The Russian military-industrial complex could use over 16,000 more specialized workers, but has nonetheless managed to ramp up production of certain weapons, Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov announced on Monday.
“Since the beginning of this year, for many types of weapons and special equipment, much more has already been produced than for the whole of last year,” Manturov told a conference in Nizhny Novgorod.
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“Speaking about weapons, we are now reaching a level at which deliveries in just one month exceed the total order of last year,” he added.
All defense enterprises are operating at unprecedented levels, Manturov claimed. The expanded capabilities have resulted in a labor shortage, however.
“In total, taking into account the deployed capacities, we need more than 16,000 specialists only for organizations that ensure the supply of the most popular types of weapons and special equipment,” ranging from line workers to technical specialists and engineers, Manturov, who is also a deputy prime minister, explained while asking the heads of Russian regions to address the personnel shortage.
“We need an integrated approach here,” he said, urging the governors to involve employment services and human resource specialists, as well as to offer incentives to university graduates to work in the defense industry.
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In the Volga Federal District alone, 106 enterprises are receiving subsidies to expand and accelerate production of weapons, equipment and ammunition, Manturov noted, while a dozen more contracts are in the works.
The Russian military-industrial complex has scaled up its activities to support the military operation in Ukraine. The US and its allies have sent over $100 billion worth of weapons, equipment and ammunition to Kiev, while insisting they are not a party to the conflict. The West has also sought to increase military production, with little success so far.
Nizhny Novgorod, known as Gorky during the Soviet Union era, sits on the Volga river about halfway between Moscow and Kazan. One of the major industrial enterprises in the 1.2 million community is NMSZ, a subsidiary of Almaz-Antey that manufactures tube artillery and ammunition.