Technology Controls Can Strangle Russia—Just Like the Soviet Union

A recent report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) looked at 27 of Russia’s most up-to-date military systems—including communications systems, cruise missiles, and electronic warfare equipment—and found them to contain at least 80 different types of components subject to U.S. export controls. The report’s findings have several implications for the effectiveness of export controls. First, Russia’s military-civil fusion is as worrying as China’s. “Military-civil fusion” is a term used by U.S. defense analysts to refer to China’s national strategy to bolster military capabilities by systematically eliminating the barriers between the defense industry and ostensibly civilian research institutions. The falling of boundaries between the military and civilian sectors is a Russian phenomenon, too.