The Russian Economy and Resources Available for Military Reform and Equipment Modernization

The Centre for Operational Research and Analysis CORAs new Defence Economic Analysis team has undertaken a project to study the Russian economy and resources available for defence in order to assess the potential of the latest Russian military reform plan to become reality. The present memorandum, the first of two on this topic, looks at the current macroeconomic environment and the impact on planned defence expenditures and procurement objectives. Conclusions drawn from this study address a broad range of issues, ranging from the capacity of the industrial base to produce modern weapons to the countrys looming demographic crisis. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to provide some perspective to Canadian defence partners in the interpretation of current and future events in the Russian Federation.