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Archive: 1997 Report on Russian Export Controls:
Administrative Bodies
The following is an overview based on a report prepared by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute of International Studies in January 1997 under a grant from the United States Department of Energy's Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Energy or the United States Government. This section provides brief descriptions of the responsibilities of governmental bodies and agencies which play a significant role in the export control system in the Russian Federation. For updated information on agency changes and key individuals, please see the Russian Government Bodies section or click on the name of the agency, below.Administrative Bodies: As chief executive, President Boris Yeltsin holds broad constitutional powers to conduct foreign policy. Accordingly, the President approves and signs export control lists, and issues decrees (ukazy) and directives (rasporyazheniya) as part of the Russian Federation’s nonproliferation policy. [1] The legislative branch of government has recently become more involved in the formulation of national nonproliferation export control policy. The successful passage of two laws, the Federal Law on State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activity and the Federal Law on Use of Atomic Energy, in late 1995 was preceded by a series of hearings which demonstrated the Duma’s interest in the issue of nonproliferation export controls. In the case of the Federal Law on State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activity, a commission had to be established to settle differences between the Duma and the President on the text of the law. In the first version of the law, the Duma had required that export control lists be approved by federal laws. However, this version was vetoed by the President, ensuring that the development and approval of control lists remained within the domain of the Cabinet of Ministers and the President. The final version of the legislation was passed and signed by the President on 13 October 1995.[1] According to Executive Secretary of the Export Control Commission Rustam Safaraliyev, a comprehensive export control law should be presented to the Duma sometime in 1997.[2] The Duma also has had a voice in connection with specific export issues such as the return of spent nuclear fuel to the Russian Federation; the sale of cryogenic engines to India; and the participation of the Russian Federation in multilateral export control regimes such as the Missile Technology Control Regime and the post-Cocom regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement.[1] The Prime Minister, as the chairman of the Government, issues nonproliferation export control resolutions and approves control lists, which must be signed by the President. The term pravitelstvo refers specifically to the Prime Minister’s apparat, which consists of deputy prime ministers, their staffs, and the rest of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister and Government also approve bilateral agreements and contracts with foreign countries for cooperation in the nuclear and military-technology spheres. The Center for Export Controls is a non-profit, non-governmental organization created in 1994 at the initiative of the Federal Service for Currency and Export Control and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The stated objective of the Center is to provide, "informational, educational, and consulting services to Russian exporters of dual-use goods, services, and technologies in the sphere of export controls." The Center also maintains contact with government agencies, non-governmental organizations and private business in the Russian Federation, other NIS countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The Center provides Russian enterprises with information about relevant legislation and export control regulations, and assists them in organizing internal compliance programs for export control. Production enterprises from the Russian Space Agency, the Ministry of Defense Industries, and the Ministry of Atomic Energy are among the members of the Center on Export Controls. Some of the Center’s active participants include such well-known enterprises as Khrunichev Center, Mashinostroyeniye Industrial Association, PROTON Association, PROTON-Service, ZENIT Association, Thermal Processes Research Institute, and the Kurchatov Institute. Eksportkontrol is an interagency commission for coordination of state nonproliferation export control policy. It was established by Presidential Decree No. 388 on 11 April 1992. The commission, which convenes periodically, is chaired by a First Deputy Prime Minister, and includes as members the deputy heads of the following state bodies: Ministry of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of the Defense Industry, Ministry of the Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Industry, Ministry for Science and Technology Policy, State Customs Committee, State Committee on Nuclear and Radiation Safety, Federal Security Service, Foreign Intelligence Service, and Academy of Sciences. Responsibilities of Eksportkontrol include the development and implementation of consistent state policy for export control, oversight for the functioning of the export control system, improvements in the legislative foundation of export control, and the fulfillment of international agreements in the sphere of nonproliferation.[3] Decisions to issue export licenses for nuclear and nuclear dual-use items are in part contingent upon Eksportkontrol's finding that the proposed transfer is in accordance with the laws and international nonproliferation obligations of the Russian Federation. (Please see Section IV, "Export Licensing Process" for a detailed explanation of the licensing procedures.) The commission also works with the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations on issues of export control cooperation with other CIS states.[1] VEK, and specifically the Department of Export Controls within VEK, is the working group or permanent secretariat for Eksportkontrol. It was given this role in August 1996, in accordance with Government Resolution No. 1005. The Department of Export Controls regularly prepares drafts of export control decrees, directives, and resolutions for the President and the Cabinet of Ministers, and is the principal entity responsible for the development of dual-use export control lists.[1] VEK also analyzes and makes recommendations on nuclear and nuclear dual-use export applications for Eksportkontrol. Representatives from VEK also participate in negotiations and consultations on export control issues with foreign governments and relevant multilateral control regimes. VEK was in danger of being dismantled in August 1996, due to a general restructuring and streamlining of the Russian executive branch. After President Yeltsin was re-elected, there was a push in the government to reduce the number of ministries and state committees from almost 100 to just over 60. Responsibility for hard currency supervision was effectively transferred to the Ministry of Finance by Presidential Decree on 14 August 1996. By October 1996, although VEK’s Department of Export Controls was still functioning, it appeared that its duties would be transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations. However, on 29 November 1996, VEK was reinstated and regained its ministerial status. According to one official, it was reinstated due in part to the government’s desire to minimize the conflict of interest that would have resulted from placing the export control policymaking body under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations (MFER). Responsibilities of the MFER include promotion of exports.[4] The primary role of the FSB and the SVR in the nonproliferation export control sphere is to prevent the illegal export of nuclear materials by individuals. Special departments in both the FSB and the SVR are responsible for nonproliferation and export control issues. These departments provide relevant intelligence information about prospective end-users to the Ministry of Atomic Energy and Eksportkontrol. They also work with international counterparts to curtail illicit nuclear trade. Both the FSB and the SVR are successor organizations to the Soviet KGB. The Federal Security Service was known as the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) until a new law calling for its reorganization, renaming, and expansion was signed by President Yeltsin on 5 April 1995. In its expanded role, the FSB conducts both domestic and foreign intelligence operations. Minatom is the key executive body in the nuclear sector. The ministry has considerable influence and power in the sphere of nuclear export controls due to its role in formal export control regulations, the high level of expertise within the Ministry, and the contacts of its senior officials. Within Minatom, there are a few key individuals and departments with particular responsibilities for nuclear export controls. a) The Export Council (Eksportnyy Soviet). The Minatom Export Council is an interdepartmental body responsible for the preliminary evaluation of potential nuclear contracts (i.e. at the initial stage of negotiation), which in turn must be sanctioned by the Cabinet of Ministers.[1] At a workshop on industry-government export control relations, a Minatom official reminded Minatom enterprise representatives that they must consult with the Export Council before signing any international contracts.[5] b) The Committee for International Relations. The Committee for International Relations has principal export control responsibilities within Minatom. It makes recommendations regarding the approval or denial of license applications for export of critical nuclear items. Recent legislation (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 574 of 8 May 1996) diminished the authority of Minatom in the formal licensing process by requiring a finding of Eksportkontrol as well in the evaluation of license applications for critical nuclear items. This change was designed to make the decision-making process for nuclear export controls more balanced, and to reduce the conflict of interest between commercial interests and nonproliferation export control objectives. (Please see Section IV, "Export Licensing Process" for a detailed explanation of the licensing procedures.) Ultimately, only a deputy minister has authority to sign the approval for a license application.[1] Minatom may also be consulted in relation to the granting of licenses for transfers of nuclear dual-use items. Approved applications are forwarded to the MFER, which evaluates all the necessary documents and grants the license. The Committee for International Relations is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of international safeguards.[6] c) The Central Scientific Research Institute for Administration, the Economy, and Information (TsNII Atominform). Atominform records all nuclear exports and imports in a database and informs the International Atomic Energy Agency of data on the Russian Federation’s nuclear commerce. Minatom enterprises are responsible for keeping Atominform apprised of their nuclear exports and imports.[5] Minatom is the principle entity responsible for the development of export control lists for critical nuclear items within the interagency process.[7] Minatom was established by presidential decree on 28 January 1992 to replace the Ministry of Atomic Power and Industry (MAPI), which in turn had replaced the USSR Ministry of Medium Machine-Building in 1989. Minatom oversees over 200 nuclear production and research facilities.[8] The Government of the Russian Federation has designated fifty-seven of those facilities "particularly radiation-hazardous or nuclear-hazardous" facilities that deal with nuclear weapons or their components.[9] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supervises the international aspects of export control policy in order to monitor compliance with international obligations and promote national security interests. The primary body within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for export control issues is the Export Control Section of the Department of Export Control and Conversion. This falls under the Directorate for Security and Disarmament Issues. The Division of Nuclear Nonproliferation and the International Atomic Energy Agency, under the Department for International Science and Technology Cooperation, also plays an indirect role in export control matters due to its involvement in issues of peaceful nuclear cooperation. Foreign Ministry representatives participate in international negotiations on export control guidelines and regulations, meetings of multilateral export control bodies, and bilateral consultations on procedures related to import certificates.[1] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has authority to request on-site inspections in foreign countries to ensure that Russian exports are being used in compliance with their end-user assurances. The MFER has two main responsibilities: a) Promoting Russian exports. The MFER participates in the interagency development of export control regulations and procedures, including the development of export control lists. In accordance with its mandate to promote Russian exports, the MFER seeks maximum liberalization of these lists.[10] b) Administering the procedures for export license applications and issuing export licenses. The Main Directorate for Regulation of Foreign Economic Activity at the MFER issues all export licenses for sensitive and controlled items. In mid-1996, the MFER took over the functions of the Russian State Committee on Military-Technical Policy, which previously granted licenses for arms exports and imports. Licenses are only issued on the basis of approval of license applications by Eksportkontrol or by a coordinated decision from Eksportkontrol and Minatom for nuclear exports. (Please see Section IV, "Export Licensing Process" for a detailed explanation of the licensing procedures.) To facilitate the export licensing process, the MFER has opened offices in all 62 regional divisions of the Russian Federation. Exporters may complete license applications at any one of these regional offices. After receiving approval from the Main Directorate for Regulation of Foreign Economic Activity in Moscow, regional offices may also issue export licenses.[11] In addition to issuing licenses, the MFER provides information on export control regulations to prospective exporters, maintains databases on licenses issued and on violations of national export control regulations, issues import and end-user certificates, applies administrative sanctions in the event of violations of export control regulations, and organizes on-site inspections of Russian and foreign entities to verify compliance with commitments undertaken in licenses. The MFER has a close working relationship with the State Customs Committee. As a law enforcement body, the Ministry of Internal Affairs investigates cases involving the illicit transfer or suspected illicit transfer of sensitive and controlled items. The role of the State Customs Committee in the export control sphere is to enforce non-tariff regulations. Although the GTK traditionally has focused on monitoring the collection of import and export tariffs, over the past two to three years increasing emphasis has been placed on non-tariff regulations, including the enforcement of nonproliferation export controls. The number of customs agents was greatly expanded in 1996 to approximately 54,000.[12] Once an enterprise has received an export license for a specific shipment of controlled materials from the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, the shipment must be cleared by the GTK. Customs clearance involves the monitoring of imports and exports to ensure conformity with licenses and customs declarations. Customs also is responsible for preparing and issuing delivery confirmation certificates. One copy of this certificate is kept with Customs, and additional copies are sent to the MFER and VEK. Computerization of the customs control system is currently underway. There are three divisions of the State Customs Committee: a) the central office of the State Customs Committee in Moscow, which is responsible for the overall policies of the GTK in Russia. The GTK takes part in the development of federal export control regulations within the interagency process, as well as issues its own internal orders and resolutions; b) the regional Customs offices, where enterprises must register their export licenses. There are 13 regional branches of the Customs Committee. Each regional office has a division of non-tariff regulations which is responsible for nonproliferation export controls. c) the actual Customs checkpoints on the borders and at major points of entry and departure. There are over 160 customs offices and over 490 customs posts.[12,13] The GTK requires that detailed descriptions of any given shipment be provided on the customs declaration to enhance the effective identification of goods. If a customs officer has reason to believe that the actual contents of a shipment are not consistent with the description on the identifying documents, the shipment may be sent to one of five regional laboratories for expert analysis. The GTK has the right to hold a shipment for analysis for up to two months.[12,13] The Bureau for Customs Control Over Nuclear and Radioactive Materials was established in May 1995, specifically to control the transfer of fissile and radioactive materials across state borders. There are approximately 300 customs agents who specialize in control of radioactive material.[12] The bureau has two primary tasks: a) to prevent illegal transfers of nuclear and radioactive materials across state borders; b) to examine ostensibly legal shipments of nuclear and radioactive materials to insure that the type and quantity of materials on the customs declaration and export license match the type and quantity of materials in the actual shipment.[14] This is accomplished through the use of special portable radiation detection devices and all-purpose radiometers. However, according to Head of the Bureau for Customs Control Over Nuclear and Radioactive Materials Nikolay Kravchenko, only 25 percent of border checkpoints are equipped with the necessary equipment to prevent nuclear smuggling. Stationary radiation detection monitors are being developed at Russian enterprises for checking automobiles and trains. The stationary monitors are currently being tested at Chelyabinsk-70, and will soon be ready for mass production and distribution to customs check points. It will take at least five years to equip all border checkpoints with this equipment.[14] The effect of the CIS Customs Union, the members of which include Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia (according to Nikolay Kravchenko, Kyrgyzstan is a formal member of the CIS Customs Union; however, other government officials have maintained that only Belarus and Kazakhstan are formal members), on movement of goods across the borders of member countries is not entirely clear. According to Kravchenko, there are no controls over shipments of goods along the union’s internal borders. According to GTK Head of the Export Controls Department Yelena Budayeva, all customs checkpoints have been removed from the Russian-Belarusian border, but non-tariff regulations between Russia and Kazakhstan have not yet been removed. She did not refer to Kyrgyzstan as a formal member of the Customs Union, but noted that Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan had all expressed interest in joining it.[12,14] In another example of CIS cooperation, Russian customs posts may waive clearance procedures in cases where Russian industries are involved in cooperative production with counterparts in other CIS countries. Lists of participating production facilities and specific products that fall under this category are maintained by the Moscow Customs Branch Office and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations.[13] Gosatomnadzor was established by Presidential Decree No. 249 on 3 December 1991. It is responsible for issuing permits to enterprises for the production of nuclear or nuclear-related commodities. Eksportkontrol cannot recommend that an export license be granted to an enterprise unless the enterprise has received a production permit from Gosatomnadzor.[15] The Council on Export Controls was created on 23 June 1992 within the Russian Academy of Sciences to provide expert scientific support for the administration of Russian export control, particularly for dual-use items. The Academy participated in a joint committee with the US National Academy of Sciences, which issued a joint statement on 1 April 1993 on "Dual-Use Technologies and Export Administration in the Post-Cold War Era." Sources: [1] Elina Kirichenko and William Potter, "Nuclear Export Controls in Russia: The Players and the Process," Center for Nonproliferation Studies and Institute of World Economy and International Relations, working draft, (September 1996). [2] Rustam Safaraliyev, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Service for Currency and Export Controls, "Russia’s Export Control System and Its Development," presented at the International Conference on Industry-Government Relations in Export Control, sponsored by the Moscow-based Center on Export Controls, the US Department of Commerce, and the University of Georgia, 18-19 December 1996, Moscow, Russia. [3] Rustam Safaraliev, "Export Controls as a Tool in Implementing the Russian Federation’s Nonproliferation Policy;" in G. Bertsch and I. Khripunov, Russia’s Nonproliferation and Conventional Weapons Export Controls (1995 Annual Report). [4] CNS discussions with an official from the Russian Federal Service for Currency and Export Control, October 1996 and December 1996. [5] Remarks made by Marina Belyaeva, Ministry of Atomic Energy, at the International Conference on Industry-Government Relations in Export Control, sponsored by the Moscow-based Center on Export Controls, the US Department of Commerce, and the University of Georgia, 18-19 December 1996, Moscow, Russia. [6] CNS discussions with a Russian nuclear official, 3-5 April 1996. [7] CNS correspondence with Russian Export Control official, 11 December 1996. [8] "User’s Guide," Nuclear Business Directory: A Guide to the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation, International Business Relations Corporation, (1995), p. U-1. Please see Appendix Ten for complete list. [9] Government Resolution No. 238 (7 March 1995), "On the Approval of the List of Enterprises and Organizations Among Which Are Particularly Radiation-Hazardous and Nuclear-Hazardous Plants and Sites Carrying Out Development, Production, Use, Storage, Transportation, Recovery of Nuclear Weapons and Their Components, and Radiation-Hazardous Materials and Articles. [10] Presentation by Yuriy Buykin, Deputy Director of the Main Directorate for Regulation of Foreign Economic Activity, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, "Economic Policy: Licensing of Exports and Imports of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies," at the International Conference on Industry-Government Relations in Export Control, sponsored by the Moscow-based Center on Export Controls, the US Department of Commerce, and the University of Georgia, 18-19 December 1996, Moscow, Russia. [11] Alexander Molochnikov and Vladimir Smirnov, "Licensing of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies," The Russian Federation Nuclear Export Control System: Compendium, Center on Export Controls, Moscow, (1996), p. I-23. [12] Presentation by Elena Budyayeva, Head of Export Control Department, State Customs Committee, "Customs Procedures in the Russian federation for Dual-Use Goods, Services, Technologies and Scientific-Technical Information," at the International Conference on Industry-Government Relations in Export Control, sponsored by the Moscow-based Center on Export Controls, the US Department of Commerce, and the University of Georgia, 18-19 December 1996, Moscow, Russia. [13] Igor Khripunov, "Report from the St. Petersburg Conference on Foreign Economic Activity and Export Control in Russia," Monitor, Winter-Spring 1996, pp. 40-42. [14] See interview with Head of the Bureau for Customs Control Over Nuclear and Radioactive Materials Nikolai Kravchenko by Vladimir Orlov, "Intervyu Mesyatsa," Yadernyy Kontrol, (August - September 1996), pp. 8-10. [15] Marina Belyaeva, "Russian Federation Control Over Export of Nuclear Materials," The Russian Federation Nuclear Export Control System: Compendium, (Moscow, 1996), pp. 14 - 16.
Last updated May 1997 Comments or questions? Contact Kenley Butler at MIIS CNS: Kenley.Butler@miis.edu
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