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In recent years, Europe and the United States have imposed a series of sanctions on Russia, including a chip blockade, in an attempt to restrict Russia's scientific and technological development and military equipment. However, despite the sanctions and blockades, Russia has access to a large number of Western chips through various means. This article will look at the causes and consequences of European and US sanctions on Russian chips, and how Russia can cleverly bypass these restrictions and get the Western chips it needs.
In the face of the chip blockade implemented by Europe and the United States, it seems that Russia's chips** have encountered great difficulties. However, surprisingly, in the first three quarters of 2023, Russia still bought $1.7 billion worth of chips. These chips mainly come from American chip giants AMD, Intel and Texas Instruments, and some chips are also transited through third-party countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. How does Russia get these chips?
Russia needs a lot of Western chips, both for civilian electronics and military equipment. In the face of Western sanctions and blockades, Russia has had to look for other channels to get the chips it needs. The urgency of this need has pushed Russia to adopt a variety of tactics to circumvent sanctions.
Although the Western chip giant announced that it had stopped sending ** chips to Russia, however, through transit countries, Russia successfully imported a large number of American chips. For example, AzuInternational, a PC wholesaler established in Turkey, began forwarding American computer parts to Russia just one week after registration. Over the next seven months, the company resold nearly $20 million in components to Russia. In addition, there are a number of shell companies that act as chip middlemen, including companies such as Pixeldevices, which are registered in Hong Kong.
Russia's acquisition of Western chips through transit countries can be described as a flexible strategy. Transit countries act as a key link in the chip chain, acting as a bridge between Russia and Western chip giants. By establishing companies in transit countries and using their dealer networks, Western chips have been able to enter the Russian market without any problems.
Although Russia has successfully obtained a large number of Western chips, there are also some parts that are difficult to trace. According to a survey by the London-based Conflict Armaments Research Car, many parts of European and American production were found in disassembled Russian-made equipment, and most of them were manufactured between 2014 and 2020. This shows that Russia has stockpiled a large number of chip parts before the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, some chips have their identification markings scraped off, making them even more difficult to trace.
The issue of chips in Russia has attracted the attention of many people. There are reports that Russia uses forwarding companies from third-party countries to import chips from the United States, making it more difficult to trace the specific manufacturer of chips. In addition, during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a large number of Western chips flowed into the Russian market, and while it is possible to determine the type and date of manufacture of these chips, it is a difficult task to track the transaction process. For Western investigative organizations, they can determine who made the chips, but it is difficult to reveal how the chips are transferred to Russia through dealers.
Although Russia has succeeded in acquiring a certain number of Western chips, there are huge risks associated with long-term dependence on imports. Russia recognized this and began to increase the research and development and manufacturing of domestic chips. Before the concept of lithography machines and integrated circuits came out, chip manufacturing in the Soviet Union was mainly focused on transistors and tubes, while the United States chose to develop transistors, thus developing chip technology. The USSR used tubes in military equipment, while it lagged behind the West in terms of civilian chips. At present, Russia has the ability to independently develop chips in a few fields such as aerospace, but the vast majority of chips still rely on imports, accounting for 95% of its market share. Therefore, Russia needs to strengthen its own chip R&D and manufacturing capabilities to reduce its dependence on imported chips.
In view of Russia's dependence on Western chips, Russia has begun to increase investment in the R&D and manufacturing of domestic chips. This includes increasing efforts to promote the research and development of independent chips in the fields of aerospace and national defense, while also encouraging domestic enterprises to increase investment and innovation in chip technology. By strengthening the R&D and manufacturing of independent chips, Russia can reduce its dependence on imported chips, improve the country's scientific and technological autonomy, and reduce the risk of external sanctions.
The situation of Russian chip imports being sanctioned by the West provides us with an important enlightenment. The domestic chip industry should have a sense of crisis to prevent too much external dependence in important areas. Russia's predicament in chips also reminds us that the country's scientific and technological development cannot rely only on imports, and it must strengthen its independent innovation capabilities. Only by strengthening the R&D and manufacturing of domestic chips can we ensure the country's scientific and technological support in key areas and avoid being controlled by outsiders.
Russian chip imports are subject to sanctions, which has had a certain impact on the domestic chip market. On the one hand, Russia has a large demand for Western chips, but due to the impact of sanctions and blockades, chips** have been limited to a certain extent. To a certain extent, this has promoted Russia's demand for domestic chips and promoted the research and development and manufacturing of domestic chips. On the other hand, in the face of external constraints, the relationship between supply and demand in the Russian chip market has been disordered to a certain extent, which has led to certain difficulties and challenges in some industries involving chips.
This circumstance reminds us that in the field of scientific and technological development, the state cannot rely only on external **, especially in key areas. The domestic chip industry should strengthen its independent R&D and manufacturing capabilities, achieve independent innovation in key technology fields, ensure the country's scientific and technological support in key areas, and reduce dependence on external sanctions and restrictions. Only in this way can the country remain competitive in the field of science and technology, not be constrained by external constraints, and ensure the country's security and development.
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