Don’t Haste to Bury Russian Expo Arms

09.08.2010 — Analysis

The arms exhibition at the Staratel training range in the vicinity of Nizhny Tagil debuted in 1999. Being positioned at first as a regional exhibition, it, thanks to the efforts of the then regional governor Eduard Rossel gained in its importance, having reached an international level. Since 2003, Russian Expo Arms has been held every other year. In even years, the venue is taken by manufacturers of protection equipment; that is why, the display is called "Defense and Protection". The military theme still plays the leading part; therefore, both presentations often are seen as a whole.

The last "defense" exhibition in July 2010 welcomed 252 Russian and several foreign enterprises as its participants. 37 countries sent their delegations; foreign countries were much thinner in their attendance as compared with Russian Expo Arms of the previous year. The waning interest in the military show from the part of participants and observers emboldened opponents of the Ural exhibition. Mass media all vied in publishing statements that Russian Expo Arms ran out of steam. To prove their words, the speakers argued that exhibits were not updated and conducted negotiations did not result in signed agreements.

The words of criticism had some element of truth: the recent Nizhny Tagil exhibition produced only an agreement between Thales, a French company, and the Vologda Optical Mechanics Factory, which decided to join their efforts in manufacturing thermal imagers; the other contracts were signed for deliveries of municipal vehicles and machine tools for military factories.

However, the organizers of the exhibition do not agree with the criticism. Valery Rudenko, Director of the FSE Nizhny Tagil Institute of Metal Testing (FSE NTIIM), which offers its range for displaying of equipment and armament, points out that no international exhibition showcases cutting edge developments. On the other hand, the exhibition retains its dynamics: each time participants of Russian Expo Arms try to show upgraded samples of their equipment. The staging of the military show is also changing; the exhibition is inclined to demonstrate present-day troop and armament command and control systems. As for contracts, participants do not count on them, visiting the exhibition: manufactures state that armaments sales are performed through other methods.

The executive officer of FSE NTIIM thinks that the Staratel range is free of any competition in Russia: According to V.Rudenko, the Moscow International Armory Showroom "ARMS" is not able to provide participating factories with the complete range of services in terms of demonstration of military machinery and equipment similar to the annual exhibition in Nizhny Tagil. It may be the reason why NTIIM keeps cool despite the rumors about the possible relocation of the exhibition to the Moscow Region.

Denis Koksharov, Deputy General Director of FSE NTIIM, told "RusBusinessNews" that in 2011, Russian Expo Arms will take place, as usual, in the vicinity of Nizhny Tagil. It will be an anniversary year for NPK Uralvagonzavod, and its Director Oleg Sienko promised that the exhibition will be visited by all the member-companies of the Rostekhnologii Corporation. The range is already being prepared for the grand show. D. Koksharov argues that Russian Expo Arms sees no competition threat from the Moscow Armory Showroom.

David Lerner, First Deputy General Director of the Research and Production Enterprise "Start", however, is of totally different opinion: the exhibition in the Moscow Region is a powerful rival to Staratel in Nizhny Tagil. The metropolitan region is no match to the Ural hinterland: the International "ARMS" Showroom is backed up with much more generous federal funds; therefore, both the service and the display are of much higher quality. The professional composition of observers is also quite different from the Russian Expo Arms audience. Excellent opportunities for making contact with potential buyers result in the larger number of participants who are interested in displaying their products in the Moscow showroom.

The armament manufacturers think that the Nizhny Tagil exhibition can survive, if the organizers give more attention to organization issues and contents of the military show. However, there are serious problems here. Alexander Misharin, who took the office of the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region in 2009, did not attend any meeting of the organization committee of the Defense and Protection-2010 Exhibition. Furthermore, he made the decision to hold the industrial and innovation forum "INNOPROM" in Ekaterinburg, concurrently with the defense equipment exhibition. The new exhibition facilities were built at the boggy site within three months, putting into it enormous efforts and funds. Accordingly, the Defense and Protection Exhibition was organized on leftovers. The result was predetermines: INNOPROM will be held annually and the destiny of the decayed defense exhibition is still in the air.

The representatives of the Union of Defense Sectors of the Sverdlovsk Region Industry informed "RusBusinessNews" that the Presidium of the Regional Government made a decision to schedule the two exhibitions for different time in 2011, as the participants tend to be the same. Nobody verbalizes the idea about the merger of the two displays; however, it is obvious that manufacturers will have to choose between them, as they will not be able to afford such "splitting". There is no question of preferences: during his visit to the Staratel range, Governor Misharin placed the main emphasis on "unique innovation opportunities for our (Ural - editor) industrial complex in manufacturing advanced military equipment, rescue equipment and instrument engineering products".

After he had looked at the novelties in Nizhny Tagil, the regional head stated that the region will be able to provide Russia with an innovative breakthrough into the future. The manufacturers thought that he was intended to draw over the industrial innovations from Russian Expo Arms to INNOPROM. The experts give their own explanation to A. Misharin's logic, being sure that he wants to write his chapter in the history of the region. No one in the country has come up with the idea about an innovation-related exhibition, which is highly welcomed by the federal government. The competition with the Moscow armory showroom is getting tougher - and, probably, such efforts are futile, taking into account the present-day money-pinching position of the country.

Alexander Khramchikhin, head of the Analytical Department at the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, assumes that Russian Expo Arms can cease to exist, sharing the destiny of the armament exhibition in Omsk. The true reason can be very simple: Moscow people prefer to limit their trips to the Moscow Region area.

Alexei Zharich, press-secretary of NPK Uralvagonzavod, thinks that the destiny of the arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil will depend on efforts and lobbying capacity of the regional authorities. As of today, it is clear that INNOPROM is going to take place. The exhibition "fit in well", it was endorsed by Russian Vice-Premier Igor Sechin. The Sverdlovsk Region has already embarked on organization of the display for 2011. The regional government is planning to build a new exhibition complex, which will require gigantic efforts and financial resources - with all the resulting disappointing consequences for Russian Expo Arms. The manufacturers do not exclude that the military show will still move to the Moscow Region, and the Staratel range will accommodate a civil display of the regional level: the transportation of the drilling rigs manufactured by Uralvagonzavod will take too much money to be shown in the Moscow Region.

Vladimir Taskayev, deputy of the RF State Duma, is sure that the Nizhny Tagil arms exhibition must be preserved to support the image of the region and to attract investment to the Middle Urals. The Moscow competitors repeatedly address the issue about closing down of Russian Expo Arms; but in the previous years, Governor Rossel was able to secure support from the federal government. The hopes of Moscow influence peddlers were dying out due to the steady expansion of the exhibition; however, when the Sverdlovsk Region's government changes, the proponents of the merger between the two military exhibitions within the Moscow site rallied their spirits. According to V. Taskayev, the true reason for turning Russian Expo Arms into a fair game is the urge of Moscow officials for getting a grip of cash flows.

Konstantin Dzhultayev, Vladimir Terletsky