| Law enforcement agencies will have to master a record defense order Year after year, Russia is increasingly concerned about its own security. This is especially noticeable in the state defense order, the parameters of which were commented in detail yesterday by Vladislav Putilin, director of the economics department of defense and security programs of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
The attention to the military sphere is evidenced by the fact that for the second year in a row, the main document for the defense-industrial complex was adopted in the previous year - this time the government adopted a corresponding resolution on December 30, 2004. Moreover, financing proceeds rhythmically and is guaranteed. The growth rate of defense and security spending is the highest in the country's budget. Today every tenth government ruble is invested in this area. And government customers, that is, ministries and departments where military service is provided, now number as many as 17.
This year's state defense order in absolute figures is 432 billion rubles. - a third more than in the previous one. 301 billion were allocated for defense, 77.3 billion for security and law and order, other expenses (Rosrezerv, Rosprom, Roscosmos, the federal target program Antiterror, and so on) amounted to 54 billion rubles. More is still spent on maintaining the state’s military organization than on equipping it: 231 billion rubles. versus 201 billion. Equalization is expected no earlier than 2007, when defense and security forces will be used in combination.
This year’s state defense order has many features. Firstly, the anti-terrorist component has increased significantly: in the Ministry of Internal Affairs - by half, in the security sector - by 60%. And costs for communications and information technology increased by 3.7 times. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, for example, has allocated more than 5.6 billion rubles. to create a new telecommunications system. For the first time, funds have been allocated for anti-terrorism support for subways.
The increase in funds for research and development (R&D) is explained by the fact that out of more than a thousand developments, 702 are planned for completion this year. There are many innovations in logistics support. The Ministry of Defense begins the transition from centralized food supplies to market purchases. For the first time this year, the provision of military aviation with fuel and lubricants at joint airfields will also follow a market scheme. The military is simply liquidating its gas stations. Funds for capital construction have also increased. Behind this growth is the preparation of the defense industry’s production base for the production of new models that have been put into service. For the first time this year, more than 1 billion rubles. allocated for the launch of a savings-mortgage system for providing military personnel with housing.
And it’s quite surprising: the funds for mobilization preparation of the country’s economy have been tripled in order to fit mob expenses into the market scheme. The fact is that from January 1, 2005, property tax preferences for enterprises that carry out mobilization tasks were canceled. And therefore the budget provides funds to compensate for these losses - 3 billion rubles. Expenditures on civil defense activities have been increased sixfold. Partly because previously, much civil defense work was not included in the defense order. But the main thing is the intensification of terrorists, the increasing frequency of natural disasters requires good preparation of the population to act in emergency situations. A public warning system is being established, shelters are being built and repaired, which at one time were distributed to merchants for warehouses.
This year, new strict requirements for spending state defense procurement funds have been formulated. They were even discussed separately at the government's military-industrial commission. In the first half of the year, an independent audit of prices for the most expensive types of military products will be conducted. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade expressed its readiness to pay millions of rubles, but to understand the reasons and mechanics of price increases. However, it is already clear today that prices are rising faster than others in the space industry - the most prosperous in terms of financing. The principle is simple: as soon as money appears in the budget, there is a desire to use it by raising prices for products. It is planned to restore order when concluding contracts for the supply of weapons and military equipment. This year's state defense order includes a direct ban on the customer specifying in the contract a price higher than that announced during the competition. The number of competitions common to security forces for the purchase of similar products has been determined. In addition, the defense industry, Vladislav Putilin believes, must be included in the scope of antimonopoly legislation. Nikolay POROSKOV |
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