one crisis to the next with the strains heightened by the covert u.s. raid that killed bin laden last month's drone strike that left twenty four pakistani soldiers dead. suddenly the tempo changed when there was this explosion and then the full to explosion differently in fukushima one morning the happening very quick succession and suddenly. everyone was very scared however ben one of our teams correspondents shares his memories on the destruction he witnessed in the horror he faced reporting from post japan after it had been ravaged by natural disasters wiping out thousands of lives leaving millions and hear of a global nuclear catastrophe. and twenty years ago to the day the u.s.s.r. the world's largest country ceased to exist the collapse of the union brought with it an end to the cold war and gave rise to a dozen new countries but also hardship in ethnic tension former republics gained independence but for many that made years of economic instability and an arrest to this day some of the countries are split on opinions as to whether the fall of the

union was more harm than good the august one thousand nine hundred one coup was seen as the trigger for the eventual collapse and thousands of people thought they were seeing history written before their eyes out next year from a man with inside knowledge that he witnessed on the arrival of the soviet union first hand if any primakov interview up next. to you perhaps week will seeing ones that you do not understand what still the president of the us but you are using military force in order to prevent the signing of the treaty in forcing the dissolution of the us the story nine hundred ninety one do you think it should have been. reserved at any cost.

you see i don't even think there was any need for military force what could have been done that's my opinion while others may have theirs but i think that the better russian military district could have been given an order to encircle the three leaders passing their time and bill of this guy a pusher drunk and groggy on their legs just about to sign of these documents that they were jotting down on the spot and simply take them to their homes instead of arresting them and just take away these papers but this was not the key thing the key thing was and it was brought to go which i was attention and i did tell him about it too in the presence of others and that one should have started with an economic treaty if we had signed a treaty establishing a single economic space i think it would have been a step towards preserving an upgraded modernized soviet union which could have freed itself from the darker part of its legacy gorbachev gave a public response the next day after we had made these suggestions to him he said

he didn't think an economic treaty should be signed first because he was sure it would jeopardize the signing of the political treaty which he thought had been pre-agreed one thing that wasn't considered properly was that once a single economic space is in place relevant supranational political structures will develop that's inevitable that's why we should have started with an economic treaty and many in fact were ready to go along with that even the baltic states were ready to go along with the idea of preserving a single economic space is the principle. that if we look back at history any large inquiry disorder sooner or later do you think that having a single economics piece would have been enough to avert dissolution. of course it wouldn't have been enough but it would have been a huge contribution to averting dissolution and you see we can't really compare that situation with today for instance as they are completely different and that's because back then in the soviet union. everything was centralized and existed as

a single system and no one gained anything through dissolution no where did perhaps russia benefit a little more than others because it's larger and stronger and has a more developed economy but on a large scale no one gained anything beyond question by now the republican have evolved into sovereign states which have come a long way and developed a connections into relations with other states in the west and with china and so long. it's a completely different picture even today creating a single economic space if it's done properly full scale and we currently have agreements with. pertaining to that and it's also possible that kyrgyzstan will join in if it all goes well it will be one of the pillars of securing integrity and preventing any dissolution. don't just cause those credit do you think it's possible to restore something similar to the soviet union through your asian economic community which comprise a several republics. no i don't think of it as anything similar to

the soviet union there's nothing today that can be similar to the soviet union in any way but integration is one of the driving forces of globalization and it's taking effect everywhere we go along with these forces and today we can say that the child's nationalisation tendency in business as well as integration process is at stake level shows are the driving forces of today's reality so if we succeed in going along with them as for good we take over these forums and promote our agenda through them and this agenda will not differ much from that of the west if it will additionally focus more on the national interests of each state i think it will be a great advantage and. as you pointed out it is a well known fact that economic problems were the primary contributing factor to the us the stars the solution today it will look at the us and the e.u. shaken by a powerful economic crisis can we expect an up or america to decide. it's not going

to do similar to the way the u.s.s.r. did it and you know no i don't think so because of course some serious impact is inevitable in the case of europeans so much i recall a talk i had with a person i deeply respect or former chancellor schmidt of west germany or she is now ninety two or ninety three and he's still a totally bright person i had an insightful conversation with him last year you know he said the events in the eurozone would have an impartial jury and he believes it could on the one hand would lead to a deeper integration of a number of states within the e.u. in terms of foreign policy defense under their issues or on the other hand the old timers of the union were to have complied with the requirements or you would have a different attitude to those who joined the union just recently what should the courts it includes here's a hypothetical question just several years after the collapse of the soviet union nato want you both right here if the u.s.s.r. had not collapsed do you think nato would have gone ahead with operations in yugoslavia afghanistan and iraq and libya. that you know no more of the court will

be talking of nato involvement in yugoslavia i think it could have taken place even when the u.s.s.r. was still alive because the alliance acted without permission of the un security council but there is much more to it in a few years after the dissolution of the u.s.s.r. i mean in the first half of the one nine hundred ninety s. our foreign policy was to show support for the u.s. position sure to follow in its foot steps was the position of the foreign ministry voiced by its head was as follows we desperately need to become part of the civilized world by any means the rest is jibberish so the west must have seen that such sentiment was present in post soviet russia and may even have been prevalent in some circles that is why they felt an ever growing desire to act independently without taking notice of the soviet union or russia. i was going to work i saw what price did russia have to pay for such a spineless policy when as you said it followed in the footsteps of the us. and i

meant that. the price was tremendous political economically lost more than join the second world war when such was the price the scale of the losses would become clear if all people had a chance to watch the hearings in a london court of between body. and room a number of going to listen to the horrendous stories of how business is more given protection by crime in officials who are the way privatisation was carried out with that in mind it would be insane to say that the country benefited from the one nine hundred ninety s. when i was there. also and here's the final question the u.s. asserted promoted a certain ideology any strong state needs to have an ideology do you think russia has come up with some of its own. can go regional so no one wants they called a national idea has not been articulated yet we're going we all work to make people's lives better and safer the demographic situation needs improving the

economic model needs an overhaul because the one that was in place before the two thousand and eight crisis will not work in the future with these challenges are evident when taken together you're not going to they represent russia's national idea that question thank you you're welcome.

the for. the for. culture is that so much a lot of people at my area will say that it all worked out ok so for twenty years ago an old historic event on the soviet union came to an end and with it the conclusion of a cold war what is the soviet union's. whether you dive from high or to the depths. catch the power of the wind or drift in the beauty of the currents. the well

prepared is a must and if you are lucky and know for you'll never forget your experience only nice them a screen that's going to be heard over the film the white see up close and below the ice on our t.v. . download the official anti application to your i phone on pod touch from the i choose ops to. watch on t.v. life on the go for. video on demand parties mind rolled costs and r.s.s. feeds now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. cave he took a. seat.

at least. it's clear. the among the least explode areas. pure and untouched by man. surrounded by steep loft. cave paintings on display for thousands of years. eastern science and beyond the tiger. on the artsy.

russian would be soon which brighton if you want someone from finest impressionists . who finds stunts on t.v. dot com. wealthy british style old sarah has moved on to the such classified. markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy in the cause a report on r g. h .

dozens of new civilian deaths reported in syria as the arab league here is up to monitor the implementation of a peace plan hundreds of mercenaries from abroad are allegedly fighting for regime change there the u.n. estimates more than five thousand civilians killed in syria since march while the regime claims its fighting an armed insurgency funded from abroad. shifting to the east pakistan with an eye toward the future of forging fresh ties with china as its u.s. relationship staggers from one crisis to the next with the strains heightened by the covert american raid that killed bin laden the last month's drone strike that left twenty four pakistani soldiers dead. some celebrating

a few commiserates the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the u.s.s.r. an opinion still split whether their breaking up of the country was best choice for its people it ended the cold war paved the way for democracy but sparked a series of bloody regional conflicts and economic downturns. romana joins us next with sports stay with us. oh and of all come to support an r.t. coming to you from the russian capital with me room on cost for about first as usual the headlines. dress for success russia snowboarders receive brand new uniforms ad of their new season and soul she wins or in a big sense twenty four is a. good five seconds to go two point zero from derrick rose gives the bulls a narrow victory over the los angeles lakers in the new n.b.a.

season. r.t. on the mats our correspondent explores the sophisticated world of the japanese martial art by. paul that's coming out about what will start with ice hockey where there were eight games on offer in the continental hockey league on sunday to mobilise conceded in there and nine consecutive match after losing to gennaro moscow on home ice all over in with the score all ford suit defending the gari cup champion sell out your life what a whole match against the world with the same for two scoreline tracks or just have been scored through second period goals against visit saints are better news may not good which were enough to win the match to time good cup winners are the bars defeated visiting side c.b.d. by three pucks to one while kate feels bad boys it has lost two archrivals of a guard in the moscow region by the narrowest of margins to one mistake you make beats a little because now it's. the match between seven style and you gras and it's scoreless

in regulation and overtime by the home side gold the opera hands in the penalty shoot out while spartak moscow a loss to the visiting mets a look at war's two one. so missile are going to divorce have now moved up to fourth in the eastern conference of the kontinental hockey league following that narrow two one victory over spar. moscow right here in the russian capital now the visitors opened the scoring five minutes into the second period a very dull ski on the scoreboard for phil the kind of charges the moscow spectators had to wait until the beginning of the third period where romana dushan got a long way to the equaliser as he made the most of a power play to make it one all the lord's response was that much quicker seems so she needed only forty four seconds to put his teammates in front again sealing the final results off to one spark sit second from bottom in the west. to snowboarding now where it seem russia have presented the new kits in which they

will perform for the next three years including that's once in fourteen home and then takes in saatchi the russian alpine skiing and snowboarding federation has signed a sponsorship deal with one of the biggest brands in extreme sports equipment the country is becoming one of the powerhouses and trendsetters in the snowboarding world with many athletes competing for podium places the outfit was presented by members of the national seeing and among them was a european cup winner in big bear city gate la pushkin and sell female boarders in parallel. to the guess who won a total of six races last season also claiming the first ever world cup sidle for her country and. who was the first russian's acknowledge olympic silver medal in snowboarding in vancouver despite a poor start of the current season the borders are eyeing an overall win at the world cup with the next stage starting on january the thirteenth in austria.

i started this year's campaign with a second place but it later stages my results became even worse however i drew conclusions and worked hard to improve in my performance it's still a long way to go for me to try and win the cup for the second straight year. i was age just like last year but i feel to improve on my results so far i was just unlucky because he's three knows the right twenty so off to the world cup stages times in january before much better international told the rankings. so the harwood now where opening games of the new n.b.a. season were finally held in one of them a former n.b.a. champions los angeles lakers have started the new season with defeats kobe bryant and company losing to the chicago bulls on home court by single point eighty eight eighty seven the visitors had a narrow two point lead after the first quarter they extended their advantage to a seven by halftime mainly thanks to derrick rose who would eventually finish with twenty two points for the visitors the lakers woke up only in the third period as

bryant with his partners added eight more than their rivals to find themselves one point ahead by the beginning of the fourth quarter dunk from josh mcroberts given los angeles a sixty nine sixty eight lead the sides were neck and neck for the final twelve minutes but with less than five seconds to go rose added the most important to point to seal the final result the game finished eighty eight eighty seven in favor of the bulls. stand across the ocean where in the n.f.l. the green bay packers have clinched the number one seed in the playoffs that's asked for beating the chicago bears on home serve thirty five twenty one aaron rogers turned out to be the hero of the night as he had the first five touchdown match of his career rodgers made twenty one of twenty nine passes for two hundred eighty three yards and five scores germ eichel fin they call want to make it seven mil to the hosts in the first quarter jordan. and james jones got two touchdowns of

peace with that victory the packers improved to fourteen wins and one defeat in this season. and that brings us to i kid which is considered to be one of the most complicated martial arts russian leading instructors gave t.v. reporters a unique opportunity to find out what it is all about firsthand robert are they on has more of the japanese martial art of quito he's in to keep one it means way of her morning spirit and doesn't involve any offensive moves at all and teaches you to use your opponent's aggression and power against him without causing injuries leaving many devoting it can be really effective might be probably one of the reasons why russian leaning i keep instructors held a must to class court t.v. correspondents in moscow and promptly showed some specific i.q. did petitions. now what if somebody tries to take your microphone away don't

resist getting saw it and it's still in your hands. it's all the same if you need to take it away from somebody else just get inside like this. and take the microphone however it only looks that easy in the hands of a skilled i.q. the practitioner it's different when it comes to one man who was maybe just a bit overconfident after we won the world on lesson. here is the way to get you through as a fellow who is bigger and stronger than you. of course if you have the skills just like it was also known as a martial art for intellectuals is a very sophisticated one so those who hope to gain skills very quickly soon quit like you know tasks are much tougher than some stand up fighting or wrestling techniques as in judo or some of it nevertheless having experience in the different

martial arts can only help in starting aikido where perfect balance and coordination are a must the russian national team member in the player would know is a perfect proof of that initially hang had a vast judo background in two thousand and one she became the first ever russian woman to get a muscle of sports degree. this body though he put it takes more time to reach a decent level of skills than i care than in other martial arts how do i can patients that's their new way one can become really good i. some starts with a background in other martial arts some just start from scratch that's possible at any age like the phone there are many thought that kids can steer their way of harmonious spirit as soon as they are able to walk the earlier you start the closer we get to perfection robert for the new and arty more skilled. well half

a year to go before the summer olympics and yet an amazing letter that came to one aims to win his first ever gold medal for his home country now the seventeen year old young man is one of the country's most talented young athletes he made. his international debut for vietnam at the two thousand and nine world youth weightlifting championships in thailand winning three silver medals a year later he represented his nation at the inaugural youthen impacts in singapore where he claimed gold in the fifty six kilograms of vision his form in twenty eleven was impressive he smashed two world records at the recent asian championships and lifting its also off two hundred seventy seven kilograms it's a major is currently the world's top ranked junior and is second in this senior rankings. to win a gold medal for vietnam at an event as big as the olympic games in london would mean so much to me i would be so happy for me it would be the perfect way to pay

back the love and belief that it's a minute people have shown to me. and finally let's move on to a variation of weightlifting now where russia's marianna no mobile has set the new under fourteen world record at a recent russian powerlifting cup right here in moscow that's all of year old after he won the competition in style with an impressive result should bench pressed seventy seven point five kilograms despite an injured shoulder which is strained during the warm up but she coped with the pain and finished the tournaments on top marianna hopes to enhance her current result by lifting eighty kilos next year. that's all for now there will be more sport on artsy very soon meanwhile our youtube channel at artsy sports news is always available so head there to rates and comments on some of the stories seen right here thanks for watching.

witnesses. to history in the making of. testimony. ten stories that shaped two thousand and eleven on our t.v. . among the least explode areas. and untouched by man. surrounded by steep rock. cave paintings on display for thousands of years. east and cyan beyond the taiga. oxy.

dozens of new civilian deaths reported in syria as the arab league gears up to monitor the implementation of a peace plan but hundreds of mercenaries from abroad allegedly fighting for regime change they're. shifting to the east pakistan turns an eye on the future forging fresh ties with china after last month's deadly drone attack shattered already tense relations with the u.s. . blessing or curse twenty years since the fall of the u.s.s.r. where opinion is still split on whether the breakup of the union was the best choice for its people. and on monday boxing day the russian market some of the few which would.