The sudden collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), in December 1991, and fracturing into 15 independent states effectively destroyed its unified, centrally planned, autarkic economy. The massive former Soviet defense sector was particularly hard-hit; during the 1990s, it scrambled to cope with hyperinflation, raw material shortages and cancelations of orders, all while attempting to reorient itself toward the global capitalist economy. Three decades later, the reverberations continue throughout the post-Soviet space but particularly in Ukraine, where many of the USSR’s major defense industries were located, from shipbuilding to aircraft and engine production. The latest Soviet defense legacy facility to fall victim to post-Soviet Ukraine’s arduous political and economic environment is the nearly century-old Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company (KhAZ). Problems from state mismanagement have gradually intensified at this aerospace manufacturer to the point that the Supreme Rada (Ukrainian parliament) is now considering draft legislation to partially privatize the troubled company.
OP-ED
John Daly: Kharkiv state aviation production enterprise enters freefall
An An-72 military transport takes off from an aerodrome in Kharkiv Oblast. After being idle for five years, Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company is again servicing such aircraft.
