VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMO #0109/01 0160900
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160900Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6356
RUEAORC/USCBP WASHDC

UNCLAS MOSCOW 000109 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 532/OEA/MHAMES/LRITTA 
USDOC FOR 3150/USFCS/OIO/CEENIS/MCOSTA 
USDOC FOR 532/OEE/MO'BRIEN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP ETRD ETTC RS
SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: PRE-LICENSE CHECK: ITRC "MIR", 
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, LICENSE NO. D365307 
 
REFTEL: USDOC 02863 
 
 
¶1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided 
below is prohibited by Section 12C of the Export 
Administration Act. 
 
¶2. Reftel requested a Pre-license check to determine 
the legitimacy and reliability of the end-user, ITRC 
"MIR", Moscow, Russia. The company is listed on BIS 
license application D365307 as the ultimate consignee 
of a traveling wave tube, model: VTU6125C4. These 
items are controlled for national security, nuclear 
non-proliferation reasons under ECCN 3A001. The 
licensee is Communications and Power Industries, 811 
Hansen Way, Palo Alto, CA 94304. 
 
¶3. On December 15, 2006, Export Control Attache Donald 
Pearce and FSN Natalya Shipitsina conducted the 
requested pre-license check at the offices of 
Intergovernmental TV and Radio Company "Mir" (ITRC 
Mir), 44, Krasnobogatyrskaya St., Moscow, Russia. The 
export control team met with Aleksey Ikonnikov, Vice 
President. 
 
¶4. ITRC Mir was founded in 1993 by a multilateral 
decree of the governments of Russia, Tajikistan, 
Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan after the dissolution of 
the Soviet Union.  The company was formed to provide 
satellite uplink/downlink services for media and 
private organizations. The shareholders of the company 
are the heads of government of each member country, 
and the company is 100% owned by these governments. 
The company has an office in each country, and three 
in Russia located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and 
Vladikhavkaz.  The headquarters of the organization is 
at the Moscow location, which employs 300. 
 
¶5. The primary use of the satellite network is for 
television program transmission and electronic 
newsgathering.  The satellite network went live in 
1996, and currently broadcasts 18 hours of news and 
public affairs / public interest programming from the 
Moscow office daily.  The equipment utilized in the 
Moscow center is all of U.S. origin, and was installed 
in 1998.  ITRC Mir also leases satellite time to 
private organizations and other government users.  The 
company hopes to expand its Russian operations, and is 
exploring options to obtain more bandwidth to support 
additional programming.  Mr. Ikonnikov believes the 
demilitarization of certain satellite band frequencies 
will allow for additional band segments for ITRC Mir. 
The company is increasing the budget for replacement 
of equipment to 12,000,000 USD, up from 8,000,000 USD 
last year. 
 
¶6. The Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) in reftel will 
replace a damaged TWT utilized in a mobile satellite 
ground station.  The mobile ground station system, 
known as a "flyaway," allows ITRC Mir to establish 
ground stations in the field for electronic 
newsgathering operations, and for establishing a 
temporary satellite connection at a client facility. 
The TWT, which contains a glass tube, was broken in 
the field. The team was shown a CPI VTU-6395M2 TWT, 
serial number 98D013-accept date 9821.  Digital 
photographs of the TWT were taken and are available 
from post upon request.  ITRC Mir has contracted to 
replace the damaged goods through Communications and 
Power Industries (CPI) regional office in Cham, 
Switzerland.  The Russian distributor, NPO 
Svyazproyekt, is listed as an intermediate consignee, 
and is handling customs formalities. 
 
¶7. When not in use, the TWT is stored at the ITRC Mir 
office in Moscow.  The office has a 24x7 security 
presence, as satellite centers are officially 
considered to be sensitive sites under Russian law. 
Each flyaway has two engineers and two operators who 
are responsible for use, maintenance and security of 
the unit when in the field.  The storage facility at 
the Moscow office is a locked room with limited 
access. 
 
¶8. Recommendations: Post recommends ITRC Mir, Moscow, 
Russia, as reliable recipients of sensitive U.S. 
origin commodities. It is requested that post be 
 
notified of final disposition of the application, and 
of any shipments for this organization in order to 
conduct appropriate FCS follow-up and statistical 
reporting. 
(FCS MOSCOW/SBOZEK/DPEARCE) 
BURNS