In the new version of the Military Doctrine, the topical issues of the Russian Military Doctrine remained unchanged in general, however, such objectives as optimization of defense expenditures, effi cient planning and allocation of fi nancial and material resources were excluded from its text,...

Indicators of output growth in the defense sector have lagged far behind the target figures. Growth in public investment rates is overtaking growth in output, thereby causing abnormal growth in prices of defense industry products and upsurge in corruption. Meeting the President’s requirements...

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia has offi cially published a list of enterprises operating in the Russian Defense Industry Complex (DIC), thereby making it possible to assess the key indicators of the DIC’s size which have changed insignifi cantly over the past six months. However,...

The State Defense Order 2012 was implemented nearly 80%. Being limited in labor force, Russia’s defense plants are facing problems related to drastically increased the State Defense Order 2013. President Putin’s requirements to create a transparent military economy, establish order in terms...

The priorities of a new National Arms Program for 2016–2025 have been published. However, the well-known issues are unlikely to see a successful resolution, because this area is extremely sensitive to information disclosure. The Russian President’s demand to create a transparent defense...

Political and economic environment: a strong-arm approach Russia’s diplomatic and information efforts on the eve of signing a Euro-Ukrainian association agreement should be considered the key topic of the political and economic environment in November 2013.

A few words about the socio-political background that triggered some of the key economic events of December 2013. The most important political event of the month was the unexpected release from jail of former oil tycoon Michail Khodorkovsky who had spent 10 years and 2 months behind bars. As...

The main event in March which is having long-term political and economic consequences was the accession of Crimea to Russia, based on the results of the referendum conducted on 16 March. It has resulted in the most serious tension in the relations between Russia and Western countries since the...

Russia’s political background in May was determined by the mounting tension in the top echelons of the political bureaucracy. The sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov – one of the authors of the soft authoritarianism of the 2000s – was a manifestation of yet another personnel...

Socio-political environment. June 2013 was relatively quiet, but its major events were triggered by recently accumulated political conflicts and confrontations.