ON FINANCING OF THE STATE DEFENCE ORDER FOR STRATEGIC
NUCLEAR FORCES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
V. M. Sakharov
After the August 1998 default and the later problems in the Armed Forces, it was necessary to
determine the sector in its structure that would, more than any other, safeguard the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the state and prevent military aggression against the Russian Federation.
In Russia, in the military defence of the state, the role of the Strategic Nuclear Forces grows
considerably in conditions when the general armed forces and its reforming are diminishing.
Equally, however, with other Armed Forces structures, extremely insufficient financing of the SNF
leads to quantitative reduction and degrading of its equipment, making it extremely important to
guarantee financing within the necessary minimum volumes.
Legal resolution of the matter is provided by the law ‘On Financing of State Defence Order for
Strategic Nuclear Forces of the Russian Federation’. The law defines SNF as functionally unified
by the military control system amalgamations, formations and units of the Strategic Missile Forces,
Marine Fleet and Air Defence Forces, equipped with strategic shock nuclear armaments, antimissile defence. SNF facilitates the functioning and application of the controlling system and
establishes minimum necessary volumes and the financing procedure for the period 2000 to 2010,
inclusive. According to the law, financing of SNF is performed within the state defence order
framework as its constituting part. The current Federal Budget expenses to finance SNF are
defined as separate aim oriented expenses in the subsection ‘Building and Maintenance of the
Armed Forces of the RF’ of the Section ‘National Defence’. It increases openness of the state
nuclear policy and, simultaneously, improves the controlling function of the Parliament approving
the annual budget of the state.
The law establishes general SNF financing expenses for the period up to 2010 and for each year
of the period broken down for Research and Development works, for purchase of armaments and
military equipment, for capital construction, and for the Ministry of Nuclear Power programs. It also
establishes maximum percentage of SNF financing within general expenses under the Section
‘National Defence’. That was done to eliminate a possible negative impact of financing SNF for
other defence needs. This breaking down allows the concerned civil structures adequately
estimate reasonability of allocation of finances for Strategic Nuclear Forces to influence the
development of resolutions by the state power organs with respect to conditions and development
of SNF.
Importantly, the law facilitates the possibility of an introduction of amendments and supplements to
it after clarification of the state program for development, creation and manufacturing of armaments
and military equipment for the period 2006 to 2010 has taken place. This is also the case in
adjustments of the existing program until 2005, in amendments to the SNF structure, in the signing
of the RF international agreements, termination or suspension of the same and, in changes made
to the financing volumes subject to inflation index for the passed period.