Russia’s main business – arms

Grigory Pasko, journalist

Not too long ago the magazine Kommersant-Vlast published a detailed article about the volumes or Russian arms export in the years 2004-2008.  According to the data of the publication, in the year 2008, the volume of shipments attained yet another record number — $8.35 bln, having exceeded the result of the previous year by about $700 mln. The economic crisis and the absence of new contracts could make this indicator unattainable for the Russian arms-industry complex (AIC) in the next few years.

The publication notes that the main transformations in the structure of military-technical cooperation ended last year. The integrational idea of “Rostekhnologii” director-general Sergey Chemezov about the creation of a single military-industrial corporation on the basis of “Rosoboronexport” and its industrial assets has received factual formalization. Currently in the corporation “Rossiyskie tekhnologii” are numbered 180 unitary enterprises and state stakes in 249 joint-stock companies. Among the largest assets — subsidiary companies of “Rosoboronexport” such as “VSMPO-Avisma”, AvtoVAZ, KamAZ, “Russpetzstal”, “Oboronprom”.