Политические аспекты ядерного экспортного контроля Российской Федерации

Export control is a set of measures that regulates the procedure for carrying out foreign economic activity in relation to goods, information, works, services, and the results of intellectual activity that can be used to create weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery vehicles, and other types of weapons and military equipment. Thus, export control is one of the main tools for preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
As a nuclear-weapon state under the NPT Treaty, Russia also has a number of non-proliferation obligations. Given the role that nuclear exports play in Russian economy, Russian active participation in a nuclear market today and also how closely the state corporation Rosatom, responsible for the export of nuclear materials, is connected to Russian government, the topic of the relationship between politics and nuclear export control in Russia can be called viable. For the Russian Federation such studies will not lose their relevance as long as it has the ability to engage in nuclear exports.
In Russia, the export control policy underwent legislative and administrative changes due to change of political regime (collapse of the Soviet Union). Russia, recognized as a successor country to the Soviet Union, was entering the market, which was previously divided among Western companies and states.
At the same time, the development of international cooperation in trade which was and still is one of the goals for Russia, intersects with the need to prevent the transfer of critical technologies. Under the necessity to find a place in the world market and promote national products and international cooperation, it was important to comply with non-proliferation obligations.
The aim of this master thesis is to determine what political problems in the area of nuclear export control arose after the collapse of the USSR and how Russia tackled them
According to the aim of this research, the following tasks have been formulated:
1. To analyse the consequences of the Soviet Union dissolution for the export
control system of Russian Federation;
2. To indicate Russian approach to re-establishing the system of nuclear export
control;
3. To observe Russian solutions to the international export control regulations on
the national and corporate level
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The aim and tasks of the master thesis determine the structure of the research.The first chapter analyses consequences of the USSR dissolution in the context of the non-proliferation responsibilities of Russian Federation. The second chapter indicates structural changes that happened in the administrative and legislative sphere and that influenced nuclear export control policy. The third chapter is dedicated to the Russian role in the global nuclear governance and seeks to identify what are Russian solutions to the tightening measures of nuclear export control regulations on the international, national and corporate level.
Therefore, the timeline of the paper studied three periods. First, before the stable and comprehensive system of export control, appropriate for the new political and economic reality, was formed. Second, when Russia was in the process of reforms. And the third, when the reforms were over. The first part starts with the dissolution of the USSR. It helps to identify the main political problems Russia faced in the field of export control and how Russian government dealt with them. The second part researches the period of the mid 1990s and the beginning of 2000s and observes the development of the legislative and administrative basis for the nuclear export control system. The third part considers the increased role of Russia in the nuclear market and how non-proliferation obligations formed and influenced the nuclear export control in the country. It extends up to the mid-2010s.
The study used the information obtained from various primary and secondary sources. Primary sources may be divided into several parts.
First set of primary sources that were used in this research are international documents that form the basis of the non-proliferation regime and nuclear export control regulations. They give general understanding of the Russian place in the world nuclear governance and the current state of affairs
1. The United Nations documents and resolutions
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)1 sets out the basis of the nuclear export control policy by the Articles I, III, and IV. The Articles impose the obligations of non-proliferation, exporters responsibilities and also claim equal access to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
1 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) // United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, URL: https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/text/
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The NPT Treaty serves as the cornerstone for several United Nations Security Council Resolutions. For instance, Resolutions 6872 and 10513, which reinforced the non-proliferation regime and also imposed restrictions on the transfer of nuclear technologies and materials to certain states. Thus, the UN documents create a general framework for the nuclear export control regulations and also supplement the framework by additional restrictions when needed.
2. IAEA documents
IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement4 and Additional Protocol5 are the documents that indicate the nuclear exporters and importers non-proliferation responsibilities. The Status Lists6 indicate different countries adherence to the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol. Apart from that, the NSG guidelines are also formulated through the IAEA curriculars.7
Second set of primary sources concern exclusively Russia and are published in Russian language or mostly for the Russian audience.
3. Russian government documents
Russian laws allow to track the development of Russian legislative8 and administrative9 structures of the nuclear export control. Many Russian presidential decrees10
2 Резолюция 687 Совета Безопасности Организации Объединенных Наций // UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) – 1991. URL: https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/IQ%20KW_910403_SCR687%281991%29% 28ru%29.pdf
3 Резолюция 1051 Совета Безопасности Организации Объединенных Наций // United Nations – 2016, URL: https://undocs.org/ru/S/RES/1051(1996)
4 The Structure and Content of Agreements Between the Agency and States Required in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – INFCIRC/153 // International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – 1972. URL: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/infcircs/1972/infcirc153.pdf
5 Model Additional Protocol designed for States having a Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA – INFCIRC/540 // International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – 1998. URL: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/infcirc540c.pdf
6 Conclusion of Additional Protocols Status List // International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – 2020. URL: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/20/01/sg-ap-status.pdf
7 NSG Part 1 Guidelines for Nuclear Transfers – INFCIRC/254/Rev.13/Part 1 // International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – 2016. URL: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/infcircs/1978/infcirc254r13p1_rus.pdf 8 Федеральный закон от 13.10.1995 г. No 157-ФЗ О государственном регулировании внешнеторговой деятельности // Официальные сетевые ресурсы президента России. – 1995. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/8383
9 Указ Президента РФ от 29.01.2001 N 96 (ред. от 25.04.2005) “О Комиссии по экспортному контролю Российской Федерации” // Официальные сетевые ресурсы президента России – 2005. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/16528
10 Указ Президента РФ No36 от 14.01.2003 г. “Об утверждении Списка оборудования и материалов двойного назначения и соответствующих технологий, применяемых в ядерных
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reflect Russian political establishment attitude towards nuclear export control11 and the development of Russian nuclear export control system.12 Special set of government official declarations consists of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official reports13 for the mass media that are published on the official web-site.
4. Rosatom State Corporation official documents and reports
This set of sources concerns the documents on the nuclear cooperation14 that Rosatom concludes with various partner countries representatives. The reports of the Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation performance15 represent Russian nuclear industry export aims and prospects. These documents and reports provide an understanding of Rosatom foreign
activities and its goals and prospects as a national corporation.
As for the secondary sources, the literature that created a solid foundation for the
master thesis can also be divided into several groups. First group is composed of the monographs and research articles dedicated to the Russian context of the nuclear export control in the historical period from 1991 and to the beginning of 2000s. There was a big spark of the analytical literature on this topic in the 1990s, since that is the time when the problem was the most relevant due to the common concern about Russian political power transition and possible risks that could arise due to that. This set of literature contributes to a better understanding of the political and economic processes in Russia after the dissolution of the USSR and in what ways these processes are relevant to the non-proliferation. Historical dimension of the problems of the Russian nuclear export control, as well as its prospects and
целях, в отношении которых осуществляется экспортный контроль” // Официальные сетевые ресурсы президента России. – 2003. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/19050
11 Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11.04.1992 г. No 388 О мерах по созданию системы экспортного контроля в Российской Федерации // Официальные сетевые ресурсы президента России – 1992. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/1187
12 Федеральный закон No 183-ФЗ от 18.07.1999 года «Об экспортном контроле» // Официальные сетевые ресурсы президента России – 1999. URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/14157
13 Сообщение для СМИ о мирном ядерном сотрудничестве с Индией, МИД России // Официальный сайт Министерства Иностранных Дел России – 2008. URL:https://www.mid.ru/eksportnyj-kontrol/-/asset_publisher/UhKoSvqyDFGv/content/id/326162
14 Меморандум о взаимопонимании между Госкорпорацией «Росатом» и Министерством энергетики Республики Гана о сотрудничестве в области использования атомной энергии в мирных целях // Официальный сайт Государственной корпорации Росатом –. 2012. URL: https://www.rosatom.ru/upload/iblock/248/248442a5f88647ae8230799747766510.pdf
15 Публичный годовой отчет «Итоги деятельности Государственной корпорации по атомной энергии «Росатом» за 2019 год // Официальный сайт Государственной корпорации Росатом. 2019. URL: https://report.rosatom.ru/go/rosatom/go_rosatom_2019/%D0%93%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0 %B2%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D 1%81%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC_2019.pdf
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solutions up to the beginning of 2000s were analyzed by the PIR center research monograph16 written by Orlov V., Timerbaev R., Khlopkov A. The researchers describe the formation of Russian non-proliferation policy, its dynamics and specific features. The export control issues are also included in the context of this work and are represented by the various historical cases. The monograph contains the analysis of the Russian nuclear export control system development.
Also, various journals and bulletins issued by the research institutes and international centers for peace and non-proliferation were used in this thesis. Some of them are dedicated to the problems discussed in the first chapter and describe development of the Russian nuclear export and observe historical cases where the nuclear export control of Russian Federation caused concern of the international society or non-proliferation researchers.17 In this regard, Nonproliferation review18and Bulletin of the Atomic scientists19 issued various articles dedicated to the problems that Russian export control system could face due to the Soviet Union dissolution. Security Dialogue20, Arms Control Today,21 and Yaderny Kontrol22 are more concentrated on the observation of the proliferation risks while taking Russian context into account.
The second set of literature is composed of researches conducted on legislative and
16 Проблемы ядерного нераспространения в российско-американских отношениях: история, возможности и перспективы дальнейшего взаимодействия / В.Орлов, Р.Тимербаев, А. Хлопков. – М. : ПИР-Центр полит. исслед., 2001.
17 Beck, M., Bertsch, G., Khripunov, I. The Development of Nonproliferation Export Control in Russia / M. Beck, G. Bertsch, I. Khripunov // World Affairs. – Vol. 157, No1 – 1994. – P. 3–18. URL: www.jstor.org/stable/20672403
18 Orlov, V. Export control in Russia: Policies and practices / V.Orlov // The Nonproliferation Review – Vol.6 No4 – 1999 – P. 139-151, DOI: 10.1080/10736709908436786 or Wehling F. Russian nuclear and missile exports to Iran / F. Wehling // The Nonproliferation Review. – 1999. P.134-143. URL: https://www.non-proliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/npr/wehl62.pdf
19 Orlov, V., Potter, W. The Mystery of the Sunken Gyros / V. Orlov, W. Potter // Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. – 1998. No54. – P. 35-36 or Goldanskii, V. Russia’s “red-brown” hawks / V. Goldanskii // Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. – 1993. No5. – P. 24–37
20 Zagorski, A. Post-Soviet Nuclear Proliferation Risks / A. Zagorski // Security Dialogue – 1992. No3. – P.27–39. URL: www.jstor.org/stable/44471404
21 McGoldrick F. The Road Ahead for export control: Challenges for the Nuclear Suppliers Group / F. McGoldrick // Arms Control Association – 2011. URL: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2011-01/road-ahead-export-controls-challenges-nuclear-suppliers-gr oup or Potter, W. Nuclear Exports From the Former Soviet Union: What’s New, What’s True / W. Potter // Arms Control Today – Vol. 23, No1. – 1993. P. 3–10. URL: www.jstor.org/stable/23624922
22 Litovkin, D. Indian Nuclear Submarine Development Program: Russian Participation / D. Litovkin // Yaderny Kontrol. – 1999. No3(12) – P.29-31., see also: Yablokov, A. Dangerous Consequences of Minatom’s Foreign Policy/ A. Yablokov //Yaderny Kontrol Journal. – 1997. or
Фишер, Д. Почему я поддерживаю российско-иранский контракт. Ответ профессору Яблокову / Д. Фишер // Ядерный контроль. – 1995. No6. – C.20-21. URL: http://pircenter.org/media/content/files/9/13464103580.pdf or
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administrative changes in the Russian export control system and the influence of these changes on the nuclear export control policy. The monograph of Malkevich, V.23 is of significant importance for this research paper as it analyzed the challenges that were posed to the nuclear export control policy of Russian Federation. This monograph also identified several problems and gaps that could be found in the legislative and the administrative structures of the Russian nuclear export control system. It contributed to an understanding of the legal stages of the formation of the export control system and facilitated the understanding of current nuclear export control structure.
Special attention should be paid to the Grave A. and Petrenko A.24 research dedicated to the functions of federal authorities in the national system export control of the Russian Federation. The researchers emphasized the national features of the export control system. A big part of the research paper was dedicated to the problems of Rusian customs functioning and how these problems may cause proliferation risks.
Third set of literature contributed mostly to the third part of the master thesis, where interaction between Russia and global nuclear governance is a basic material. It is analytical literature, research papers, articles and reports dedicated to the nuclear export regulations in the context of international non-proliferation regime. This set of works describes the functions and challenges in front of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The comprehensive study on the NSG mechanisms, challenges and prospects for the development made by Hibbs, M.25 clarified the tasks and problems the NSG faces. The studies on the NSG contribute to understanding of the nuclear governance mechanisms.
The reports and analytical papers of research centers and peace research institutes formed a large basis for the third group of literature dedicated to the international dimension of nuclear export control regulations. The analysis of the international nuclear governance efforts on formulating and amending export control regulations and guidelines were done by
23 Малькевич, В. Экспортный контроль: от противостояния к сотрудничеству / В. Малькевич – М.: Общество сохранения литературного наследия, 2012 – 512 С.
24 Граве А., Петренко А. Экспортный контроль в России и безопасность международных перевозок ядерных материалов / А. Граве, А. Петренко // Индекс безопасности – No2 (85) – 2008 – С. 85-100, URL: http://pircenter.org/media/content/files/0/13412225440.pdf
25 Hibbs, M. The Future of the Nuclear Suppliers Group / M. Hibbs. – W.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2011 – 70 P. URL: https://carnegieendowment.org/files/future_nsg.pdf
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Nuclear Threat Initiative26and Center for Energy Security and International Studies27 analytical reports.
The author of the master thesis has found that the reports, analytical papers and the journals dedicated to the nuclear export control of Russia mostly concern two aspects: the problems in the field of nuclear export control that Russia experienced after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and up to the mid-2000s and modern Russian nuclear export policy. There are little comprehensive papers which track the development of the nuclear export control policy up to its current stage. Thus, the novelty of the work is in its analysis of the Russian nuclear export solutions in a highly restricted non-proliferation regime starting from the 1990s and up to the latest moment.