Presentation of the Russian Edition of “SIPRI YEARBOOK 2004: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security.”

The Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS)

May 25, 2005

The presentation took place under the chairmanship of V.G. Baranovsky, Deputy Director of the IMEMO RAS. Dr. Alyson Bailes, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), attended and presented a report titled “International security after Iraq.” Also present were representatives from the Federal Assembly, the Security Council of Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, and other federal executive agencies, as well as representatives from military and civil science centers, non-governmental organizations, the diplomatic corps, and journalists. A discussion of the book included A.I. Kuznetsov, Director of the Department of Foreign Policy Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, V.P. Nazarov, Assistant to the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Dr. Phillip Fluri, Deputy Director of the Geneva Center for Democratic Arms Control, Marc Defrennes, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Issues at the European Commission, A.G. Arbatov, RAS Associate Member and Head of the Center for International Security, A.A. Pikaev, Associate Chief of the Russian Edition of SIPRI Yearbook and Head of the Department for Disarmament and Conflict Management.

It was noted during the course of the presentation that the Yearbook is the result of joint efforts by SIPRI, IMEMO and publishers of “Science.” The Russian version of “SIPRI Yearbook 2004” comprises the results of traditional SIPRI research on a wide range of topics (security and conflicts; military expenditures and arms production; nonproliferation, arms control and disarmament), as well as new developments (including Russian) that reflect the deep changes in security conditions of human communities and the appearance of new threats and experience in combating them.

As with previous editions, “SIPRI YEARBOOK 2004” consists of numerous appendices, tables, diagrams, supporting statistics, methods and other reference materials. Additionally, the Russian edition includes a special supplement by IMEMO. In this supplement, experts from the institute illuminate growing problems in the international security sphere, such as new nuclear weapons proliferation threats, controls against the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons, and diplomacy as a necessary part of strategies to strengthen global nonproliferation regimes. A significant amount of attention is focused on new approaches to international cooperation in the area of nonproliferation, particularly, the “Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.” The defense allocation in the 2005 federal budget of Russia is also analyzed in more detail. As usual, the supplement includes summaries of the national security of Russia, defense, and arms control documents.

A press conference followed the presentation and presenters had an opportunity to answer questions from media representatives. More detailed information about the presentation will be published in the Russian edition of “SIPRI Yearbook 2005.”