Igor Sechin Pointed Out the Militarization of the World

The world is militarizing again, global military spending has been continuously growing over the past 11 years, stated Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security, at the Energy Panel during the XXIX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"Global military spending has been rising continuously for the past 11 years. US Defense Spending, which accounts today for a third of global spending, has increased one and a half times over the past ten years and reached almost one trillion dollars last year. By 2027, expenses are expected to increase by another 50%," he noted during his presentation of the keynote report "The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning. What’s left at the Bottom of Pandora's Box."

At the same time, the defense spending of European NATO members is growing at the fastest pace since 1953. In the last year alone, they increased by almost a quarter and exceeded half a trillion dollars. Igor Sechin noted that Germany stands out in Europe, as its military spending has doubled over the past three years—to 114 billion dollars, and a further doubling is planned by 2030.

"It's safe to say that Germany has started shifting its economy to a military footing. German defense giants Rheinmetall and KNDS planning to acquire the production facilities of Mercedes and Volkswagen," he stated. 

Igor Sechin drew attention to Berlin's symbolic steps, which, in his opinion, testify to the militarization of German policy. "Berlin’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics became the peak of cynicism. Apparently, there is a desire to celebrate the centenary of the previous Berlin Olympics, conceived as a large-scale propaganda project to showcase the achievements of the Hitler regime," he emphasized.

Sechin also revealed the mechanism of financial capital outflow into the defense sector. According to him, a simple chain is forming - political pressure leads to an increase in budget expenditures, which push up the market capitalization of a tightly intertwined triad: the military-industrial complex, high-tech corporations, and the financial sector.

He noted that since the beginning of 2022, the share price of American aerospace and defense companies has grown two and a half times, while the American stock market has grown by 65% over the same period. "The market capitalization of companies supplying weapons to Ukraine is breaking all conceivable records: in just over four years, shares of Germany's Rheinmetall have grown more than 16-fold, while those of Britain's BAE Systems have almost tripled," Sechin noted.

Department of Information and Advertising
Rosneft Oil Company
June 6, 2026