Obviously the same works in reverse. It serves the Russians just as well to confirm that they’ve never gotten anywhere near a track on a US, UK or French SSBN for the same reason.

Some guys I know in the Russian North got some nice distinctions (just medals of course, not orders – nothing heroic there 😀 ) just for that 😉 But they won’t speak about it (i.e. range, conditions, time of the year, depths, speed etc.).

under certain circumstances, Akula-1’s discretion rate was no real improvement over Vic-III. It being pointed out that Vic-III wasnt a bad boat by any stretch.

Of course it wasn’t. And it’s quite logical that under certain conditions, an Akula-I is almost as noisy as a V-III – but these conditions normally have to be avoided at all costs 😉

What is the problem with the first Lada ? are they equipped with fuel Cell AIP system ?

No.
Their primary problem is the new BIUS and combat management system.

In the end the cat is out of the bag, and as long as “the other side” has strategic nuclear weapons not having an equal capability would open all kind of nice blackmail scenarios.

I can’t imagine Russia agreeing to dismantle its strategic weapons while keeping the tactinukes. If some kind of traitor will not be elected president of the RF, of course 😀

remember the USSR’s INF betrayal/SS-23 controversy.

Oh yeah, I remember 😀 All the attempts to push the SS-23 out of the 500 km max range were total failures, finally Gorbi just decided to scrap them for getting an extra amount of US applause.

Varyag is being moved somewhere…

I’m not really understanding this; as I believed the malfunction was an accidental activation of the fire extinguisher, not something resulting in actual damage to the submarine itself. How can it cost them one billion roubles to rewire the fire suppressant system? Or has something happened since?

You are right. And apparently, it was not the system that malfunctioned, but a sailor’s brain 😉
On the other hand, might be that India does not want to accept a sub without a foolproof (literally) fire extinguising system. So the Russians might have to back-engineer it to their own (older but obviously safer) standards.

On the other hand, it might be some kind of industrial/lobby/regional interests issue, or some local officials want more bucks, as usual 😀

As the second Akula for India is just a myth, regardless what some believe, it won’t be good for Russo-Indian relations in any case.

Nerpa is the property of Russia and they would be paying for any extra cost involved with its repair

I suppose so. But if the Russians don’t “repair” it (it’s probably the costliest ventilation ever 😀 ), India will not get it.
Look like blackmail to me.

Look like the Nerpa deal will be delayed ad infinitum…:(

Nerpa repairment costs will amount to a billion rubles

According to INTERFAX quoting Viktor Ishaev, the Khabarovsk region governor, returning the Nerpa to service will cost at least one billion rubles. Ishaev was in turn quoting figures from the military.
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2009/04/06/nerpa/
(in Russian).

I have a little question concerning this sequence:
Is the target aircraft a TU-16, and the fired missile a Vikhr ?
(Is the aircraft flying or is it just attached ?)
Thanks in advance.

Difficult to say without the vid. Most certainly not a Tu, but a trainer of some sorts (L-39?). The missile leaves a corkscrew trajectory indeed, but it could be some kind of visual distortion. The gear might be lowered to simulate a low-speed target.