Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies

The Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) is an independent, for-profit Russian think tank located in downtown Moscow. CAST conducts research and analysis on Russian conventional arms trade, Russia's defense industry, military conflicts, Russian military reform, and international defense trends. Although it is primarily focused on Russia and the former Soviet Republics, CAST has also written reports and books on the defense industries of China, India, Turkey, and many European nations.^[1] CAST publishes two journals, the English language Moscow Defense Brief and Russian language Eksport Vooruzheniy, and the daily Russia media digest Periscope.^[2] In addition, CAST has written a number of books, including the critically acclaimed Tanks of August, Russia's New Army, and Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine.^[3][4] CAST also runs the popular Russian language blogs Periscope 2 and BMPD, which provide daily articles on Russian and international defense news.^[5][6] CAST offers consultation, analysis, and information services to Russian government agencies, defense industry companies, banks, and investment institutions. Although it has conducted research projects for the Russian government, CAST is a privately owned and operated company, and all of its revenue is derived from research and media products, consultation services and other projects.^[2]

Overview

CAST was founded in the summer of 1997 by Ruslan Pukhov and Konstantin Makienko. Pukhov and Makienko both attended the Franco-Russian dual-degree program between Master d'Etudes Internationales Sciences Po and MGIMO in Paris where Makienko interned at the French defense think tank Centre for Study of Strategies and Technologies (CREST), which is now the Foundation for Strategic Research. After returning to Russia and initially working as researchers at the Center for Policy Studies in Russia (PIR Center), Pukhov and Makienko decided to establish CAST with CREST as their inspiration.^[7]

CAST today employs approximately ten full-time researchers with many additional analysts working part-time. The Centre's researchers collaborate on an ad hoc basis with leading Russian experts, journalists, defense specialists and civil servants working on similar issues. Pukhov serves as the director, Makienko as the deputy director, and Maksim Shepovalenko, a retired career Russian naval officer, also as deputy director. In addition to his work at CAST, Pukhov is member of the Public Council of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the executive director of the Russian Armorers Union. Since 2008, Makienko has served as a member of the expert council under the Russian Duma defense committee.^[2]

Major publications

Since 1997, CAST has been publishing the Russian language journal Eksport Vooruzheniy (Arms Export) on arms trade and defense industries issues, '.^[8] CAST typically publishes 6 editions of Eksport Vooruzheniy each year, and it contains a comprehensive list of all the open-source Russian arms sales and military procurement decisions for each year.^[9]

CAST also publishes the English language Moscow Defense Brief (MDB), which aims to provide timely and accurate analysis of the leading trends in Russian defense policy and industry, tailored to the requirements of demanding professionals in the English-speaking world.^[10] CAST maintains an electronic archive of all previously published Moscow Defense Brief on its website for its subscribers.^[11]

CAST also publishes the comprehensive daily digest Periscope, which compiles all of the news on Russia's military, defense industry, arms sales, and defense policy from Russian and foreign media sources.^[12]

CAST has published a variety of books, in both English and Russian, on a variety of defense topics. These books, which are often released soon after the events occur, provide an informed Russian perspective on defense issues and developments. In 2008, CAST released the Russian language book Military-Technical Cooperation between Russia and Foreign Countries: A Market Analysis, which gave a detailed analysis of the global arms market and Russia's position within it.^[13] CAST published the definitive account of the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in South Ossetia in The Tanks of August soon after the conflict ended. Their next book Russia's New Army, which was published in both Russian and English, detailed the radical reforms undertaken by Russia Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov. CAST's next two books, both in Russian, Alien War and World of Khaki: Armed Forces in the System of State Power, analyzed armed conflicts since 1991 and the role of the military in the political affairs of a number of countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, and Algeria, respectively. The last two Russian language books from CAST were The Defense Industry and Arms Trade of China and Radio-electronic Warfare: From Experiments of the past to the Future Decisive Front.^[13] They also published two editions of the English language Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine, which analyzed Russia's military operation in Crimea and the ongoing conflict in the Donbass.^[4]

History

The organization was founded in June 1997 by graduates of Moscow State Institute of International Relations^[8] and it has close contacts with the Russian arms industry, the Rosoboronexport consortium, and senior government officials.^[14] CAST is not financed by the government, or by any companies or organisations. Instead, it gets all of its income from selling research and media products, consultation services and other projects.^[8] Its office is located in Moscow.^[15]

See also

Moscow Defense Brief

References

External links

• http://www.cast.ru/eng/ English homepage