At a recent meeting of President Vladimir Putin with the head of the military department Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, a fairly wide range of issues was discussed: from the course of the Russian Navy's exercises in the Mediterranean and long-range aviation flights to the organizational component of the Ministry of Defense itself. In this material, we will analyze in detail the proposals that were voiced by Sergei Shoigu in terms of changing the subordination of the military-industrial complex facilities, which are now under the wing of the country's Ministry of Defense. This change should lead to an increase in the efficiency of the use of funds allocated for the modernization of the army.
Shoigu said that it would be advisable to carry out the transition of production and repair enterprises of the military-industrial complex to a full-cycle contract basis with the simultaneous withdrawal of them from the regime of dependence on the Ministry of Defense. This decision was dictated by the fact that the main military department of the country is freed from the functions of control of the industrial complex that are unusual for itself.
Such a proposal by Sergei Shoigu caused a mixed reaction in the press. On the one hand, it may seem that the minister is deciding to send an entire manufacturing industry, which has literally grown to the Ministry of Defense, on a free float, in order to get rid of the load, which has recently begun to weigh heavily on the military department. But is this the kind of cargo that is worth getting rid of and, in fact, transferring to private rails?
There is, however, another opinion on this matter. It is the withdrawal of the production cluster from the military-industrial complex that will help resolve the problem of the state defense order, which has become practically insoluble in recent years. After all, it is no secret to anyone that the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense could not agree on the state defense order, including due to the fact that the enterprises with which contracts were to be concluded were directly dependent on the ministry and its leaders. In the end, it all boiled down to the fact that enterprises were simply dictated the conditions under which they had to work. If the enterprises of the military-industrial complex declared that the conditions of the Ministry of Defense did not suit them, then they were quickly put in place, declaring: they say, you don’t want - whatever you want; buy abroad. And they bought … signed contracts …
A corrupt environment emerged, as it is now customary to say, which tied the management of industrial enterprises hand and foot. If this management did not “compromise” with the RF Ministry of Defense, then the people at the enterprise were left without work. This is the specific pressure on the production process …
Now Sergei Shoigu decided to cut this Gordian knot. He proposes to make sure that the enterprises of the military-industrial complex gain independence from the ministry and be able to work on competitive terms in the production and repair of military equipment and weapons. In fact, the minister decided to insure himself and the entire department, let's say, against new variations of "defense services" (namely, with a small letter), which could pump money from the budget of the RF Ministry of Defense, but pump it in the wrong direction.
However, the withdrawal of the military production sphere from the Ministry of Defense also has its dubious sides. To begin with, we will have to admit that the main military department has decided on such a move as the large-scale privatization of industrial facilities. After all, if enterprises are removed from the Ministry of Defense, then either they will be included in another ministry (and this was already a waste of money - there will be their own "defense services" in other departments), in order to remain state-owned, or they will be implemented in the direction of private shareholders in order to get rid of government levers of control, and even pressure. But the very word "privatization" among Russians over the past couple of decades has acquired an almost abusive connotation …
Many understand that repetition of corruption scandals like the scandals with Oboronservis (now with a capital letter) would not be desirable, nor would we like to slow down the signing of contracts under the State Defense Order, but at the same time they understand that in our country it is unlikely that it will be painless to transfer the enterprises of the defense complex to a private owner. Moreover, many military-industrial complex enterprises operate in strict secrecy, and therefore it is extremely difficult to launch them for open privatization without preparing a serious documentary legal base. And in our country, it often happens: if the minister said, and the president nodded his head, then it should be taken as a call for active action on the speedy implementation of this plan. But is it possible in this situation, excuse me, to flog a fever? - a rhetorical question …
Of course, the transfer of enterprises to the level of greater production freedom, to the regime of fair competition, to the formation of their own pricing policy can lead to positive results. But are the military-industrial enterprises themselves ready for this? Will this not lead to the fact that real industrial competition will affect only the production of shovels and colanders, but with regard to military equipment, everything will remain the same, and in addition, with greater openness for crooks with easy money in their pockets … I honestly would not want to, so that the defense industry plunged into such chaos.
However, chaos can be completely avoided if the withdrawal of the military-industrial cluster outside the framework of the Ministry of Defense is well thought out. To begin with, it will be necessary to create a strong legal basis for the activities of such enterprises. After all, for now they are working in accordance with the documents according to which the Ministry of Defense itself works. In order to resolve the issue with the corrupt side and at the same time not to fall into privatization extremes, it would be worth considering, for example, the option of proportional corporatization or the option of distributing military-industrial enterprises according to the principle of their subordination.
In this situation (no matter how much we want to go our own way), we will have to pay attention to foreign experience in the production of military equipment. If you take Germany, which, along with Australia, is called a state by experts from the international organization Transparency International, the quote: "with a very low level of corruption in the defense and defense industry", then there is an experience of the following plan. Leading enterprises specializing in the production of weapons and military equipment operate on the basis of private capital. There is also a practice in Germany for creating industrial clusters that combine several military and civilian industries at once. This diversification of production solves the problem of concluding defense contracts with the state and reduces corruption risks to a minimum.
According to official statistics, the state's share in the German defense industry sector does not exceed 5%. This includes mainly the repair shops of the Air Force, ground forces and the naval arsenal. There are about 2,000 official private suppliers of military weapons and equipment for the needs of the Bundeswehr. These are not only industrial giants, but also rather modest industries that prepare individual parts or assemblies.
As a result, this entire German production system works like clockwork and cuts off the very opportunity for corrupt officials or not clean on the hands of private traders to get to the money allocated by the War Ministry. Indeed, if at one enterprise of this built-up system, prices begin to be unreasonably high or, on the contrary, lowered, then this will raise questions from competitors and colleagues, which will instantly lead to verification, including by independent experts. This is a kind of self-regulating system that "repairs" itself, controls itself, does not allow itself to relax.
Agree, everything is very beautiful and monumental - in German. But only we do not live in Germany, and so far we have only to dream of the existence of independent experts who will help to immediately identify a corrupt official or an unscrupulous large investor. But for all that, to blame that Russia is not Germany, and Germany is not Russia, is also somehow stupid …
It turns out that the time has come in our country when it is time to form systems capable of high-quality self-control. If the Government is able to qualitatively implement Sergei Shoigu's idea of giving the military-industrial sector a new status while maintaining and expanding human resources, attracting transparent private investment and leveling corruption schemes in the defense industry, then this will be a serious claim to demonstrate its effectiveness. Otherwise, the Russian military-industrial sector may dissolve and leave only memories of itself …
