Development of the new solid-propellant ICBM, which was last tested in October 2012, appears to be on schedule. A number of reports in the Russian press quote General Yesin as saying that the new missile will enter the so-called combined flight tests in 2014 (these tests combine development and acceptance by a state commission). Earlier, the Rocket Forces suggested that the missile will be accepted for service in 2015.
The missile was earlier described as a "medium-class" ICBM "with a new type of combat payload." It is sometimes called Avangard, but that designation has not been officially confirmed. This missile appears to be a deep modification of the Topol-M-RS-24 Yars line.
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Does Yesin actually maintain any access? How good is he as an actual source?
Because sometimes it seems like he (and Dvorkin) are just has-been insiders when all they do is talk about how good it was back in their day, while sometimes you get these gems about actual classified R&D plans and schedules. Can any of this be trusted?
It's hard to know for certain, but it appears that Yesin (of all retired military) keeps the closest contacts with his colleagues on the inside. One should still be cautious, but in this case I see no reason to doubt him - flight tests of this missile is not such a big deal after all.
According to Dancomm, Yesin's interview on new heavy liquid-propellant missile consisted mostly of misinformation. IMHO, Dancomm is a lot more credible, but you may think otherwise.
Well, this post was about the solid-propellant missile. I agree that Yesin's (or everyone else's for that matter) words should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's quite possible that the solid-propellant missile (Avangard?) will be ready for flight tests in 2014. We'll see. As for the liquid-fuel one, I also agree that there is a lot of questionable information out there and it is reasonable to be cautious about optimistic projections that are circulating in the press.