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.
The Russian government recently announced two programs to further develop its transportation system and aircraft industry, but the support of local manufacturers will become less straightforward following the country's inclusion into the World Trade Organization this summer. The new transport development program, announced Nov. 23, covers all means of transportation and strives to increase the mobility of the population to 10,000 km (6,200 mi.) per person by 2020 from today's 7,000 km per person, according to the transport minister, Maxim Sokolov.
Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Group is building a new hangar at Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates to expand its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service capabilities for freighter and passenger aircraft. The new hangar, expected to be fully operational by January, will be run by Volga-Dnepr Technics division through its local subsidiary, Volga-Dnepr Gulf Co.
