Circling the Lion's Den

Military-Industrial Commission under the Russian Government

The Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation was established by a presidential decree in March 2006. According to the decree, it is a permanently functioning body with vast responsibilities for supervising the distribution and implementation of the "State defense order". The commission answers directly to the President of Russia. It coordinates between the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and the defense industry.

The origins of the Commission might be traced in the Soviet times' Military Industrial Commission (VPK) of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, USSR. This commission coordinated the development of all Soviet weapons systems along with the program to acquire Western technology. The VPK levied requirements among the KGB, the GRU, and several other agencies, including those of Eastern European intelligence services. The Commission had the following tasks:

  • collection of applications by various ministries connected with military industry
  • development of the intelligence plans on the basis of these applications for a year
  • delivery of the plan to the intelligence services
  • data collection received by the intelligence services over the year
  • account of the saved means both in industry and scientific-research activity

Execution control of the intelligence plan was carried out by all-Union Institute of Interindustry Information (VIMI). Annual intelligence plan was approved by the General secretary personally.

On June 22, 1999 the Commission on Military-Industrial Questions was re-created in accordance with Government Decision 665, as a body which provides the interaction and coordination of the federal bodies of the executive power activity according to the tenor of proposals development on realization of state policy on military and industrial points and provision of defense and state security.

On March 20, 2006, the Military-Industrial Commission (MIC) was created as a permanently functioning institution. It was stated it would also act as a new state organization for unified supply and equipment procurement for all of the "power ministries" within the Russian Federation. The duties, parameters, and status of the MIC were formally announced at the end of April 2006. It was given responsibility for overseeing long-term strategy and planning and performing operational management of research and development procurement projects; introducing a strict monitoring mechanism on pricing of defense projects; and monitoring the overall restructuring of the military-industrial complex.