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Soviet Union [USSR] MILITARY ECONOMICS
With the notable exceptions of Khrushchev and possibly
Gorbachev, Soviet leaders since the late 1920s have emphasized
military production over investment in the civilian economy. As a
result, the Soviet Union has produced some of the world's most
advanced armaments, although it has been unable to produce basic
consumer goods of satisfactory quality or in sufficient quantities
(see Soviet Union USSR -
Industrial Organization;
Soviet Union USSR - The Consumer Industry
, ch. 12).
Defense Spending
In 1988 military spending was a single line item in the state
budget, totaling 21 billion rubles (for value of the
ruble--see Glossary), or about US$33 billion. Given the
size of the military
establishment, however, the actual figure was at least ten times
higher. Western experts have concluded that the 21 billion ruble
figure reflects only operations and maintenance costs. Other
military spending, including training, military construction, and
arms production, may be concealed within the budgets of all-union
ministries and state committees. The amount spent on Soviet weapons
research and development was an especially well-guarded state
secret. Since the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union has devoted between
15 and 17 percent of its annual gross national product
(
GNP--see Glossary) to military spending, according to United States
government sources. Until the early 1980s, Soviet defense
expenditures rose between 4 and 7 percent per year. Since then,
they have slowed as the yearly growth in Soviet GNP slipped to
about 3 percent. In 1987 Gorbachev and other party officials
discussed the extension of glasnost' to military affairs
through the publication of a detailed Soviet defense budget. In
early 1989, Gorbachev announced a military budget of 77.3 billion
rubles, but Western authorities estimated the budget to be about
twice that.
Data as of May 1989
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