International Military Production Cooperation: Features of the Impact on Modern Geopolitical and Socio-Political Processes

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to study the level of military-technical cooperation between the CSTO partner countries of Russia and third countries. To achieve this goal, the authors examined the supply of weapons from Russia and third countries to the CSTO countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, including by type of weapon, and assessed the feasibility of replacing the purchased weapons with Russian alternative products. It is assumed that some CSTO member states seek to diversify their purchases in the military sphere, ensuring the development of international military-industrial cooperation, which means that the Russian Federation must constantly monitor and develop a counteraction program, and third countries should intensify the program for entering the arms markets of the CSTO member countries. To test this hypothesis, the authors analyzed some documents available in the public domain, including statistics on arms sales. In general, it was proved that at the present stage of the formation of arms purchases by the CSTO countries, the Russian Federation plays an active role; however, countries such as Belarus and Kazakhstan seek to diversify their arms purchases with the help of third countries, which means that the Russian party and third countries should develop individual programs for interacting with them.