Pyotr Netreba
Military equipment spending in 2009 is to grow by 28%.
Although the Government has decided to cut budget spending by 15% next year, it found a 28% increase in defence spending to be the key to supporting domestic industry. Growth of military spending for 2010 and 2011 was also approved by yesterday's cabinet meeting. The results of the budget reshuffling must be approved by the commission for budget projections, whose scheduled meeting on December 23 was postponed indefinitely.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired the cabinet's last meeting in 2008. He broke the tradition of summing up the government work for the year by focusing instead on the state defence order for 2009. He described it as a key anti-crisis measure. Mr Putin also laid down a new general line for industry - "participation in fulfilling the state defence order today becomes a major source of financing for these businesses, and helps to keep production at sustainable levels, to maintain the workforce, and to continue the implementation of technical retooling programmes." In previous years, Mr Putin said, defence plants either produced civilian goods, or exported their products abroad. "But with a global economic and financial crisis spreading, the situation has changed drastically," he said.
Secret as yesterday's discussions were, the Government House did not withhold overall figures for the state defence order. Vladislav Putilin, the chairman of the Military Industrial Commission, said after the meeting that the cabinet approved a 28% rise in military budget orders for 2009. Figures for 2010 will be increased by 20%, "while in 2011 the growth over 2010 will be 41 billion roubles". Mr Putilin broke down the spending item by item as follows: "Between 2009 and 2011, troops will receive 70 strategic missiles, 30 Iskander missiles, 48 warplanes, 60 combat helicopters, 14 ships, 300 tanks and more than 2,000 transport vehicles." He said 487 new weapons and equipment would be presented for state tests, 600 would complete tests, and 400 new examples of armaments and hardware will be accepted for service. Maintenance and development of strategic nuclear forces will be given priority. Mr Putilin estimated the overall defence order for 2009-2011 at "four trillion roubles," or 1.5% to 2% of GDP a year on average.
This growth in defence spending must be reflected in an adjusted 2009 budget, which the Government planned to consider last week at a December 23 meeting of the commission for budget projections. The commission was also to have approved 15% cuts in other budget expenditures, save social items. But yesterday the commission members were informed that the meeting was postponed for an indefinite period of time.