Defense Industry and Science and Technology Policy in the Post-Soviet States: Soviet Legacy and Today’s Realities

Abstract

The industrial potential of the heavily industrialized post-Soviet states is developing mainly due to the capacities established before 1991 and focused on supporting the Soviet military-industrial complex. In this regard, it is necessary to trace the development of the Soviet military industry and to identify its nature which served as the basis for subsequent evolution in the present and fundamentally different political and economic conditions. After 1991, the military construction in the newly independent states started on the basis of the Soviet stocks of weapons and military equipment obtained from the territorial military districts of the former USSR. Although the stage of redistribution of the Soviet military-technical heritage coincided chronologically with several major military conflicts, it is important to note that in almost every case this legacy was excessive so it many times exceeded the needs and the resource base necessary for the maintenance and development of the available arsenals. The disproportion between the objective needs in the field of national defense and real economic opportunities and highly resource intensive military and mobilization infrastructure designed in the USSR for a global war, resulted in the rapid degradation of the armed forces in most post-Soviet states. At the second stage, already in the 21st century, amid their relative political and economic stabilization the post-Soviet states had to formulate military-strategic priorities more precisely. The chaotic development of Soviet arsenals was replaced by more systematic and economically justified policies for armed forces construction, pertaining to the foreign policy needs.