The Persian Gulf region is one of the main new markets that has opened to Russian arms exports since 1991. The Soviet Union provided significant quantities of arms to Iran and Iraq; but of the conservative Arabic regimes, Kuwait was the sole Soviet partner in this sphere of activity. The other "oil monarchy" governments for political reasons were strongly set against cooperation with the USSR. Read more

Russian arms exportation has experienced a rapid and stable growth over the past decade and had reached $8.35 billion by 2008. The exports may reach $8.56 billion in 2009, according to estimates of the Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation. By contrast, ahead of Vladimir Putin's coming to power, the exports used to fall to as low as $2.6 billion per year. Read more