Despite considerable easing of import rules for Western airplanes in the past three years, Russian business aircraft owners appear reluctant to place their aircraft onto the national aviation register, according to GosNIIGA, the State Scientific Research Institute of Civil Aviation, and Russia’s largest aircraft lessor, IFC. At the recent Wings of Russia international aviation forum in Moscow, GosNIIGA said only 25 business jets have been imported into Russia and placed onto the national register, including three Gulfstreams, eight Dassault Falcons, five Bombardier Challengers, eight Hawkers and one Cessna Citation. That’s only 14 more than the 11 imported business jets on the registry in 2002. The Russia United Business Aviation Association (RUBAA) estimates the number of Western-built business jets belonging to Russian owners at 350. Data from Bombardier supports this assessment, showing the number of Russian-owned Western business jets rising from 100 in 2004 to 380 in 2010. However, Bombardier also noted that most Russian owners tend to register these business jets outside their home country. Aside from the influx of Western business jets in Russia, about 80 VIP-configured Soviet regional jets–mainly Tupolev Tu-134s and Yakovlev Yak-40s–are still being used as business jets there.