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There are no perpetual friends or foes in the international diplomatic realm. Instead, the ever-changing global dynamics and regional geo-political realties not only forge new alignments but also wash away older animosities. A case in point is the revival in the Pak-Russia relations and its impact on the regional status quo namely, the state of affairs between Pakistan and India. Also, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) now falls well within this context. I will focuses on the growing ties between Islamabad and Moscow, and the risks and opportunities that may precipitate subsequently. The qualitative and quantitative data is dealt analytically to determine how Pakistan can get the most out of this momentous development.Bilateral relationsThe then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Moscow in 1999. It was the first visit to Russia by a Pakistani head of government since 1974. In 2003 President Musharraf also paid a visit to Moscow. The first visit from any Russian high official took place in 2007 when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov visited Pakistan, 16 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. President Asif Ali Zardari visited Russia in 2011 and several Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) were signed between both states in the areas of energy, agriculture and air services. In 2012 a Russian delegation came to Pakistan and signed three MOUs. They covered the expansion of Pakistan Steel Mills, the energy sector, and the railways department. After that General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, then Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, visited Russia in October 2012 and met several top Russian Army officials and politicians. In this meeting, discussions held on development of defense relationships.15 After General Kiyani’s visit Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov visited Pakistan in October 2012. He held meetings and made important statements on PakistanRussia relationship.16 In 2013, Russia and Pakistan commenced the strategic dialogues, which provided the institutional framework for their renewed intimacy. In April 2013, Russian Air Chief visited Pakistan, followed by three significant milestones in succeeding years. In August 2014, after Air Chief, Russian Naval Chief also visited Pakistan followed by the visit of Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoigy in November 2014, the first visit by a Russian Defense Minister to Pakistan in 45 years, which resulted in Defense Cooperation Agreement between both countries.17 The agreement provides for the exchange of information on politico-military issues; cooperation for promoting internationalsecurity; intensification of counterterrorism and arms control activities and sharing experiences in peacekeeping operations. In 2014, Russia also lifted up its arms embargo on Pakistan. Here, it is pertinent to mention that in the year 2014 the US surpassed Russia in its arms sale to India and became the biggest defense partner of India.1815 Express Tribune, October 4, 2012. 16 Express Tribune, October 4, 2012. 17 Dawn, April 2, 2017. 18 News: India News, Latest Bollywood News, Sports News, Business & Political News, National & International News | Times of IndiaIn 2015, Russian Army Chief visited Pakistan followed by Spy Chief in 2016 to discuss initiation of joint ventures for intelligence and against terrorism. They also signed a technical cooperation accord for arms supplies and cooperation in weapons development. Moreover, in September 2016, troops of Russian Special Forces also visited Pakistan for military exercises.19 Pakistan and Russia also hold joint naval exercises in February 2017. After the joint venture the Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Colonel General Israkov Sergi Yuryevich, visited Miranshah, the administrative headquarter of North Waziristan Agency and nominated an honorary consul to KPK province, which borders to Afghan province Nangarhar where IS-K has established its headquarter.20 During the visit of the then Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif in June 2015, both the countries concluded the $153 million Mi-35 attack helicopter deal. These helicopters are particularly suited for mountainous terrain and can be deployed “round the clock” in adverse weather conditions.21 In April 2018, Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa paid a visit and met Colonel General Olag Salyukov in Moscow. General Salyukov, contrary to US and Indian stance, acknowledged Pakistan’s achievements in the fight against terrorism and contributions to regional peace and stability.22 Development cooperation Relations between the two have been improving, although not with a faster pace, in October 2015 both of them signed a MoU for laying the North-South Gas Pipeline from Karachi to Lahore to connect Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals with a capacity of 12.4 billion cubic meters per year. Russia nominated its state-owned RT Global Resources, a subsidiary of Rostec Corporation for project execution.However, due to US sanctions on some of the Russian firms, Rostec has also come under sanctions; thus, the Chinese companies became partner of the project and completed the $2bn gas pipeline through the Silk Road Fund. China established the $44.5 billion Silk Road Fund in 2014 to fund the construction of power plants, rail lines, ports and other infrastructure in countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).24 Moreover, Russia’s Gazprom International and Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Moscow. The MoU is aimed at mutual cooperation, joint ventures and use of state-of-the-art technology that would aid exploration and development in Pakistan. Russia has also shown its interest to invest $8 billion in Pakistan’s energy sector.25 Another MoU had been signed between the Russian firms Inter Rao and Himmash Apparat and the KPK Oil and Gas Company (KPOGCL) to set up a medium sized refinery in Kohat district of KPK.26 Apart of cooperation in energy sector, the Russian telecom giant, VimpelCom invested $1 billion by purchasing Mobilink and Warid.27 Russian Federation is also financing the mega energy project, CASA-1000, providing electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan through Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.28 On the other hand, Pakistan allowed Moscow to access the Gawadar Port for its exports. Economic and trade relations As far as trade relations between Russia and Pakistan are concerned, Pakistan’s share in total foreign trade with Russia is not significant, though bilateral trade is gradually gaining momentum, but not yet considerable. Russia comes at 33rd in terms of imports to Pakistan and 28th in exports. However, there is an upward trend in last few years.2924 The Express Tribune, December 20, 2017. 25 Daily Times, April 29, 2018. 26 Dawn, August 8, 2017. 27 Daily Times, April 29, 2018. 28 http://timesofPakistan.pk/business/2012-02-28/russia-to-provide-500m…/52463/.29 https://www.globalvillage.comIn 2012, Pakistan’s export to Russia was only $210 million which comprised of 0.04% of total Russian import. During 2010-2011, Pakistan was the biggest potato exporter to Russia and exported 125,000 tons of potato. Apart from potato, Pakistan also exports orange, vegetables, textiles, leather goods and other fruits to Russia in bulk. The major issues in establishing healthy trade relations are bureaucratic hurdles, unprofessional attitude and low-quality products. Unlike to past, the economic relations between Pakistan and Russia are improving. Now the trade volume has grown and reached $ 660 m in the first ten months of 2018.30 The Russia-Pakistan Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which was created to aid the development of mutual cooperation in the fields of trade and economy, science and technology and education, has been playing a constructive role in this regard. To date, five meetings have been held between the officials of the two countries - the last being held in November 2017, in Moscow, where both sides agreed to deepen cooperation on matters of mutual interest.31 During the visit of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Nawaz Sharif to Russia in April 1999 the Intergovernmental Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation was signed. One of the main results of the signed agreement was establishment of the effective institutional mechanism for bilateral interaction – the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.32 In its 4th session which was held in Islamabad on November 18-20, 2015, it proved very important in terms of further development of Russia-Pakistan trade and economic ties. This session has also initiated discussion on opening an FTA between Pakistan and Eurasian Economic Commission 30Nazir Hussain & Quratulain Fatima, “Pak-Russian Relations: Historical Legacies and New Beginnings,” Central Asia, no.72 (June 2015): 6; The Express Tribune, December 29, 2018. 31 Almas Haider Naqvi & Yasir Masood, “Rejuvenating Pakistan-Russia Relations: Discernible Trends and Future”, Strategic Studies vol.37, no.4 (Winter 2017): 30. 32 http://issi.pk/issue-brief-on-pakistan-russia-strategic-partnership-new-horizons-for(EEC) within the areas of energy exploration, education, power generation, agriculture, drugs control and financial sector.33 Within the IGC framework the First Pakistan Russia Investment Forum was held in which over 80 Russian businessmen, officials and experts from various sectors participated. As a result, the prospects of widening the scope of bilateral trade became much more distinct. The IGC’s 5th plenary session was held in Moscow on November 30, 2017 which has added pace to dynamic development of economic relations.34 Moreover, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the State Bank of Pakistan have signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Banking Cooperation on January 15, 2018, aimed at promoting cooperation in disciplines of financial systems, financial infrastructure and financial institutions supervision. The development of banking sector will definitely boost bilateral trade.35 A visit of the delegation of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan to Moscow and Saint Petersburg in September 2015 discovered new exciting opportunities for business links with Russian counterparts. A follow-up trip of a group of Pakistani businessmen also visited to Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, two industrially developed regions of Russia, in 2016 promises to open new vistas for bilateral trade cooperation between the two regions.36 The Agreement between the Government of Saint-Petersburg and the Government of Sind on Cooperation in the Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Fields signed on October 23, 2017, is also a sign of enhancement in friendly relations.The Saint-Petersburg – Sind Business Forum was also established.37 33 Almas Haider Naqvi & Yasir Masood. 34 Speech by Alexey Dedov, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan, December 10, 2018 available at http://www.dnanews.com.pk/economic-cooperation-russia-pakistan-achievementschallenges/ 35 Dawn, January 16, 2018. 36 Speech by Alexey Dedov, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan, December 10, 2018 /Pakistan-Russia Business Forum (PRBF) was already working since 2009 and there is chance of phenomenal growth between the two countries and PRBF is playing a pivotal role to encourage partners at both ends. PRBF is the fundamental platform that will promote bilateral relations in trade, social cultural, educational, technical, scientific, industrial, tourism etc. between Pakistan and Russian federation.38 There is room to sign a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which will finally lead to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. As both showed their willingness to sign an FTA. After signing FTA, it will be easy for both the countries to have access to each other's market by reducing the duties on items of special interest e.g. Russia can consider in reducing the duties on Pakistan's consumer goods specially textile products, Fruits & Vegetables, rice and sports goods, where as Pakistan can reduce the duties on imports from Russia specially on iron and steel products, agricultural machinery and engineering goods. This will help in reducing the cost of production in Pakistan.39 Joint military exercises Moscow and Islamabad have enhanced military to military relations. The first Russia-Pakistan Counter-narcotics Exercise was held in October 2014 followed by a second exercise in December 2015. The first ever joint military exercise, Druzhbha (a Russian word meaning “friendship”), was conducted between the two armies from September 24-October 10, 2016 in the Pakistani province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), a year after the local branch of Islamic State (IS), known as ISK-P after the name of Khorasan Province, unleashed its regional terrorist operations. Despite the strong Indian objection on these exercises due to attack on Uri military camp they proceeded as per schedule. The second joint exercises were held in 2017, in Russia’s north Caucasus republic of Karachayevo Cherkessia, with a focus on counter-terrorism operations, hostage and rescue, cordon and search operations. Earlier, Pakistan Army along with Chinese, Egyptian, Venezuelan and Belarusian armies participated in Russian Army war games 2015 in Russian Far East.4038 PAK RUSSIA BUSSINESS FORUM 39 Message from Chairman Pak-Russia Business Council FPCCI | Business Recorder. 40 Dawn, October 22, 2018.PAK-RUSSIA RELATIONS IN THE EMERGING GEO-STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTThe third joint military exercise Druzhba III, were held in 2018 in Cherat, KPK and at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) in Pabbi, KPK, to boost counter-terrorism cooperation to tackle the growing threat of Islamic State (IS) from Afghanistan. In August 2018, Moscow and Islamabad also held the first meeting of Russia-Pakistan Joint Military Consultative Committee (JMCC) and signed a defense agreement for an unprecedented contract with Islamabad which opens the doors for the very first time for Russian military training of Pakistan army officers.41 The JMCC is the highest forum of defense collaboration between both the partners. Russia also participated in the Aman-17 international naval exercise hosted by Pakistan in February 2017. Pakistan Navy has been biennially hosted the multi-national maritime exercise since 2007 and now 6th exercise of AMAN series is scheduled in the first quarter of 2019. In Aman 17, held in the waters of Arabian Sea at the Pakistan Naval Base at Karachi Port, the navies from Japan, Turkey, UK, USA, Malaysia, Australia, Maldives, Russia, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka participated.42 Afghan turmoil Afghanistan was the long standing reason for Russia Pakistan animosity, both were in opposite camps during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Peshawar was the headquarter to supply arms and ammunition and also for the deployment of Taliban, and paradoxically this again is one of the key reasons for their new friendship as despite Pakistan’s tremendous support to Coalition Forces US, which is neck deep in its longest war, which has completed 17 years on October 5, 2018 and costing more than $ 122 billion, is not satisfied with the efforts made by Pakistan for counter terrorism either in Afghanistan or at home. Now, Pakistan, the frontline state against the USSR is working closely with Russian Federation to find a political solution in Afghanistan and curbing the presence of IS-K from Afghanistan.43 Russian concerns for Taliban can only be catered through Pakistan who was the staunch supporter of Taliban and the threat of IS-K is also tackle with the help of Pakistan because both of them are victims of it. As a matter of fact, Russia has severe security concerns from ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), which 41 Ibid. 42 Daily Times, February 10, 2017. 43 Khaleej Times, August 10, 2018. JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES – 35/1 (2019) 47 after recent attacks in Pakistan now threaten the sprawl into Central Asia, the buffer region for Russia in its southern front. Moscow is extremely worried. for increasing Islamic fundamentalism especially after the December 2017 attack in Saint Petersburg which was admitted by IS and the bomber was identified as Kyrgyz national.44 Undoubtedly, if IS succeed in establishing ground in Afghanistan then through Central Asia, Russia is not far to reach. Rightly argued by Daniel Markey, a senior professor at John’s Hopkins University that Russia is motivated in developing relations with Pakistan because of two main reasons, first to tackle the problem of Taliban and IS in Afghanistan, second to enervate the US dominion in the region. He said, “The point is that Russia and Pakistan probably have more in common with respect to the war in Afghanistan than the United States has with either — and this is a real turnaround from prior history”.45 Similarly, another senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Peter Topychkanov said, “Russia is concerned about the long-term presence of the US and its allies in Afghanistan, and therefore it is in Russia’s long-term interests to have an inside view of the situation in Afghanistan”, he added, and Pakistan provides the opportunity.46 In this regard both the new friends announced a plan to establish a Commission on Military Cooperation to combat the threat of IS in the region. Although, US is of the view that IS-K is declining from Afghanistan, however, both Pakistan and Russia maintained that after getting a serious blow in Syria and Iraq the IS-K has a vast number of recruits and in this regard both of them criticized US or NATO troops for not handling the situation appropriately. Pakistan also plays a major role in Russian concerns of combating drug trafficking from Afghanistan. In this regard, “anti drug security belts” have proposed by Russia on all sides of Afghan borders and neighboring states. These belts would prevent the illegal flow of drugs across the Afghan borders. However, this plan can only be successful with equal cooperation of other states. In this regard, Russian Federal Drug Control service started 44Pakistan-Russia Cooperation: Trouble for the United States? – South Asian Voices 45 DAWN, February 27, 2018, Analysis: Why is Russia warming up to Pakistan? 46 Ibid.PAK-RUSSIA RELATIONS IN THE EMERGING GEO-STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT 48 negotiations with Pakistan to extend cooperation in combating drug smuggling and terrorism from Afghanistan.47 Regional scenario Apart from these strategic interests Russia also wants to reap the economic fruits from Pakistan’s basket in the form of supposed partner in CPEC,48 and by fulfilling its long yearning desire to reach warm waters of Arabian Sea. The landlocked countries of Central Asia would greatly benefit from this opportunity. Another point of view existed in this regard is the growing Indo-American closeness and cooperation in multiple fields. Since Russia and India shared a cherish history of friendship and cooperation therefore, through Pakistan Russia could also tackle this issue, and hinder the further closeness between America and India.49 On the other hand, Pakistan which is strategically significant country due to its vital land and sea routes, nowadays gaining special attention, regionally and internationally especially after CPEC, however, Russian bent is also another aspect for Pakistan’s crucial upcoming in international debate. Like Russia, Pakistan also has to meet its ends out of this changing geo-political environment particularly Russian friendship. First it was United States’ changed stance towards Pakistan that mainly pushed the later into Russian bloc, thus Pakistan- Russia growing ties can be seen in this context also. In addition to this aspect, another dimension which pushes Pakistan towards grabbing the Russian opportunity that is the commercial gains, Russia offers Pakistan an improved arms supply, compare to those were providing earlier like Ukraine, Turkey and others.Vladimir Moskalenko & Petr Topychkanov, Russia and Pakistan: Shared Challenges and Common Opportunities (Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Centre, 2014), 10; Nivedita Das Kundu, “Russia-Pakistan Relations in the Post-Cold War Era”, Russia Beyond, July 02, 2012, https://www.rbth.com/articles/2012/07/02/russia-pakistan_relations_in_the_postcold_war_era_16104 48 India tense as Russia supports CPEC 49 Tim Craig, “As the US moves closer to India, Pakistan looks to Russia”, The Washington Post, January 28, 2015, accessed 26 October 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ world/asia_pacific/as-obama-visits-india-pakistanlo o k s - t o - r u s s i a - f o r - m i l i t a r y - e c o n o m i c - a s s i ss t a n c e / 2 0 1 5 / 0 1 / 2 8 / f e e 9 8 8 f 0 - a 5 8 a - 1 1 e 4 - a 7 c 2 -03d37af98440_story.html. 50 Muhammad Taimur Fahad Khan, “Pakistan’s Growing Relations with Russia: Factoring in the Role of the US”, Strategic Studies, 38 no. 2 (Summer 2018): 98, available at http://issi.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/6- SS_Muhammad_Taimur_Fahad_Khan_ No-2_2018.pdf. JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES – 35/1 (2019) 49 a member of SCO and to join Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)Pakistan is trying to get support from Russia (as Russia opposed Pakistan’s entry to NSG). Becoming a member of these multilateral organizations matters a lot for a “middle-ranking power with limited global and economic clout”, like Pakistan.51 Finally increasing Indo- American closeness is also a cause for Pakistan to choose Russian option, for in the contemporary regional and global geo-politics, Pakistan also needs to search for new friends and allies. The contemporary South Asia is quite interesting these days, where India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and US all appearing as intertwined and interconnected with each other in one way or the other. Like for Pakistan, China is considered as ‘all weather friend’ and ‘a brother’.52 Hence China seems to be like a bridge between Russia and Pakistan, its two close friends. The Pakistan-Russia friendship in this context will be enduring and beneficial for all three. This emerging triangle of Russia-China-Pakistan is going to shake not only the region but the world at large. In this particular context India, the immediate neighbor of Pakistan and the trusted friend of Russia should worry a little! This “triangle”53 on one side if opens the doors of numerous opportunities for Pakistan beside benefiting the other two then on the other hand, it could also challenge the US hegemony in South Asia, due to the presence of two world powers like China and Russia. This speculation may lead to another, in the form of USIndia close ties and collaboration to create internal chaos and anarchy in Pakistan to destroy the supposed triangular axis. In this scenario, the role of Afghanistan is very important for all the stake holders in the region. If Russia maintains only mild and surface relations with Pakistan then this could be good for Afghanistan’s peace and stability which serves the interests of all –Russia, India and Pakistan.51 Pakistan Finds a Friend in Russia 52 Uma Purushothaman, “The Russia-Pakistan Rapprochement: Should India Worry?”, ORF, issue brief no 117, November 2015, 4, https://www.orfonline.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/12/ORFIssueBrief_117.pdf 53 Rashid Siddiqi, “Prospects for Russia-Pakistan Rapprochement”, Strategic Studies 37, no. 2 (Summer 2017): 73, http://issi.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/4- SS_Rashid_Siddiqi_No-2_2017.pdfPAK-RUSSIA RELATIONS IN THE EMERGING GEO-STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT 50 Implications for Kashmir According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “There is no other country in the world with which Russia has such ‘deep cooperation’ in delicate areas including missile technology, and its benefits from cooperation with India”. 54 No doubt the reliable friendly terms between Russia and India shared a relationship of mutual trust and cooperation. Thus, such cordial relations, at the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit at Astana, Kazakhstan, offered to help Pakistan and India in resolving their disputes especially, Kashmir. Islamabad whole heartedly welcomed a UN Security Council’s permanent member’s intention to solve this overdue issue.55 However, since the beginning it remained a practice that Moscow largely supported India in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by constantly vetoing on Kashmir resolutions, therefore, the growing closeness between Moscow and Islamabad cast a shadow on Indian hopes in this regard, because seeking China’s favor in UNSC will not be a big deal for Russia, in the mirror of China-Pakistan ‘all weather’ friendship! Indeed, these doubts take ground from the recent changes in regional dynamics and it mainly depends on Russian preferences in South Asia. Similar recent development appeared when for the first time six-nation Speaker’s Conference held in Islamabad in December 2017, where the issuance of joint declaration signed by Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey exemplifying the changing regional balance in South Asia. The declaration not only supported Pakistan’s point on Kashmir but also emphasized that “for ensuring global and regional peace and stability, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir needs peaceful resolution by Pakistan and India in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions”. 56 The fresh vibe in Moscow-Islamabad relations therefore created perturbed stimuli in New Delhi. India was always held the view that Kashmir issue should be settled bilaterally between the two countries, while Pakistan wished to welcome other regional and international powers to intervene and resolve this Gordian knot.54 https://tribune.com.pk/story/1425491/growing-ties-pakistan-will-not-affect-relationshipindia-putin/ 55 Dawn, June 16, 2017. 56 Difficult Times Ahead for Russia-India Ties JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES – 35/1 (2019) 51ConclusionIn spite of growing relationships between both countries, there are certain factors which try to hamper bilateral relations. Russia is not willing to compromise or antagonize India in strengthening relations with Pakistan. Although, over the past few years, India and US are getting remarkably closer but still Russia is not intended to upset its main South Asian partner.57 Therefore, it is extending relations with Pakistan very carefully and unwilling to invoke Indian suspicion in this partnership. Therefore, apart from security and strategic cooperation, overall Russian businesses and companies are reluctant to make huge investments in Pakistan. In addition, China’s strong presence in Pakistan also plays major role in cautious approach of Russia.58 Nevertheless, it goes without saying “no pains no gains”, hence Pakistan should also see the other side of the picture where the think tanks and analysts have pointed out some concerns regarding this fledgling Russo-Pak friendship. First of which is Russian identity that is in the words of Vladimir Baranovsky, the Director of the Center for Situation Analysis, Moscow, “Russia is neither the West nor the East” instead it is ‘special’.59 This gives a kind of ‘existential ambivalence’ to Russian foreign policy.60 In particular Russia lacks cohesive and focused South Asia strategy. It is basically an over- arching and general strategy for the region, where economic and political stability would contribute to meet Russian ends in South Asia. Indian factor in this regard cannot be ignored, since India is a trusted ally to Russia even before the birth of Pakistan, and a huge buyer of military arms exemplifying around $2 billion worth military apparatus is bought every year from Russia. India is also a partner of Russia in different multilateral organizations and economic forums like SCO, RIC (Russia, India and China), BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). Hence one thing is certain Russia is not going to compromise its valuable relationship with India in favor of Pakistan.61 57 Vladimir Moskalenko & Petr Topychkanov, Russia and Pakistan: Shared Challenges and Common Opportunities.58 Muhammad Taimur Fahad Khan, Renaissance of Pakistan-Russia Relations (Islamabad: Institute of Strategic Studies, 2016), 4. 59 Vladimir Baranovsky, “Russia: A Part of Europe or Apart from Europe?” International Affairs 76, no. 3 (2000): 443-458. 60 Ibid, 445. 61 Petr Topychkanov, “Where Does Pakistan fit in Russia’s South Asia Strategy?” Russia & India Report, Carnegie Moscow Centre-Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, JanPAK-RUSSIA RELATIONS IN THE EMERGING GEO-STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT 52At the same time due to its geographical importance US despite all the displeasure and anger, does not want to leave its old ally and same is the case with Pakistan. For Pakistan’s survival it is important for it to be in US camp because all the International financial institutions are under US command and Russia, right now is not in a position to provide hard currency or soft loans. Thus, question arises “where does Pakistan fits in Russia’s South Asia strategy?”62 Truly stating Pakistan and Russia have very limited opportunities for joint businesses and investments especially in the absolute presence of China in Pakistan’s market. It is also important to see that Russia has agreed to provide S-400 air defense system to India, to extend the BrahMos missiles ranges up to 600km63 which will enable India not only to target Pakistan at any place in the country but to control the air space also. It could also be not ignored that Russian good faith turned towards Pakistan only in the aftermath of Ukrainian crisis. Similarly, lifting arms embargo, and providing military assistance, and supplying military equipments only after when Russia became the second biggest arm supplier to India, after the US,64 and Indian closeness to the US that resulted in the withdrawal of India from the joint Indo-Russian defense program for the co-development and production of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. Pakistan should consider these developments in constructing its strategic framework. Since Russia Pakistan friendship is largely the outcome of US-Pakistan deteriorating relations, hence it is greatly dependent on the future course of Pakistan-US relations. Thus Pakistan should not over-estimate this likely short term friendship with Russia due to above discussed reasons. Since the incentives behind this new relation are global dynamics, security concerns, and above all need of the time. It is still to see a lot about the durability and nature of this Russo-Pak relationship. 16, 2017,Where Does Pakistan Fit in Russia’s South Asia Strategy? 62 Ibid. 63 Ibid. 64 Ibid. JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES – 35/1 (2019) 53Pakistan should come out from its India centric defensive foreign policy and realize its human potential and its geo-strategic importance. There is hope that Russia as a partner and friend of both the South Asian foes can play its role to solve the long overdue Kashmir problem. Pakistan should develop friendly relations with all the countries on equal footing instead of serving the interests of one against the other. Pakistan should play its cards wisely and should not accept opportunities as a fait accompli.65 65 Daily Times, October 16, 2017.

Courtesy of Rational-Wiki. Pick your favorite…That’s a big buffet, feast on it. Enjoy:Zoroastrianism claims that the end of the world will happen when a comet, called Gochihr, strikes the earth. It will cause all the world's metals to melt and will burn up the world. At the same time, sinners and the pious will pass through this river of molten metal. Sinners will have their sins burnt away and the pious will feel like they're "passing through warm milk."[1]Norse myths say that Ragnarök will be the battle between the gods, killing all but two of the humans, who will then repopulate the earth.[2]A number of scientific disasters have been suggested throughout the years. For example: epidemics,[3] various asteroids/comets, super-volcano eruptions,[4] and global warming. Note that these, like many other "end of world" predictions, would only be the end of humanity, or at most, of much/most/all life on Earth. The world itself would hardly notice the change.1st century CEEarly Christianity: Second Coming. Any day now! In fact, within the lifetimes of Jesus's eyewitnesses.[5]Revelation: Armageddon. Indeed, the very word "Apocalypse" is the Greek word for revelation.4th centuryBishop and theologian Hilary of PoitiersWikipedia's W.svg predicted the world would end in 365 CE. Hilary's name means cheerful.[6][7]Hilary's disciple, the popular saint, cloak-wearer, and hammerer Martin of ToursWikipedia's W.svg predicted the end would be around 400 CE.[7]5th century500: In what's considered the first prediction involving round numbers in the Christian calendar (hence prefiguring a lot of Y2K bullshit), Hippolytus of RomeWikipedia's W.svg (170-235 CE) used the dimensions of Noah's Ark and the idea of 1000-year days starting at the world's creation in 5500 BCE to predict Christ's coming in this year, writing in 234 CE. Sextus Julius Africanus had come up with something similar but without the same numerology.[8]7th centuryMuslims believed in the Qiyamah (Last Judgement) during which time Jesus[9] will come to earth, end all wars, and kill ad-Dajjal — the Muslim anti-Christ. Then every person who ever lived will be bodily resurrected, before being judged by God. The faithful go to heaven, and the rest to hell. Apparently there's also room for some "People of the Book," i.e. Jews and Christians, though hopefully there won't be any wars between the lot in heaven. Presumably God will actually do something to stop fighting within his heavenly realm, unlike on Earth, so that celestial wars would seem unlikely.8th century800: Another prediction from Sextus Julius AfricanusWikipedia's W.svg (c 160-c 240 CE), who had suggested 500 CE as an alternative.[10][11] If only he'd predicted the coronation of Charlemagne, which did occur on December 25, 800 CE, but same difference, yeah?16th centuryA little grandiose, eh?Circa 1504: Painter Sandro Botticelli believed he was living during the End Times/TribulationWikipedia's W.svg, according to an inscription on his painting The Mystical Nativity.1524: The Great Flood of 1524 was predicted for February 4 which would coincide with a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, predicted by several astrologers including Johann Stöffler in 1499 and Johannes Carion in 1521. It was popularised by a vast number of pamphlets in the early 16th century, which has led to it being described as the first mass-media panic in history. Many people feared the worst, building boats and moving to higher ground; nothing happened, and in London, where some of the most extreme panic had manifested, it didn't even rain.[12][13]1533: Michael Stifel, Judgement Day.[14] A common saying in German for PIDOOMA is to "calculate" or "talk a Stifel."[15]1583: Another Great Conjunction (of Saturn and Jupiter), especially auspicious as the last in a water sign for several hundred years, it nonetheless failed to presage the end of the world. The only consequence was Pope Sixtus V issuing a papal bull, Coeli et terrae, in January 1586, condemning astrological predictions.[16]1600 or before: Martin Luther was a keen student of the Book of Revelation, and predicted the end of the world was imminent, possibly within his lifetime (he died in 1546) and certainly by 1600.[17][18]17th century1666: The presence of the Number of the Beast in this date meant many people assumed it would see the end of the world, with outbreaks of bubonic plague in the years before adding to millenarian feeling.[19] The Fifth MonarchistsWikipedia's W.svg, a millenarian English sect that sprung up during the English Civil War, believed the world would end in 1666 or before. They were influential in the radical politics of the 1650s and tried to set up a council of saints to form the fifth monarchy (following the Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman) which they predicted would bring the end of the world, based on Daniel 2:37-44. But the Restoration of Charles II reduced their influence, and even plague and fire couldn't help.[20]1688: First prediction by mathematician and "wizard" John NapierWikipedia's W.svg (1550-1617), another keen student of the Book of Revelation.[21]1697: First of many predictions by Puritan clergyman, scientist, and witchfinder Cotton MatherWikipedia's W.svg, who later changed his prediction to 1736, 1716, and then 1717.[22]1700: Second prediction by mathematician and "wizard" John Napier.[21]18th century1719: Jacob Bernoulli: a comet seen in 1680 would return and collide with the Earth.[23] Said comet hasn't been seen since.[24]1792: One of a few dates advanced by the Shakers, an 18th century Protestant apocalyptic sect.[25]19th century1836: Various theologians including German theologian Johann Albrecht BengelWikipedia's W.svg and Methodist John WesleyWikipedia's W.svg suggested this year would see the start of the Millennium (1000 years of bliss), to be followed by 1000 years of rule by Satan and then Christ's Second Coming.[26]1843: The "Great Disappointment": William Miller predicts the end would come in 1843... then 1844... oh. His many thousands of followers reacted in different ways to his utter failure: some wised up and gave up on his predictions, while others became Seventh Day Adventists. They're still waiting. Still others became the Jehovah's Witlesses, who badly retconned Miller's prediction so they could claim it actually did happen, just not the way he predicted.1865: predicted by Edward Bishop Elliott, a Victorian Biblical scholar; he later revised this to 1941.[27][28]1867: John Cumming, a popular anti-Catholic clergyman who preached in Covent Garden, London, in the mid-19th century and wrote about 180 books, interpreted Biblical prophecies to predict the glorious end days would come around 1867.[29]1873: One of several predictions by the Adventist Jonas Wendell (1815-1873); this date was contained in his 1870 book The Present Truth, or Meat in Due Season; he had previously predicted the second coming in 1868.[30]1881: according to an 1862 edition of the prophecies of Mother Shipton, who allegedly wrote "The world to an end shall come, In eighteen hundred and eighty one."[31] (Seems she was no better at poetry than she was at prediction.)1890 or 1891: Native Americans involved in the Ghost DanceWikipedia's W.svg movement[32][33]: All the whites are gonna die really soon!20th centuryHalley's Comet (1910) : the tail did not wag the dog1910: Halley's Comet's tail crosses the Earth and people think that the world will be gassed to death by cyanogen gas.[34] Mark Twain predicted that he would die when it arrived, and he passed on the day after its perihelion.[35]1914: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36] Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement which evolved into the Jehovah's Witnesses, predicted the destruction of all world governments in October 1914 (he believed Jesus had secretly returned and had been ruling the world since 1874).[37]1915: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36]1918: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36]1920: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36]1923: Wilbur Glenn Voliva: Flat Earth to end[38]1925: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36]1927: Wilbur Glenn Voliva[38]1930: Wilbur Glenn Voliva[38]1934: Wilbur Glenn Voliva[38][39]1935: Wilbur Glenn Voliva[38]1941: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36]1941: Victorian scholar Edward Bishop Elliott, based on his interpretation of the Book of Revelation, came up with this date after his earlier predictions in the 1860s proved untrue.[40]1969: Charles Manson predicted an apocalyptic race war would engulf the US in the summer of 69.[41]1975: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[36][42]Mid-1970s: David Wilkerson: Worldwide economic depression.[43]1977: William Branham: Destruction of the U.S., termination of all governments into a world government, Second Coming.[44]1977: Pyramidologist Adam Rutherford: Beginning of the Millennium.[45]1978: Jim Jones took his cult with him.1979-1980: John Todd: Installation of a world government ruled by the Illuminati, with Jimmy Carter as the anti-Christ. Because...peanuts?1980: Pat Robertson: "A year of sorrow and bloodshed that will have no end soon, for the world is being torn apart, and my[46] kingdom shall rise from the ruins of it."1981: Hal Lindsey: Pre-tribulational rapture. Chuck SmithWikipedia's W.svg founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, shared this view in a 1978 book.[47]1982: Pat Robertson: Great Tribulation.1982: R.E. McMaster: World War III and/or economic depression, based on cyclical theory.[48]1985: Pat Robertson: Worldwide economic collapse.1988: Hal Lindsey: Second Coming.September 11-13, 1988: Edgar Whisenant: Second Coming.[49]1988: Colin Deal: Second Coming.[50]1989: Edgar Whisenant: Second Second Coming.[51]1990: Elizabeth Clare Prophet: Global thermonuclear war.1991: Louis Farrakhan: The looming Gulf War would be the "War of Armageddon which is the final war."1992 (September 28): Rollen Stewart: Second Coming.1992: Mission for the Coming Days: Second Coming.[52]1992: First end of the world prediction from collision with the Pleiades star cluster (a.k.a., "photon belt")1994: Harold Camping: Second Coming.[53]1994: Some Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[54]1997: Heaven's Gate: Earth changes and a UFO abduction coinciding with the Hale-Bopp comet. Mass suicide in the hopes of hitching a ride on said UFOs.1997: Jehovah's Witnesses: Armageddon.[42]1998: The Church of the SubGenius: the Rupture. Every year on July 5th, they meet and party in reverence, certain that it will happen this year. (Recent writings have inverted the year to "8661.")1999: according to some interpretations of Nostradamus[55]1999: A now little-known collision with Planet XAugust 18, 1999: Armageddon, according to Jeron "The Amazing Criswell" King [56]1999-2000: David Wilkerson: Worldwide economic depression.[57]December 31, 1999: Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of GodWikipedia's W.svg, a Ugandan millenarian Christian sect; after the failed prediction was exposed, the leaders brutally killed hundreds of their followers in March 2000.[58]May 5, 2000: Cataclysmic crust displacement predicted by Richard W. Noone, due to a combination of build-up of Antarctic ice and planetary alignment. We're lucky that the ice is melting.[59]2000: Y2K: Collapse of civilisation. Christian preachers in Papua New Guinea predicted the end.[60] Hal Lindsey failed on this one again.21st centuryHarold Camping was a perennial favorite. Oopsie!Skeptics trolling for the rapture2007 (November 1): Mario will trigger a meltdown in a massive galaxy reactor and will cause the universe to turn into a freakish dual tornado and subsequently explode.≤2001: Cataclysmic crust displacement predicted by William Hutton.[61]2002 (December 8th): Survivalist Bruce Beach (of Ark Two fame) predicted it on a Penn & Teller: Bullshit! episode that was not aired until 2003.[62]2003: Mary 2003 was supposed to have Earth cataclysmically smash into Nibiru/Planet X, according to ZetaTalk.2005-2026: William Strauss and Neil Howe — a crisis period in the U.S. comparable in effect to the American Revolution, Civil War, and Great Depression/WWII.[63]2006 (September 12th): Yisrayl Hawkins, pastor and overseer of The House of Yahweh, predicted in his February 2006 newsletter that a nuclear war would begin on September 12th, 2006. [64]2007: Hal Lindsey — the Second Second Coming.2007: Pat Robertson — the Great Tribulation.2008 (whenever she dies): Sarah Palin's church believes that they are the "Final Generation" and will see the End Times during their lifetime.[65]May 2008: Followers of Kuznetsov, 31 adults and 4 children (one 18 months old), went into a cave in Russia in November 2007 thinking they would be safe from an apocalypse occurring in the spring. Kuzentsov did not join them, was later committed and attempted suicide when some had left the cave in the spring. By the time all the followers had left the cave in the spring, two adults had died.[66]2008 (whenever it shuts down): The Large Hadron Collider will destroy the world with black holes, strangelets, or something similarly scary and science-y.[67] (You can keep up to date with whether this has happened yet here.[68])2009: David Wilkerson — Earth-shattering calamity engulfing the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America experiencing riots and blazing fires.[69]2010: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which existed from 1887 to 1903, predicted the world would end during this year.[70][71]2011: Harold Camping tries again — Third Second coming/rapture. May 21st, to be precise.[72] He put up billboards![73] Later postponed to October 21st, but again nothing came of it. Camping might hold on to the money people sent him if he weren't dead now, though he evidently blew a bundle on billboard advertisements.[74] though followers were encouraged to drain their savings for Camping's campaign funds and many are deeply disappointed.[75]2011: Ronald Weinland: Second Coming on the 29th of September. Strike one!2012: But of course! Un-naturally failed apocalypse, NASA pushed away space rock expected to hit in series of attempts to bombard asteroids in previous years.[76] (They even did this to the moon!) The following trail fell to/passed Earth in early 2013.[77] ;)2012: Ronald Weinland — Second Coming on the 27th of May. Strike two!2012: Last known end of the world prediction from collision with the Pleiades star cluster[citation needed]2012 (December 21st): Eastern Lightning cult predicted the end of the world.[78]2013: 2012 was just a warm up, the real bad stuff starts 2013 or something and it seems Isaac Newton predicted it.[79]2013: Ronald Weinland — Second Coming on the 9th of May. Strike three, you're out! (see 2019 for strike 4)2014 (February 22nd): Ragnarok — the end of the present world according to Norse mythology.[80]2014 (March 21st): Asteroid (143649) 2003 QQ47Wikipedia's W.svg?[81]2014: World War III, another attempt to interpret Nostradamus's prophecy of a fire in the North for the reference of the end of the age of the fifth sun,[82] believed to be a specific Northern region of a country, current speculation is North Korea, as relative to the resolution of a Pope prediction.[83] Oh, and the Rapture.[84] And a giant asteroid hitting the Caribbean.[85]between April 2014 and October 2015: A tetrad of lunar eclipses (or blood moons) will signal the start of the end times, according to megachurch pastor John Hagee. [86]Unspecified time during the reign of Pope Francis, the pope succeeding Benedict XVI. Mediaeval Saint Malachy supposedly predicted Peter the Roman (Petrus Romanus) would be the last pope, Rome would be destroyed and a terrible judge would judge his people, The end.[87] Doomsayers have already started shoehorning the new pope into the prediction.[88]2015: Solar flare.[89]2015 (September 23rd): (some references give a margin of September 18th to September 25th) Asteroid.[90]2015 (October 7th): eBible Fellowship, an organization vaguely related to the late-Harold Camping, is confident they've got the date right this time.[91]2016: Tom Wattkins:[92] He had a vision of the Great tribulation claiming to have met the beast of revelation, etc. Turns out the same day is a solar eclipse.[93], though of course he'll mention that.[92]2016 (April 6th): Warren Jeffs, in no way due to a contemporaneous arrangement.[94]2016 (May 16th): Pastor Richardo Salazar was allegedly told by God that an asteroid fully made of ice, with a 9km diameter, traveling at 30,000km per hour would strike earth killing 1,200 million people. As you probably can tell, that definitely happened and those totally dead 1,200 million people will be forever missed.[95]2016 (June 3-4): Modern scholars got the Mayan date wrong. It was never 2012, rather it was June 2016 and there are plenty of numbers involved.[96]2016 (June 14th-August 19th): According to this super reliable, super honest, super definitely-NOT-bullshiting "NASA scientist", there was meant to be a magnetic reversal between June and August which would cause the Van Allen belt to fall killing 80% of life on Earth. He got this information from aliens via HAARP. Yup, aliens told our good 'ol uncle Dr. Sal that the sky is falling.[97]2016 (October 31st): Walid Shoebat alleges that the world is "100% certain" to end on this exact arbitrary nutjob date. As the basis for this claim, he refers to his own science of "Futurology 101".[98]2016 (Fall): Bible student and computer scientist Nora Roth on The Mark of the Beast claims as much through a lot of numerology surrounding seventy "sevens".[99]2016 (December): Bible student and computer scientist Nora Roth subsequently revised her claim to December.[100]September 23, 2017: Nibiru/Planet X will again collide with Earth, the second prediction by David Meade.[101]. Plus a rare constellation alignment will start the Rapture[102]October 2017: Initial forecast made by David Meade[103][104]October 15, 2017: The third time's a charm by David Meade.[105]November 19, 2017: The fourth time is not so charming, David Meade.[106]2017: Various Christians say we'll be chipped, and the Great Tribulation will begin.[107]2017 to 2113: Asteroids, according to the Daily Express, exaggeration based on Nasa estimates of asteroids passing near the earth.[108]2018: YouTube crackpot gevte[109], has been predicting the Rapture countless times. One time it was April 18,[110] and he continues today. He always changes the date on his videos when his predictions pass and would scold people for not watching the signs.. As if anyone has read Deuteronomy 18:22.2018: 23th of April, David Meade strikes back... and fails again[111]2018: The Bible guarantees May 20, 2018 Pentecost, or your money back.[112]2018: 24th of June, obscure crank Mathieu Jean-Marc Joseph Rodrigue ensures that doom is upon us, based on some middle school math.[113]2018: Hal Lindsey — the Third Second Coming.January 21st, 2019-2021: Before behind the 4chan, An Internet meme "Clown World" begins now to insanely cause rewriting our history until 2021, based on the F. Kenton Beshore's prediction.[114]2019 (February 3rd): His 7 billion populated people's ideas, theories, memories, plans & imaginations are gone at all, causing the sequel movies have been released. No one will notice because the link was never found at all or everyone be noticed.[citation needed]2019 (From April 5): Tribulation begins according to Revelation 20:12 - Accueil website; to be followed by Rapture, destruction of most of the earth. In May the Antichrist begins his 3 1/2 year reign.[115]2019 (September 20th): "Area 51: They Can't Stop All Of Us" Event, Also known as "Aliens incoming arrive to earth until 2021 & the Google Earth photos caught UFOs based on the F. Kenton Beshore prediction." [116]2019: Fringe Black Israelites believe that things get really bad in 2019 because of 400 years of slavery, mixed with Genesis 15:13-14[1]2020: Self-acclaimed psychic and astrologer Jeane Dixon has predicted the world will end in 2020. She previously said it would end in 1962. No doubt the 2020 date seemed distant enough back then that no one would notice it was bollocks.[117]2020 (January 3rd): Another World War III, Following the Donald J. Trump attacks Iran and starts World War III. Again, according to the Daily Express.[118]January 21st, 2020-February 21st, 2020/2021: Coronavirus spreads worldwide and then until 2021, there was a zombie apocalypse based on the F. Benton Beshore, Nostradamus & the bible prophecy, very insanely causing to happen.[119][120]2021: In a 2012 press release, F. Kenton Beshore, president of the World Bible Society, predicted the Rapture by 2021, with the Second Coming seven years later.[121]2023 (November 16th): Alien invasion. [122]Before 2024: A web site titled "Fire from the sky: Meteors and Biblical Prophecy," predicts that a meteor (actually a meteorite) "could" hit the earth sometime between 1998 and 2023. This would cause fireballs of debris, tidal waves, supher [sic] dioxide, a "red tide" in the oceans, and a dust cloud. [123]2026: More asteroids.[124]2026 (September 3rd): The Second Coming on Messiah, signalled by the opening of the 7th Seal, according to Christian Gaviria Alvarez, based on the Book of Revelation. That is the beginning of the millennial Shabbath of the Earth, during which the Messiah will rule the Earth for 1,000 years. Rapture on Sept 20th.[125]2026: Mark Corneillie talks about the Second Comng on his website, while offering his version of the Bible for $23.50 without shipping.2027 (February 22th): The Final Judgment and throwing of unsaved persons into the Lake of Fire in the Valley of Jehoshaphat on the south side of Jerusalem will occur, according to Christian Gaviria Alvarez.[126]2028: Fred Clark — a tongue-in-cheek offer guaranteeing 15 years of Bible-prophecy hucksterism for four easy payments of $39.99.[127]2028: Gabriel Ansley Erb has an entire channel dedicated on why the Second Coming will happen in 2028, called 2028 END.2029: Asteroid 99942 Apophis "could" hit the earth on Friday 13 April, 2029, according to initial observations made in 2004, publicized at various times since then including in 2019 by Paul Begley, a Christian preacher. Later, more accurate estimates of its course show we're safe.[128][129]2030: Approximate date of a mass extinction event predicted by Bob Geldof. Myles Allen of Oxford University claims "Competing hyperbole" are unhelpful in understanding real climate change. [130]2030:Lope Columna: Second Coming. If the people are still sinners, it would come by 2240 or the year 6000.[2]2031:World's end by way of irreversible climate change if there is insufficient mitigation, according to a United Nations report by climate scientists.[131][132][133]2035: Even more asteroids.[134]2036: Yet more asteroids.[135]2037: Hal Lindsey — First Third Coming.2038: Deterioration of the fundamental older technology that still underlies the most crucial systems today, aka Year 2038 problemWikipedia's W.svg.2039: End of life, the universe and everything. Also known as the Ascension.[citation needed]2040: Still more asteroids.[136] This seems to be a fan favourite.2041: March 35th (sic) Not another asteroid.[137]2047 (September 14th): According to The Church of !BLAIR!, the human race will probably be terminated at 3:28 AM (Soho, UK time). The church teaches, with tongue firmly in cheek, that if the human race does not discard their plastic conformity, then the Gods will withdraw their protection. The Gods don't want us to worship them; they don't want sacrifices or even offerings. They just want us to rid itself of our excessive "Normalcy". At that time, Astro-Lemurs (extra-terrestrials similar in shape to lemurs, but with rainbow colored bodies) will attack the entire human race and beat them to death with gigantic burritos.[138]2048: Salt-Water fish extinction, according to Boris Worm, PhD, of Dalhousie University.[139]2060: Sir Isaac Newton — Britain's greatest scientist, analyzed the Bible, which he believed contained God's secret laws of the universe. He concluded that the end of the world will happen on or after the year 2060. According to Malcolm Neaum, the producer of a TV documentary on Newton: "He spent something like 50 years and wrote 4,500 pages trying to predict when the end of the world was coming. But until now it was not known that he ever wrote down a final figure. He was very reluctant to do so.".[138][140]2070-2250: Kermit Zarley, a lay biblical scholar and former PGA Tour professional golfer, wrote a book in 2006 titled: "The Third Day Bible Code", He uses the "third day" motif that appears throughout the Bible, couples it with the belief that "one day is like a thousand years" for God, and interprets 2 Peter 3:8 and Psalm 90:4 to predict that Jesus' return will be sometime between the years 2070 and 2250.[138]2076: Bede the Venerable, an 8th century Christian theologian computed Jesus birth as 3,942 years after the world's creation. The Earth's 6,000 year millennial week will thus end in this year & Some Sufi sects expect, which is the year 1,500 in the Muslim calendar.[138]2085: The original prediction for Nibiru's collision with Earth, later deprecated to 2012 for more profits prophets.[141]22nd centuryBefore 2100: Dr. M.H. Kahn believes that all of all other predictions in the past are invalid. He cites pasages from the Qur'an; they imply that some time in the future, the current expansion of the universe will reverse. This will cause time and gravity to reverse. He writes:"The contraction of the universe with reversal of time and gravity will commence the beginning of the end which will last for thousands and possibly millions of years. We will be removed from the regressing effects of reversed time as we come back alive in our own time. We will the be taken across many dimensions to beyond this universe. A beautiful natural mechanism that is based on the laws of physics will cause all that to happen. This real end has nothing to do with wishful thinking and predictions of priests or shamans."[142]2106: Asteroids never seem to stop and on this particular date 50 billion asteroids will hit the earth.[143]23rd century2239: Classical Jewish tradition holds that the Messianic Age must begin at the latest in Year 6000 in the Jewish calendar, which runs 29 September 2239 to 16 September 2240.[144]26th century2525 A couple of guys from Nebraska speculated that the human race might already be extinct by this date. And also that it might limp on for another 7,475 years.Wikipedia's W.svg29th century2880: This Asteroid thing is outta hand![145]39th century3836: Second Coming according to John Wesley, after 2000 years of end times.[26]87th century8661: Updated end of the world date for the Church of the SubGenius (from the original 1998).112th century11103: The Doomsday argument, first stated in 1983, predicts that there is a 95% chance that the human species will go extinct within 9120 years.[146] N.B., the nature means that every year that passes without a doomsday advances the estimated doom ahead by 2 years. The world itself will still be here, of course — just not us.400th century40,000: In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.8,000,000th centuryAccording to current models, the Sun is expected to increase in luminosity by 10% in the next 800 million years. This will cause several changes to the climate that will make the continued existence of life on Earth impossible, starting with photosynthetic organisms and eventually killing off all life.[147]40 millionth centuryThe galaxy Andromeda (currently 2.5 million light years away) is expected to collide and merge with our galaxy, the Milky Way. This is unlikely to have much of an effect on whatever life is around, as galaxies are mostly empty space, although for any given planet, there is a tiny chance that its orbit could be disrupted due to gravitational tugs from passing stars.50 millionth century5 billion years from now: According to accepted models of stellar evolution, the Sun will run out of hydrogen in its core to fuse into helium and will transition to a red giant as a result, expanding massively.[148] The Sun will swallow Mercury and Venus, and may get large enough to swallow Earth as well. Even if it doesn't, Earth will be roasted to a cinder crisp.[citation NOT needed] One school of thought predicts that the drag from the Sun's outer gas envelope will cause the Earth to spiral into the Sun, but as with all things scientific, there is another school of thought that says this won't happen.[149] If it isn't swallowed, Earth will either get flung out into interstellar space due to tidal interactions with the Sun and the Sun's gradual loss of mass once it enters the red giant stage or will keep orbiting the dead Sun, perhaps reduced just to its core, for a long time to come. Never again will Earth see another day.200 millionth century20 billion years from now: If the current rate of expansion of the universe grows, in 20 billion years, the universe could be expanding so rapidly that atoms will no longer be able to hold on to their electrons. This predicted event is known as the "Big Rip." Blame dark energy.3×1041 st century3×1043 years from now: estimated maximum time for all nucleons in the observable universe to decay, if protons are unstable. Whether they are is currently an unresolved question in physics. Exasecond and longerWikipedia's W.svg and Future of an expanding universeWikipedia's W.svg have a pile of similarly apocalyptic events that actually have some scientific basis. This is the Total Existence Failure of the entire universe; anything complex enough to be considered life that would care about it would likely have evaporated to nothing long before this. Out of all the above, this is the most likely.∞th centuryThe heat death of the universeWikipedia's W.svg is a scientific prediction that eventually the universe will expand so much it will no longer contain any thermodynamic free energy with which to do work. At this point the universe will be cold, dark, and essentially empty forever. That is, unless quantum fluctuations or some other phenomena eventually cause something to occur, like a new Big Bang. Forever is a long time, and this kind of physics is poorly understood at present.No prediction of the end of the worldIt is widely believed that there were prophecies in the 10th century CE that the world would end in 999 CE or 1000 CE. However, this seems to have been first mentioned by Johannes TrithemiusWikipedia's W.svg around 1500 and popularised in the 17th and 18th centuries by Cardinal BaroniusWikipedia's W.svg, William RobertsonWikipedia's W.svg, Charles MackayWikipedia's W.svg, Jules MicheletWikipedia's W.svg, and others; sources from the 10th and 11th century show little evidence of a panic.[150] Still, it's no more inaccurate than any other prediction on the list.

University official website (English version)SPBU - Saint Petersburg UniversityThe Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "St. Petersburg State University" (St. Petersburg State University) is one of the oldest, largest and leading classical universities and one of the most important centers of science, education and culture in Russia.Legal address 199034, St. Petersburg, Universitetskaya embankment, 7–9Year of foundation: January 28 (February 8) 1724February 8 (20), 1819The question of the date of foundation of the university caused lively discussions in the 1990s on the eve of the celebration of the anniversary in 1999.According to one opinion, supported initially only by Leningrad historians, modern St. Petersburg State University is the successor of the Academic University, which was established simultaneously with the Academy of Sciences by decree of Peter I of January 28 (February 8), 1724 (in particular, 1758-1765, the rector of the Academic University was M.V. Lomonosov). Currently, this version is officially accepted by the leadership of the university and the state.According to another version, which was supported both in pre-revolutionary and in later historiography, modern St. Petersburg State University is the successor of St. Petersburg University, which was created in 1819 as a result of renaming and the subsequent reorganization of the Main Pedagogical Institute, leading its history from the Teachers' Seminary, founded in 1786. In this case, the starting date in this case is February 8 (20), 1819, standing on the report of Prince A. N. Golitsyn, Minister of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education, entitled “On the Establishment of a University in St. Petersburg” and containing the project “Primary Education S.- University of St. Petersburg ”, compiled by the trustee of the St. Petersburg school district, the current state adviser S. S. Uvarov.Current statusOn November 11, 2009, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev signed a law regulating the activities of two leading Russian universities - Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University. Universities are given the special status of “unique scientific and educational complexes, the country's oldest universities, which are of great importance for the development of Russian society”. According to the law, St. Petersburg State University received the right to issue graduates with their own diplomas with their own official stamp. In addition, both universities received the right to have their own educational standards. They are published on the website of St. Petersburg State University.St. Petersburg State University was the first in Russia to introduce the practice of awarding its own academic degrees.St. Petersburg State University is included in all world university ratings:SPbU is one of the 1% of the best universities in the world according to QS World University RankingsSPbSU is in the top 100 of the QS rating for business education. In 2017, the corporate finance and management programs of the Graduate School of Management at St. Petersburg State University took 69 and 83 lines, and the CEMS MiM joint diploma program took 8th place.In 2017, St. Petersburg University was included in the subject rankings of Times Higher Education - in the social sciences and humanities, as well as business and economics.The graduate program "Management" of St. Petersburg State University was included in the ranking of the best programs in the field of management according to The Economist magazine. Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University - the only representative of Russia in the 2017 ranking. Having made its debut in the list of the best master's programs in management Which MBA? The Economist magazine, Master in Management (MiM) program at GSOM SPbU took 37th position.According to data from the end of 2016 to the beginning of 2017, St. Petersburg State University ranked 1242th in the world in the ranking of university openness according to Webometrics. By the summer of 2018, the university has risen by more than a thousand positions - up to 198th place in the international rating Transparent Ranking: Top Universities by Google Scholar Citations.Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University, is included in the ranking of the leading business schools in Europe and is 52nd in the Financial Times European Business Schools Rankings 2018, remaining the only representative of Russia in the ranking.SPbU is in the top 50 of THE ranking. In 2018, SPbU took 34th place in the ranking of higher education institutions with the lowest ratio of students to teachers according to Times Higher EducationThe Master's program “Management” of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University in 2018 is included in the top 25 best programs in the world in the field of management according to FT Global Masters in Management 2018. For the first time, the Master in Management program entered the FT Global Masters in Management rating in 2013, ranking 65th. Over the past five years, the program has reached 23 places .SPbU is in the top 100 QS subject ratings in mathematics and linguistics, in the top 150 in physics and astronomy and the top 200 in computer sciences.SPbU is on the list of the best universities in the world whose graduates are most prepared for professional activities (Global Employability University Ranking of Times Higher Education magazine)SPbU is one of two Russian universities included in the top 500 best educational institutions in the world of the Shanghai ranking (ARWU, Academic Ranking of World Universities). Since 2012, St. Petersburg State University has been included in the Shanghai ranking of the best universities in the world in mathematicsIn 2016, SPbU took the position 81-90 in the ranking of universities in the world with the highest reputation Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2016.The only representative of Russia in the "Nature Index Rising Stars" rating. SPbSU is one of the 100 most actively developing research organizations in the world, according to Nature.SPbU takes the fourth place in the ranking of universities in developing countries of Europe and Central Asia Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 2018.The academic gymnasium of St. Petersburg State University is among the top 30 best schools in Russia in the RAEX rating.In 2018, the authors of the online course “Legal Regulation of Relations on the Internet. The Russian Perspective ”- associate professors of St. Petersburg State University Vladislav Arkhipov and Victor Naumov — became laureates of the St. Petersburg Government Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of higher and secondary professional education.In the National University Ranking in 2018, takes 4th place.In 2018, in the international ranking of QS World University Rankings 2018/2019, annually compiled by QS, St. Petersburg State University took 235th position, rising 5 points compared to 2017 (240).In the CWUR ranking, compiled by the Center for World Rankings of Universities with headquarters in Saudi Arabia, SPbSU is ranked 81 out of 27,000 universities in the world in terms of education quality.In 2018, St. Petersburg State University for the first time entered the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018 ranking in the specialty “Medicine”.In 2018, St. Petersburg State University made a breakthrough in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018 ranking, taking 57th position in the field of knowledge "Arts and Humanities", 168 - in the field of social sciences and 139th line in the field of "Natural Sciences", rising, respectively, 18, 54 and 62 positions.University graduates:Presidents of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin and D.A. Medvedev studied and worked at the university.Presidents of the Russian Academy of SciencesV. L. KomarovG. I. MarchukPresidents of RAON. D. NikandrovL. A. VerbitskayaLaureates of the Stalin PrizeO.A. Alekin (1951),A. D. Alexandrov (1942),V. Ya. Alexandrov (1943),A.I. Alikhanyan (1941, 1948),V.A. Hambartsumyan (1946, 1950),R. G. Barantsev (1973)V.N. Beklemishev (1946, 1952),O. F. Berggolz (1951),I.S. Beritashvili (1941),E. E. Bertels (1941),E.A. Blekhman (1942),A. A. Bryantsev (1950),S. M. Bukasov (1949),M.L. Weingerov (1946),I.N. Vekua (1950),A.V. Venediktov (1949),D.A. Wentzel (1951),V.V. Veresaev (1943),V.I. Vernadsky (1943),V. Yu. Wiese (1946),A.P. Vinogradov (1949, 1950, 1951),V.V. Vinogradov (1951),I.M. Vinogradov (1941),V.S. Vladimirov (1953),N.N. Voronin (1952),D.I. Voskoboinik (1951),O.S. Vyalov (1947),M.P. Vyatkin (1948),P.P. Gaideburov (1951),A.A. Gershun (1942, 1949),G. M. Goluzin (1948),Yu.N. Gorokhovsky (1946),I.E. Grabar (1941),I.V. Grebenshchikov (1942, 1952),B. D. Grekov (1943, 1948, 1952),A.A. Grigoriev (1947),A.A. Greenberg (1946),E. F. Gross (1946),A.A. Grossheim (1948)I.I. Gurevich (1949),G.P. Dementiev (1952),I.A. Javakhishvili (1947),A.M. Dmitriev (1949),V.F. Evstratov (1950),K. S. Evstropiev (1943),M.A. Elyashevich (1949, 1950),N.P. Yerugin (1951),A.P. Zhdanov (1946),V.A. Zhdanovsky (1946),A.A. Zavarzin (1942),A.N. Zakharyevsky (1949),B. I. Zbarsky (1944),J. B. Zeldovich (1943, 1949, 1951, 1953),L. A. Zilber (?),K.A. Zubov (1946, 1947, 1948, 1951),V.P. Zuev (1951),Yu.A. Zysin (1953),D. D. Ivanenko (1950),M.S. Ioffe (1953),L.V. Kantorovich (1949),M.K. Karger (1952),V.I. Kovalenkov (1941),M.S. Kozodaev (1949),V. L. Komarov (1941, 1942),G. M. Kondratiev (1948),P. Y. Kochin (1946),N. S. Koshlyakov (1953),K.M. Kosice (1948),I. Yu. Krachkovsky (1951),W. M. Kreps (1950),Yu.A. Krutkov (1951),T.N. Krylova-Lukomskaya (1952),V. D. Kuznetsov (1942),D.K. Kulikov (1952),A.I. Kurentsov (1952),L. D. Landau (1946, 1953),A. A. Lebedev (1947, 1949),V.V. Lebedinsky (1946),S. G. Lehnitsky (1947),Yu.V. Linnik (1947),D.S. Likhachev (1952),M.L. Lozinsky (1946),S. Yu. Lukyanov (1953),P.I. Lyashchenko (1949),S.O. Meisel (1946),S. S. Malkhasyants (1946),I.S. Marshak (1947),I.I. Meshchaninov (1943, 1946),M.G. Meshcheryakov (1951, 1953),V.F. Mitkevich (1943),E. M. Murzaev (1951),N.I. Muskhelishvili (1941, 1947),D.N. Nasonov (1943),L. M. Nemenov (1953),B.A. Nikitin (1943b 1949),B.P. Nikolsky (1949),S.P. Obnorsky (1947),I.V. Obreimov (1946),V. A. Obruchev (1941, 1950),J. A. Osis (1950),T. S. Passek (1950),S. S. Perov (1949),B.V. Perfiliev (1941),K.A. Petrzhak (1946, 1953),A. D. Petrov (1947),B. B. Piotrovsky (1946),I.M. Pokrovskaya (1951),G. B. Pomerantsev (1950),N. G. Ponomarev (1941),V.S. Poretsky (1951),L.P. Potapov (1951),L.I. Prasolov (1942),V.K. Prokofiev (1950),N.K. Pshenitsyn (1946),N. E. Radlov (1942),A.P. Ratner (1941),V.I. Romanovsky (1948),V.V. Rudnev (1951),V. M. Sayanov (1949),N. N. Semenov (1941, 1949),A. S. Serafimovich (1943),D.V. Skobeltsyn (1951),G. G. Slyusarev (1942, 1946),V.I.Smirnov (1948),Ya.A. Smorodinsky (1951),S. L. Sobolev (1941, 1951, 1953),V. Ya. Sofronov (1951),B.I. Stepanov (1950),A.V. Pokrovkin (1951),A.N. Terenin (1946),V.E. Tishchenko (1941),B.P. Tokin (1950),N.A. Tolstoy (1949),O.V. Trachtenberg (1943),P.N. Tretyakov (1952),A.I. Tudorovsky (1942, 1946),A.V. Ulitovsky (1951),V.N.Ushatsky (1953),A.E. Favorsky (1941),E.K. Fedorov (1946),A. D. Fedoseev (1943),W.A. Fock (1946),J.I. Frenkel (1947),A.M. Frolov-Bagreev (1942),V. G. Khlopin (1943, 1946, 1949),N. G. Khlopin (1947),S. A. Khristianovich (1942, 1946, 1952),E.N. Tsarevsky (1946, 1953),V.N. Tsvetkov (1952),I.I. Chernyaev (1946, 1949, 1951, 1952),N.P. Chizhevsky (1943),B. F. Chirsakov (1946),L. S. Chuguryan (1947),Yu.A. Shaporin (1941, 1946, 1952),G. L. Shnirman (),A.P. Stein (1949, 1951),L.A. Shubenko-Shubin (1947),G. Ya. Schepkin (1953),S.V. Yuzepchuk (1952),A. M. Yakovlev (1952),A. Yu. Yakubovsky (1952),V. G. Yang (1942),E.G. Yakhontov (1946).University Nobel LaureatesI.P. Pavlov - 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology LaureateN. N. Semenov - Winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize in ChemistryL. D. Landau - Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in PhysicsA. M. Prokhorov - Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in PhysicsV.V. Leontiev - Winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize in EconomicsL. V. Kantorovich - Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1975 [78]University Fields MedalG. Ya. Perelman (2006 refused the award)S.K. Smirnov (2010)Heads of Government of Russia and the USSRP. A. Stolypin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire from July 8, 1906 to September 5, 1911)B.V. Shturmer (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire from January 20 to November 10, 1916)A.F. Kerensky (Minister-Chairman of the All-Russian Provisional Government from July 7 (20), 1917 to October 20 (November 8), 1917)A. V. Krivoshein (Chairman of the Government of the South of Russia from June to October 1920)V. I. Lenin (Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR from October 27 (November 9) 1917 to January 21, 1924, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR from July 6, 1923 to January 21, 1924)V.V. Putin (Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation from August 16, 1999 to May 7, 2000, from May 8, 2008 to May 7, 2012)D. A. Medvedev (Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation from May 8, 2012 to January 15, 2020)Supreme CommandersA. F. KerenskyN.V. KrylenkoV.V. PutinD.A. MedvedevPresidents of the Russian FederationV.V. PutinD.A. MedvedevPresidents of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin and D.A. Medvedev studied and worked at the university.Presidents of the Russian Academy of SciencesV. L. KomarovG. I. MarchukPresidents of RAON. D. NikandrovL. A. VerbitskayaThrice Heroes of Socialist LaborYa. B. Zeldovich (1949, 1954, 1956)Twice Heroes of Socialist LaborV.A. Hambartsumyan (1968, 1978),A.P. Vinogradov (1949, 1975),I.M. Vinogradov (1945, 1971),N. N. Semenov (1966, 1976).Laureates of the V. I. Lenin Prize (Lenin Prize)1926: N.P. Kravkov, V.A. Obruchev,1927: K.K. Gedroits,1928: N. Ya. Marr, V.F. Mitkevich,1929: A.V. Palladin, M.S. Vrevsky,1930: N. A. Maksimov,1931: A.A. Ukhtomsky, A.A. Fridman (?),1934: A.P. Vinogradov (?),1957: V. A. Dogel, V. F. Shishmaryov, V. P. Glushko, Ya. B. Zeldovich, S. S. Lavrov,1958: O. A. Bazilevskaya, K. P. Gorshenin, S. Yu. Lukyanov,1959: A. A. Lebedev, A. M. Prokhorov, Yu. A. Trutnev,1960: V. A. Fok, G. B. Pomerantsev, A. V. Ulitovsky,1961: B.P. Nikolsky,1962: A.P. Vinogradov, E.K. Gerling, L.D. Landau, A.V. Pogorelov, A.A. Polkanov, N.A. Nevsky,1963: V.P. Zuev, Yu.A. Zysin, A.M. Yakovlev1964: L.V. Kantorovich, B.V. Perfiliev,1966: E.F. Gross, M.A. Elyashevich, A.A. Kaplyansky,1967: V. F. Evstratov,1970: A.I. Alikhanyan, Yu.V. Linnik, S.P. Obnorsky,1976: N.N. Semenov, E.N. Tsarevsky,1982: D.V. Skobeltsyn,Among the well-known statesmen who graduated from St. Petersburg University are the Presidents of Lithuania A. Smeton, D. Grybauskaite, the Speaker of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan Z. K. Kurmanov, A. A. Sobchak, A. L. Kudrin, A. V. Konovalov, S. B. Ivanov, I.A. Yuzhanov, L.L. Denisova.University graduates were such scientists as VV Dokuchaev, A. S. Popov, K. A. Timiryazev, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky .More than 600 graduates and teachers of St. Petersburg University were elected members of the RAS, RAO and other academies, including foreign ones.The writers F. A. Abramov, G. P. Danilevsky, S. D. Dovlatov, O. N. Larionova, M. S. Nakhmanson, B. N. Strugatsky, I. S. Turgenev, V studied and graduated from the university G. Jan, Ayn Rand, poets O. F. Berggolz, A. A. Blok, D. S. Merezhkovsky, J. Rainis; artists A. N. Benois, I. Ya. Bilibin, M. A. Vrubel, I. E. Grabar, V. D. Polenov, N. E. Radlov, N. K. Roerich; artists B. A. Gorin-Goryainov, A. I. Sumbatov-Yuzhin; figures of musical art B.V. Asafiev and S.P. Diaghilev ; composers B. B. Ber, H. S. Kushnaryov, A. A. Chernov, M. M. Chernov, Yu. A. Shaporin, M. A. Yudin, director V. S. Golikov, Edita Pyekha graduated from the psychological department of philosophical faculty, and Boris Grebenshchikov - a graduate of the faculty of applied mathematics - management processes.Famous universal athletes: Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin - the first Olympic champion in figure skating (1908), Gennady Shatkov - the Olympic boxing champion (1956), Yuri Tarmak - the Olympic champion in high jump (1972), Tatyana Kazankina - the Olympic champion in I am running 800 m and 1500 m (1976, 1980), Yuko Kawaguchi - two-time European figure skating champion (2010, 2015), 10th world chess champion Boris Spassky and 12th world chess champion Anatoly Karpov [81], Irina Levitina - USSR champion (1971, 1979 (jointly), 1979 and 1980 / 81) and the USA (1991 (jointly), 1992 and 1993 (jointly)) in chess, a five-time world champion in women's bridge.Large Entrepreneurs: P.V. Durov