Oleg Vyugin, the head of Russia's financial regulator and a former deputy finance minister, has given a warning that the government risks damaging the prospects for economic growth if it continues to employ a political agenda against companies whose directors are critical of the Kremlin.

ECONOMIST: More twists and turns | The

To keep down price rises, and thus ease the political process, governments should employ a second tool: spending to help promising new technologies get to market.

ECONOMIST: Climate change

The second item the political system prefers to target as a bill-payer in defense downturns is the actual production of weapons, because political impacts tend to be localized even when the programs employ thousands of workers.

FORBES: How Politics Will Shape The Defense Downturn