[Weird Russia] Military barter

In the 90s the Russian defense industry was in a bad state - Gorbachev had radically cut defense spending in the late 80s and 3rd world purchasers were increasingly hard to find for low-grade Soviet weapons systems. Strapped for cash, defense manufacturers and the state run defense export agency started accepting bartered goods in exchange for weapons. Some amazing highlights:

"Among the most difficult [trade situations] was the case of the Chinese pigs that were traded for an arms shipment and then banned in Russia by the veterinary inspector, who suspected that they might spread hog plague in the country. (...)

In another instance, the Chinese bartered 15,000 low-quality radio-cassette players for three Mi-6 helicopters."

Source: Donaldson and Nagee, The Foreign Policy of Russia, pg. 281