Well, it does seem that Russia is aggressively addressing improvements to its ability to facilitate and support its "standing as a leading space superpower", with the building of this new spaceport!
Maybe they will lease out some facility usage to NASA, if NASA can come up with a launch vehicle!! :))
REUTERS
By Vladimir Soldatkin
VOSTOCHNY Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered construction sped up on a multi-billion-dollar spaceport in Russia's Far East that he said would break reliance on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and launch future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Putin flew in a helicopter over the sprawling building site in Vostochny at a time when conflict with Ukraine, maker of Zenit and Dnepr rockets, is highlighting the fragility of Russia's dependence on former Soviet republics in defense and space.
Building a new launchpad on its own soil is central to Putin's effort to reform a once-pioneering space industry hobbled by years of budget cuts and a brain drain in the 1990s.
"Our own space infrastructure and modern network of cosmodromes ... will allow Russia to strengthen its standing as a leading space superpower and guarantee the independence of space activities," Putin said at Vostochny, near Russia's border with China.
Taking to task officials, Putin said construction was lagging behind by up to three months and the 6,000 workers currently at the site was half the number it should be.
"In the future, the capacity of the cosmodrome will be expanded ... to be used to realize program to explore the Moon, Mars and other space objects," he said.
More: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-orders-building-hastened-russian-spaceport-124748985.html;_ylt=AwrBEiSF8wVUPWIALH7QtDMD
Rdunk, a few pictures to add :
(http://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/BUSINESS/Vostochniy-spaceport/inside%20rogozins%20twitter.jpg)
http://siberiantimes.com/business/casestudy/news/russias-new-spaceport-the-new-big-construction-priority-now-the-winter-olympics-are-over/
Thanks bts!! The pics and the article do put some good "meat" on the bones of this story. This gives it an appropriate amount of real reality, that the Russians are actually in the process of building a very important new piece for space exploration and discovery!!