In addition to writing for Aviation Week Network, Maxim holds a key position at Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine (www.ato.ru). In the past he was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications and earlier worked for the Moscow-based CAST defense think-tank.
Maxim has a degree on international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia, and for several years worked at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In an industry used to constant growth—with a few hiccups here and there—Russia will deliver the conclusion of an astonishing story in 2014: 24 years after its previous traffic peak in 1990, the Russian air transport industry is finally reaching similar traffic levels.
Russia's government does not plan to cut its military expenditures, even in the face of economic stagnation. The draft federal budgets for 2014 and for 2015-16, approved in the first reading by the State Duma at the end of October, continue to call for double-digit increases in spending on national defense despite the overall budget deficit planned for these years.
