Privatisation of the Russian Defence Industry: Ownership and Control Issues

This article analyses the outcome of privatisation in the Russian defence industry in the second part of the 1990s. It is based on the results of the longitudinal survey of defence enterprises conducted over the period 1995‐99 in the main defence production regions of Russia: Moscow, St Petersburg, Central European region, Western Siberia, Volga region, the Urals and the Far East. Using the survey data, we investigate the distribution of ownership in defence enterprises and examine the non-linear relationship between ownership and control inside these enterprises. We also test the hypothesis of the growing criminal influence in defence enterprises and outline a possible future scenario for privatisation in the defence industry.