Russian Military Procurements are not Under Financial Threat

There’s no imminent threat to funding a rejuvenated Russian military. The current pace of development, achieved in 2012, will continue while Russia’s economic and political system can bear it.

But the NG articles may foreshadow even tighter budgets. Independent media are debating how to lift a stagnating economy still based on hydrocarbon rents. The Sochi Olympic hangover may have just begun. Government (and military) budget parameters are set, but they never really feel firm. The MOD just focuses on the money it has now.

In Soviet central planning, overfulfillment usually meant sacrificing quality to meet quantitative targets and time schedules, to make careers, and to earn bonuses. Today it means more demand, less supply, tighter markets, and rising prices. And even in the post-Serdyukov MOD, it means more opportunities for corrupt scheming.

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