In June 1992, the United States and the Russian Federation issued a joint declaration recognizing the priority both countries placed on advancing defense conversion as a means to ensure the economic and national security interests of their peoples. Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown and Minister of Foreign Economic Relations Oleg D. Davydov presently serve as Co-Chairs of the U.S. - Russia Business Development Committee (BDC). The BDC meetings in Russia in March 1994 featured defense conversion roundtables and plant visits in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and St. Petersburg.
In 1993, President Clinton designated then-Deputy Secretary of Defense William Perry as the Administration's point of contact for defense conversion activities in the Newly Independent States (NIS). Dr. Perry is U.S. Chair of the U.S.-Russia Committee on Conversion of Defense Industry and Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce Barry Carter serves as the U.S. Vice Chair. For the Russian side, Chief of the Defense Industry Department of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers Valeriy Mikhailov and First Deputy Minister of Defense Andrei Kokoshin are Co-Chairs. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) serves as a bridge between the Committee on Conversion of Defense Industry and the BDC and provides a working-level secretariat. Members of both Committees have met in Moscow and Washington on several occasions since late 1993.
The U.S. Government recognizes the important role of the private sector and of the practical need for the business community to participate in the complex task of defense conversion. BXA seeks to facilitate the exchange of information and the promotion of trade and investment by the development of contacts between interested groups, the expansion of information exchange on enterprises undergoing conversion, and the improvement of the environment for commercial activities through the identification and removal of obstacles in both countries to expanded trade and investment.
Consistent with its original purpose, BXA's Russian Defense Business Directory continues to help U.S. firms interested in exploring existing and potential opportunities for participation in Russian defense conversion. The Directory contains profiles of Russian defense enterprises and furnishes basic information on each of the enterprises (e.g. military and civilian product lines, the type(s) of technology involved, officers, number of employees, and the size of the facility), and much other helpful information.
While the information in the Directory should help U.S. firms in general, it is particularly intended to assist small- and medium-size firms. By identifying and profiling a wide range of commercial opportunities, the Directory eliminates some of the initial legwork for small- and medium-size firms. It allows them to focus their resources on developing the preliminary contacts and information necessary for commercial ventures before face-to-face meetings with Russian enterprise managers. Small- and medium-size firms often lack the financial resources to conduct both a foreign market survey and to develop the commercial project.
The Directory is intended as an information directory only. The Department of Commerce does not endorse any, or all, of these enterprises, nor does it intend for this list to comprise the enterprises which present the best Russian defense-related business opportunities. Likewise, listing of an enterprise in the Directory does not constitute guarantee of approval for any export licenses required. The Department is not rank ordering the enterprises in any way.
BXA continues to receive assistance in compiling information on Russian enterprises from U.S. government and industry, as well as other sources. The Directory also uses information available from commercial data bases, both American and foreign.
This fourth installment of the Directory contains cumulatively profiles for nearly 300 Russian defense enterprises, expanding coverage from 12 to 14 industry sectors and from 62 to 79 cities. It also updates many of the profiles for the earlier 210 enterprises, as suggested by industry and government sources.
The profiles include the following information:
-- enterprise name; alternative names;
-- last update (to track timeliness and assist those downloading profiles);
-- address (including any E-Mail address);
-- a general overview of the enterprise;
-- number of employees;
-- a description of its primary business;
-- principal officers;
-- year established;
-- military product lines;
-- civil product lines;
-- conversion projects;
-- key technologies/equipment employed;
-- human resources support;
-- former Ministry of subordination;
-- ownership (state, joint-stock, share of ownership); and
-- other related information.
For the past two years, the United States and the Russian Federation have provided and exchanged basic economic and financial information concerning Russian defense enterprises available for conversion. BXA continues to consult with U.S. industry officials to identify the following: 1) U.S. industry interest in this Directory; 2) possible changes to the Directory's format and the completeness of the information provided; and 3) sources of additional information. Based on these ongoing consultations, BXA has made the following changes to the fourth installment of the Directory:
- Chapter 1 includes explanations of typical Russian business abbreviations.
- Chapter 2 includes new material providing data on joint ventures and investment in Russia and perspectives encouraging involvement in business development.
- The discussion of export controls in Chapter 3 includes an updated description of Russia's progress in developing an export control system.
- Chapter 5 - "Additional Sources of Information," lists additional government and private organizations. The changes in both Russian and U.S. officials are current as of June 15, 1994.
- Chapter 8 - "Profiles of Russian Cities," provides helpful information on Nizhniy Novgorod and Yekaterinburg, along with maps of the regions in which the two cities are located, and a preview on St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, which will be featured in the upcoming fifth installment.
- newly added Chapter 9 - "Success Stories," supplies some insights into business transactions deemed successful by the partners involved.
BXA continues to consult with government and industry officials and to develop the Directory, with a goal of providing information about the many defense enterprises in Russia, proceeding by location and product category.
Directory highlights and enterprise profiles are also available in electronic format, through the Department of Commerce's Economic Bulletin Board (EBB). These highlights, including Executive Summaries of individual installments and the most recent listing of Russian defense enterprises profiled, are located under "Defense Conversion Subcommittee Information for Russia and the NIS" (Area #20 on the EBB). For more information, call David Gilmore (202) 482-5731 or John Isbell (202) 482-4695.
The National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) contains the latest cumulative version of the Directory. Call (202) 482-1986 for more information.