In Russia, Threats to a French Warship Deal

Swelling opposition in Moscow to a deal involving the purchase of amphibious assault ships from France may prevent Russia from invigorating its listless naval shipbuilding industry. The Mistral-class warships would address certain limitations in the Russian military and provide much-needed experience and technology for building large military vessels, but the project faces steep obstacles.

It could be downgraded as a result of power struggles inside the Kremlin, while the allocation of funds for the project as part of the country's military modernization plans seem tenuous at best. Moreover, the growing hostility to the Mistral deal signals Moscow's acknowledgment that it should seek to build the military Russia needs and can realistically afford — not the one it would build were it free from looming constraints.