CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 29

TINA KHARATYAN
2004-2005. During this time interval, Azerbaijan spent almost 3bln. US
dollars on purchasing military equipment and weaponry. 35 However,
Azerbaijan launched the intensifi ed military build-up policy since 2005
spending at an average 1bln. dollar per year. Interestingly enough, this
period coincided with the increased oil revenues in Azerbaijan (see the
graph below) started at the beginning of the 21st century.
Figure 1 Source. TheGlobalEconomy.com
However, even if the oil revenue level is used as an independent vari-
able to explain the military growth in Azerbaijan, it does not explain the
sharp change in military development indicators since 2010. Although
statistics specify that since the 2000s the oil revenues in Azerbaijan play a
signifi cant role, the amount of it is relatively decreased since 2010.
Figure 2 Source. TradingEconomics.com
35
Sergey Minasyan, Levon Hovsepyan and Artsrun Hovhannisyan, Taratsashrjani razmakan
teghekagirq, (in Armenian), [Region’s military handbook], (Yerevan: Gitutyun Publishing
House of the NAS RA, 2016).
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