Add RELEASE.md

RELEASE.md

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+Release Preparation Guide
+=========================
+
+Follow these steps to prepare a new release (example: `3.29.6`):
+
+1) Version bump
+   - Update `cassandra/__init__.py` `__version_info__`/`__version__`.
+   - Add new tag with `-scylla` postfix to `docs/conf.py` `TAGS` and set `LATEST_VERSION`.
+   - Refresh any user-facing version strings (e.g. `docs/installation.rst`).
+
+2) Changelog
+   - Add a new section at the top of `CHANGELOG.rst` with the release date.
+   - List each merged PR since the previous release in the format `* <description> (#<PR-ID>)`.
+
+3) Dependency/docs metadata
+   - Update `docs/conf.py` multiversion tag list if new published doc tags are required.
+   - If documentation styling or assets changed, ensure `uv.lock` (or other doc assets) are refreshed.
+
+4) Tests and validation
+   - Run unit tests: `uv run pytest tests/unit`.
+   - Spot-check relevant integration tests if new protocol or cluster behavior was touched.
+   - Build artifacts to confirm packaging still works: `uv run python -m build`.
+
+5) Commit and tag
+   - Commit with an imperative subject, e.g. `Release 3.29.6: changelog, version and documentation`.
+   - Tag the commit as `3.29.6-scylla` if publishing docs, and `3.29.6` for the driver if applicable.
+
+6) Publish checklist
+   - Push tags and commit.
+   - Publish wheels/sdist to the package index.
+   - Trigger docs build for the new tag/branch.