for this article, I spoke with a source (to remain unnamed) in the Investigative Committee who revealed to me that in the last twelve months, nearly sixty-five percent of the middle managers working for the Azov and Don Regional Electric Commission have taken early retirement, resigned to take on work in other sectors, or been placed under "involuntary unpaid administrative leave". Many of these individuals, once comfortably part of a culture of bureaucratic corruption, are being pushed out of their places due to the lowered tolerance for their actions. The unfortunate side effect is that many of these individuals still performed important jobs, and their departure has resulted in a lack of experienced management in the regional energy commissions. While many lower-level managers have been promoted up the ranks or hired from other sectors, short-term foreign contractors hired from western and central Europe, Scandanavia, and North America have also been brought in to fill this personnel shortfall. I have not seen many references to this in either foreign or Russian newspapers, although it is in fact the second-largest influx of foreign workers in Russia over the last five years.

It remains to be seen just how effective Fyodorov's actions will be, and what the final result will be for Russians. In the short term, I anticipate that the next few years will still be rather difficult for the Russian electric market, both for consumers and providers. But perhaps greater danger lies in inactivity, as the last few decades have demonstrated.

John Q. Franklin is an English writer and financial expert living and working in Rostov-on-Don. He is a regular guest speaker for the Faculty of Economics at the Southern Federal University.

A most interesting and illuminating article. :thumbsup:

Thanks. :) I think I'll make Mr. Franklin's "articles" a bit of a staple in future Russian news, whenever I have something interesting enough for him to write about...

A couple of excellent posts, very interesting stuff.

Proposed Azerbaijan Unification: Doomed to Fail?
In a recent trip to the Caucasus, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrey Maksimov allegedly spoke at great length with the Democratic Republic of Azeribaijan's president Rasim Salayev at his capital in Ganja, as well as intensive conversations with senior officials of the Federation Republic of Azerbaijan in Baku, relating to the potential unification of the "two Azerbaijans". The Federation Republic ruled in Baku remains a key part of the Russian Federation, while the Ganja-based government remains completely independent - yet the Azeri ethnic group is divided by a national border, however friendly it may be. During his trip in April, Minister Maksimov reportedly tendered an offer for Azeribaijan to achieve unification as an expanded Federation Republic, while President Salayev proposed that the Federation Republic leave the Russian orbit in order to unite with the Democratic Republic. Although unification is on the minds of both sides, neither state seems interested in a compromise. In Baku, Federation Republic leader Aslan Abdullayev spoke out about the "serious differences" in the cultures of the two Azerbaijans which would need to be resolved before either proposed plan could succeed.

Avrora and Pallada Presented to Public for Navy Day
The new light cruisers Avrora and Pallada were among the ships presented to the Russian public during the celebrations of Navy Day, held on the last Sunday of July. The two new cruisers are temporarily attached to the Baltic Fleet for their trials period, but rumors indicate they will begin the trek to the Northern Fleet before the Baltic Sea ices for the winter. Meanwhile in Arkhangelsk, Russian citizens were able to observe the imposing hull of the freshly-launched aviation cruiser Reval, the largest vessel of its kind in the world.

Russian Railways Holds Shipping Expeditionary Conference
The Russian State Railways held a major conference in Moscow in July to discuss proposals for increasing the amount of cargo shipped via the Russian railway network, as well as reducing shipping costs and cargo delivery times. The conference was open to foreign participants from Scandanavia, Germany, and France, with the goal of increasing cooperation in international shipping to key Russian economic partners in Europe.

New Heavy Bomber Enters Service
As the air forces celebrate their Russian Air Force Day on August 12th, the Military Air Forces (VVS) accepted the first squadron of four-engine Myasishchev M-2 bombers into service in a ceremony at the base near the city of Tomsk. The new M-2 is one of the most powerful long-range strategic bombers in existence, able to drop a metric $#!(-ton of bombs from very high altitudes to crush the enemies of our beloved Motherland if ever they should attempt to assault the peace-loving Russian people. [1]

Russian Kul'tura Flowers in Stone; Glinka In Cinema
The movies The Stone Flower and The Great Glinka entered Russian cinemas in the month of September. The Great Glinka, directed by Lev Arnshtam, stars Boris Chirkov and Valentina Serova as the great Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka and his wife Maria Petrovna Ivanova Glinka in a retelling of the life of one of Russia's foremost musicians. The Stone Flower, released to cinemas the weekend after The Great Glinka, is based on an Ural folk tale, collected and reworked by Pavel Bazhov, about the stonecutter Danilo, who seeks the perfection of the titular Stone Flower.

Maksimov Visits Stockholm
Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrey Maksimov flew to the Nordish capital of Stockholm, where he spent the week of September 7th through 14th in high-level discussions with senior Nordish officials.

As part of the discussions, Maksimov and his Nordish counterparts announced an economic agreement permitting Nordish automakers Saab and Volvo to import automobiles into a 'test market region', composed of the Federation Republic of Estonia, Karelian Autonomous Region, and Federal City of Petrograd; if successful in these regions, future markets may become available. This represents a startling about-face for the protectionist Russian auto-import laws. Rumors indicate that the Nordish automakers may build their own production centers within the Russian Federation in order to better leverage the terms of the agreement.

A separate statement by members of the Economic Ministry indicated "Russian automobile manufacturers are capable of competing directly with European manufacturers in their home markets, so why can they not compete with European manufacturers in our own market?" [2]



Notes:
---- Note [1]: Russian bombs very accurate; bombs always hit ground.
---- Note [2]: Russian kapitalism is best kapitalism.

Day of the Russian Ground Forces
The new T-47 tank was shown to the Russian public for the first time during this year's celebration of the Day of the Russian Ground Forces. Tank regiments equipped with the new vehicles appeared in civic events in Petrograd, Moskva, Minsk, and Kiev. At the Ground Forces' great training center in Shpola (Ukrainian Federation Republic), the 6th Independent Mechanized Brigade received its unit colors. The unit, commanded by Colonel Ivan Shvidchenko, is nicknamed "the Jewish Brigade" due to the preponderance of Jewish Zionists who had temporarily immigrated to Russia from other Asian countries. [1]

Expansion of Russian Merchant Marine
Officials of the Baltic Sea Steamship Company were present at Baltic Shipyard No.189 on October 14th for the ceremonial keel-laying of the new 'barzhevozy' merchant ship Anton Arensky. This vessel will serve in an experimental role carrying grain and coal-laden barges from the vast Russian internal waterways to their final destinations in Germany, Britain, and the Low Countries. The Anton Arensky is one of forty-two large cargo or bulk ships ordered or under construction for delivery to the Russian merchant marine in 1947.

Underground Oil Fire Resolved
An underground oil fire which raged for three weeks in the Volga-Ural region was finally extinguished on November 12th. The fire started during an exploratory drilling operation which ignited a pocket of gas. The drilling crew attempted to close the shaft but were forced to evacuate due to the growing fire, which was fed by pressurized gas being pushed up from underground. After two failed attempts to seal off the shaft and choke off the fuel source, engineers modified a pair of old T-35 tanks to carry helium fire suppressant into the fire zone, injecting it into the center of the fire and allowing crews a short span of time to rush in and plug the shaft with cement. By November 14th, the engineers had constructed a permanent wellhead which will allow for further work in the immediate vicinity.

Improvements in Railway Infrastructure
The Russian State Railways announed in early December that the American General Electric firm would receive an order for ten additional EF-4 locomotives for use on electrified main-lines in the Caucasus. Additionally, the railway announced it would begin accepting cargos of TK3-VS and TK6-VS containers for transshipment of manufactured goods, and intended to conduct an expensive and comprehensive upgrade of the railway signalling equipment in the Federation Republic of Ukraine. The upgrade in signalling equipment is expected to lead to fewer delays and traffic congestion on key railway lines leading to the Black Sea, with the effect of increasing cargo capacity by five percent.

Increased Cooperation With Baltic Allies
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksimov and Minister of National Defense Alekseyev visited the Latvian and Lithuanian capital cities of Riga and Kaunas to finalize details for increased economic and military cooperation. Russian technical advisors will arrive in both countries in December to begin training troops on new army and air force equipment.

Design for Lena River Tunnel Finalized
Engineers finalized plans for a double-track railway tunnel under the five-kilometer wide Lena River, a major obstacle for the Baikal-Magadan Mainline project. Construction on the tunnel is set to begin following the end of the spring flooding, with the project completion date planned for 1952.

Rostislav Departs for Sea Trials
The new lineship Rostislav departed Petrograd under escort from the icebreakers Alexsei Chirikov and Yermak, bound for the North Sea where it can conduct various steaming trials. The Rostislav will then head for the French Atlantic port of Brest, continuing exercises while awaiting the completion of his remaining class-ships, which is expected for December.

Russian Aviation
Despite a second straight year of low orders from the Air Forces, aircraft manufacturers around the Federation have found other ways to continue their thriving business. At the Samara Aviation Plant, one of the centers of civil aircraft production in the Russian Federation, Ilyushin Il-12 airliners and Yak-12 sport planes continue rolling out the doors for delivery to Aeroflot and private customers. Both the Yakovlev and Antonov design bureaus have demonstrated a strong commitment to providing aircraft to the civilian market. The Yakovlev firm has just opened production of the single-engined Yak-14 "Otmennyi", a six-seat cargo and utility aircraft, as well as the larger twin-engine ten-seat Yak-16 light airliner and the Yak-12 civil sport airplane. At the Antonov Serial Production Plant in Kiev, the Antonov bureau's rugged and light An-2 airliner has entered production, and a prototype four-engine aircraft is reportedly under development for the Russian military.

Other factories have taken advantage of the opportunity to modernize, as the Russian armed forces are reportedly interested in mass-production of jet aircraft beginning sometime in 1947 or 1948. Significant pressure has been placed by the Russian military upon aircraft-engine manufacturers for the design and delivery of economical turbojet and turbopropeller engines.

Sviatoi Pavel Visits Athens
The sailing replica of Fyodor Ushakov's first flagship Sviatoi Pavel docked in December in Piraeus as part of an extended cruise to Mediterranean ports. The sixty-six gun sail battleship was completed earlier this year in the port of Sevastopol, which funded the ship as a naval ambassador. The ship will remain in the Mediterranean during the winter months as the crew assists in filming a movie.



Notes:
- Note [1]: Britain and Germany are busy arresting their Zionist Jews; in Russian Federation, we give them tanks.



Report of the Hungarian Military Attaché, Petrograd, Friday, 20 December 1946
The Russian Ground Forces continue taking deliveries of T-45 Grom and T-47 Tsiklon medium tanks. According to figures released by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Federation Ground Forces currently possess:
- Class A (Active): 5724 tanks
- Class B (Mobilization): 4612 tanks
- Class C (Reserve): 2792 tanks

Class A formations now appear to be fully-equipped with T44, T-44M, or new T-47 Tsiklon medium tanks. The five active heavy tank regiments are equipped with T-43 heavy tanks, with approximately 660 believed to be in service at the present time. It also appears that the T-60 Smerch light tank has also fully-equipped active Class A armour formations. Class B (Mobilization) forces are now largely equipped with T-40 and T-40M tanks, although some T-40s have trickled down as far as the Class C Reserve troops. The three Class B and two Class C heavy tank regiments still retain their T-37 heavy tanks, which are being up-gunned to the 85mm D5T gun at a rate of fourteen per month.

It now appears that the T-29 infantry tank has been completely removed from service within active and reserve formations of the Russian Federation Ground Forces, although it is believed that approximately fifteen hundred vehicles still remain in serviceable condition in storage depots. The Russian Naval Infantry still equip the T-29 in a number of tank battalions, and have been picking out the most serviceable examples from the depots in order to replace vehicles written off to maintenance.

There has so far been no official statement on the rationale behind the simultaneous procurement of the T-45 Grom and the T-47 Tsiklon, both being medium tanks of the most modern capability. Analysis of the budgetary figures for 1947 reveal that the T-45 produced at Kharkov-Transall costs 179,000 rubles, while Uralvagonzavod (Nizhny Tagil) is delivering the first five hundred T-47 Tsiklons for 221,000 rubles. According to rumors within Petrograd, the T-45 Grom may be given to the Russian Naval Infantry in order to speed the retirement of their T-29 tanks, and may be offered to Baltic and Balkans armies for export as a cheap alternative to foreign models.

Hmm....

Russia's altruism could be misinterpreted in certain quarters. Fomenting a 'state within a state' could prove dangerous. Just sayin'...

I would be eager to see greater details of the Anton Arensky.

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Hmm....

Russia's altruism could be misinterpreted in certain quarters. Fomenting a 'state within a state' could prove dangerous. Just sayin'...

?

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

I would be eager to see greater details of the Anton Arensky.

I'll see if I can put together a Springsharp later.

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Hmm....

Russia's altruism could be misinterpreted in certain quarters. Fomenting a 'state within a state' could prove dangerous. Just sayin'...

?

Arming a group of foreign emigres with an ax to grind could be seen by some as provocative. Having a military force beholding only to the leaders in power could lead to 'issues'.

As the note says, "Britain and Germany are busy arresting their Zionist Jews" so I think that they are the only ones who would care and be alarmed about what Russia does. If they have a problem with Russia's actions, perhaps they should bring it to the attention of the League of Nations.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

As the note says, "Britain and Germany are busy arresting their Zionist Jews" so I think that they are the only ones who would care and be alarmed about what Russia does. If they have a problem with Russia's actions, perhaps they should bring it to the attention of the League of Nations.

If Germany had qualms about this, it would discuss it with its ally. :whistling:

Ah, that - I couldn't figure out which item you were commenting about. It's hardly 'fomenting a state-within-a-state', though: these are Russian citizens serving in the Russian Ground Forces.

Quoted

Jewish Zionists who had temporarily immigrated to Russia

did not immediately translate into "Russian citizens", but rather implied something different.

I agree with that, Bruce. Next thing Brock will tell us is that Russia considers all foreign tourists to be "Russian citizens" for the duration of their stay. Apparently the Russian way to determine the population.