for the first time since the collapse of the soviet union, russia's army has agreed a major deal to purchase defense equipment from the west. at the st. petersburg forum, the president was on hand to sign a $1.2 billion euro deal for two helicopter carriers made by a french-led consortium. he says he wants to make it easier for foreign firms to invest in russia. >> modern x-ray apparatus for the huge russian market. dutch electronics giant, phillips, has been producing medical equipment at its st. petersburg plant for a year with a russian partner to save import tariffs. business is getting off to a slow start in russia. >> last year was difficult. the state invested very little during the crisis. but now things have improved. a lot of promises have been made this year. a lot of money is being invested. we are slowing down a bit, but we're satisfied. >> at the economic forum in st. petersburg, russia is trying to attract foreign investment for a broad range of projects, like a moscow suburb they have championed as the silicon valley. the president has vowed to modernize the economy. >> victo

russia. >> well, that's ate very complicated thing to make that transition. there's no one sentence conclusion to take away to make about the soviet union to russia to their striving toward communism to the capitalist world. i have the feeling that it's lot simpler and people like to have kind of the one-sentence take away, but for every individual it was a complicated process and still is today. there are many conflicting feelings about the changes and the effects of those changes on their everyday lives. >> brown: there's five main characters. how did you find them and who are they? >> well, the five main characters, there's a married couple who teach history in school 57 in moscow. and there's a former punk musician who's now in a punk bluegrass band, a very free spirit. >> brown: who would have thought right, the soviet union to russia, right? >> and there's olga, who was a single mother who works for a billiard table company and she rents out billiard tables to pub and a casinos all over moscow and the fifth is andrei who sells expensive french men's dress shirts. when i started filming he had three stores and by the end he had 17 stores over russia. and they

obama was the first democratic president to have a significant arms control treaty with former soviet union russia the united states the or previously it had been all republicans you know nixon ford reagan and bush you know if the two bushes have done it and so they try to portray him as you know naive and weak on defense of this is one way which they feel that they could not show it's not going to be ratified if you know by the senate it's going to die in a cockroach when the president said he would veto which it should because it really ties this hands up then what happens if he does in fact veto it does that mean it starts going nowhere you know kind of a message that you know that he was used or it's already been ratified so if you vetoes this this is a defense authorization i could not go based on any kind of authorization or it without these measures start is done in fine oh it starts already got basically the president you know can go down you know and then they can claim you know no you can't but he's going to go down but really it sends a walk signal to countries around the world like rus

russia. >> well, that's ate very complicated thing to make tt transition. there's no one sentence conclusion to take away to make about the soviet union to russia to their striving toward communism to the capitalist world. i have the feeling that it's lot simpler and people like to have kind of the one-sentence take away, but for every individual it was a complicated process and still is today. there are many conflicting feelings about the changes and the effects of those changes on their everyday lives. >> brown: there's five main characters. how did you find them and who are they? >> well, the five main characters, there's a married couple who teach history in school 57 in moscow. and there's a former punk musician who's now in a punk bluegrass band, a very free spirit. >> brown: who would have thought right, the soviet union to russia, right? >> and there's olga, who was a single mother who works for a billiard table company and she rents out billiard tables to pub and a casinos all over moscow and the fifth is andrei who sells expensive french men's dress shirts. when i started filming he had three stores and by the end he had 17 stores over russia. and they

because it's it's the triumph in does them of winning the cold war and russia looks at it in a very different way it collapsed the soviet union itself would want to do it wanted something different it wasn't a defeat but russia is still even the mainstream media still treated as a defeated power and well i think that's the problem russia was treated as a defeated ball and in that sense the west has shown a little fantasy i would say i think it characterizes the whole period of the ninety's level fantasy the west would not think would not invent a new russia and. state or even a neutral state each return to the old ways of treating russia with suspicion we just usually you know there was nothing new i asked for one thousand nine hundred and i can tell you all. in july in one thousand nine hundred one. government delegation came to russia and they came to what was there their head of the government and they said we stayed on you we don't believe these democrats we think you are a serious person a few people remember that i am sorry to do and i think it shows you the lack of foundation of our go ahead jump in. like a friend is a

the millions killed in the second world war seventy years after nazi troops invaded the soviet union. and as russia aims to reverse the trend of those from the country business speaks to market players to find out how this could be done join me in twenty minutes. hello world news twenty four hours a day you're watching our team. ten year old child pulled from the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed in northwest russia has died in hospital bringing the death toll to forty five doctors spends two days fighting to save the boy's knife so his injuries were too serious. investigation of the human element clearly a terrible time for other types. there will be relatives of. the survivors some of them have already made their way here or saw gars still on the way as. a ten year old boy had passed away at the hospital his injuries so his family is definitely going through an emotional time how it will be a tough day for their families because we have the task for those whose my family members have been killed we have the task of identifying the bodies of the board we were told that several have been i

through our documentaries i never thought russia has so much beauty and interesting places but my favorite programs that those that look back at history soviet union soviet files meeting with nature places of russia off track art lounge and technology are just some of the programs that china will put up for the viewers judgement proud and excited is happy with the result i was like oh years to see. russia it's not only natural beauty it's also a strong spirit it's also. been tested here in the stories and i want. to i want to introduce the world of russian heart the world of russian. saul bellow my name is believe you're collecting stories prove point is some have already received international recognition and awards others have never seen the light of day but finally this unique collection goes worldwide this is the nerve center and t.v. station from him anything that goes on air is broadcast from now on the brand new channel altie documentary will take its permanent place on one of these screens hoping it will become a favorite certainly. very pushed over r.t. moscow. talks. katrina with the business up i shall be here and afterward. how well th

russia celebrates a holiday twenty one years ago to the day russia declared independence from the soviet union beginning its break up just one year later the country voted in the first free presidential election in its history. has more on russia than. june twelve nineteen ninety one millions voted to make boris yeltsin russia's first president a watershed moment in the country's history but this was the first free election ever in russia the day after we left behind a totalitarian state and had a new job of building a democratic society that respected the rights of its people by the time the lection took place the soviet union had less than a year to live but no one knew how it would disintegrate its fifteen republics began to declare sovereignty one by one while staying a part of the year ceasar provoking unrest and even armed conflict and moscow two leaders also competed against each other mikhail gorbachev was the head of the soviet union chosen by communist functionaries boris yeltsin was in charge of a new sovereign russia and promised reform but calling for an open election yeltsin chal

campaigning commemorating the seventieth anniversary of a nazi germany's attack on the soviet union has started in russia and abroad millions of russians place burning candles on their window sills at war memorials and cemeteries in remembrance of those killed while defending their homeland and its people the ceremony is widely observed with the memory of those terrible times passed on from generation to generation commemorative events are being held also across countries which were once a part of the u.s.s.r. more than twenty six million soviet citizens were killed in world war two with almost every family in russia losing someone. the growing number of civilian fatalities from u.s. drone attacks has sparked fury in pakistan afghan. stan and across the arab world almost forty attacks this year in pakistan alone have killed over three hundred people but despite the public anger in the muslim world the u.s. is now planning to increase the use of the remote controlled weapon to volatile yemen in its war against al qaeda kind of shit you can comments. the u.s. is looking to expand its war on terror but its

battle for the survival and what was at stake was not just a communist system but russia as a country in the soviet union in the boardroom and it's not and it really did become a part of it war it was unusual time in the developed quite a lot during the time it comes what do you think explains the mox difference in its effectiveness from say nine hundred forty one to for example the battle of stalingrad in which it secured a stunning victory one of course that technical reasons to the red army in the midst of war is retraining being. the worst possible time to do it but they are doing it and to give them credit this begins to make a difference they transfer their industry as they get them up and running and certainly by the end astonishing that better trained and better equipped but the germans the still from there to both and i believe it was just the science or the technical side germany could very well have want to either a nine hundred forty one nine hundred forty two but it was the love of the model and it was this extraordinary determination to carry on fighting the underestimated hitler wanted a s

the day also marks russia's first free elections that resulted in victory for a former president boris yeltsin back in one thousand nine hundred one truly afterward the soviet union collapsed as are he zero reports even today memories of the bumpy road to democracy are still fresh in people's minds. june twelve nineteen ninety one millions voted to make boris yeltsin russia's first president a wall to should moment in the country's history but this was the first free election in russia the day after we left behind a totalitarian state and had a new job of building a democratic society that respected the rights of its people by the time the lection took place the soviet union had less than a year to live but no one knew how it would disintegrate its fifteen republics began to declare sovereignty one by one while staying up all of the use the so provoking unrest and even conflict and more two leaders also competed against each other but there was the head of the soviet union chosen by communist functionaries boris yeltsin was in charge of new silver in russia and promised reform but calling for an open election yeltsin challenged the authority of the communist part

because it's it's the triumphant ism of winning the cold war and russia looks at it in a very different way it collapsed the soviet union itself it wanted you he wanted something different it wasn't a defeat but when she's still even the mainstream media still treated as a defeated power and well i think that's the problem russia was treated as a defeated bowl and in that sense the west has shown a level fenty i would say i think it characterizes the whole period of the night just a little fantasy the west would not think would not invent a new russia and. allied state or a neutral state it returned to the old ways of treating russia with that suspicion we just usually you know that it was nothing new and i asked for one thousand nine hundred one i can tell your. july one thousand nine hundred one american government delegation came to russia and they came to what was there their head of the saudi government and they said we stay going you we don't believe these democrats we think you are a serious person a few people remember that i don't know if you are and i think it shows you the level found at a time ago i would ju

each other we held gold which i was the head of the soviet union chosen by communist functionary boris yeltsin was in charge of a new sovereign russia and promised reform but calling for an open election yeltsin challenged the authority of the communist party over russia. with this victory in the election yeltsin through the you could stand up to the communists establishment in an open and public bar he did not cut back room deals or try and protest with this victory ensuring that the soviet union could break up without armed conflict. unlike former soviet leaders yeltsin campaign like a democratic politician. and delivering stump speeches at factories and town squares. his rallies attracted hundreds of thousands when the election night. came we were hopeful would win but we still weren't sure after all it was the communist party that counted the votes but soon enough the results became clear doris yeltsin defeated the communist candidate handily with more than half of the votes in the world. when he led the resistance to the coup laid out some of its popularity peaked but over the next decade the support fields and among russians d

russia's celebrates the country's declaration of sovereignty and its first free elections that marked the definitive end of the soviet union. seven am in moscow i matras are bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t a fierce fighting continues in libyan port city of misrata where rebels using heavy artillery stepped up their bombardment of khadafi troops pro-government forces responded with heavy shelling killing at least six and wounding sixteen others the fighting comes amid insurgents fresh attempts to retake as a week another major oil port and earlier a battle at the port left thirty dead and shut down a key supply route to tunisia meanwhile in tripoli colonel gadhafi over a chess game with the president of the world chess. federation declared he has no intention of stepping down as art is maria for an ocean of records it's the ordinary people who are bearing the brunt of the conflict. saddam has been with you know has breath of death the doctors have performed any a miracle and the young girl is back home with her family she took her mother's pills to kill herself. if someone wants

georgia or is it will they're saying the georgia is still part of russia since we're sure inheritance. obligations of the former soviet union. this is wrong realistic way to say that uprisings to georgia everybody knows the legal historical the moral . grounds for independence we became independent country from georgia before the collapse of soviet union so we can in order positively parts of georgia in this morning time is completely ridiculous and even more as well because. this. state in its usual supported by many hard politicians in the western world. when the standard be sure to retore integrity of georgia which is very much and i believe like mantra in the. internationally for us the tutorial so we toured for was recognized in well it should be internationally more that's why we have this twenty years long conflict with your how did more and so the city two thousand and eight influence uprising its relations with georgia a more relations into or a very marked shift toward georgia and these relations into rating every single. for twenty years or even we haven't received any positive signal from the north in reverse we