Mikhail Esakov, head of Elektromoment, is the developer of some of the best new generation electric motors in Russia (and possibly in the world):
“Russia faces a unique challenge — to jump into the Sixth technological order, skipping the Fifth. The fifth technological order involves the development of microelectronics, high technologies, everything that we missed after the collapse of the USSR. The union fell apart just at the moment of entering the Fifth way. But then we had good positions, competitive technologies. But the politicians decided that we don’t need this anymore, we will sell resources and with this money we will buy everything in the West.”
“If we now try to catch up with the developed countries, try to pass the Fifth order, which they have already passed, if all import substitution is reduced to attempts to copy the technologies of the Fifth order, this is fraught with a loss of the country’s competitiveness. And already irreplaceable.
“In Russia, much is being done not thanks to, but in spite of. Engaging in technology in the country has never been a popular thing, however, we still have small design bureaus, including private ones, which, to the best of their ability, invested ideas in technological progress. This also applies to modern materials, composites, additive technologies and advanced production methods. We took up electric power machines, were able to patent our ideas abroad, which means we are doing just as well.
So it’s not all hopeless, it’s not a dead end. The development of high technologies in Russia is still hampered by chronic underfunding and the lack of a functioning institution in the state capable of building a new technological ecosystem with the involvement of such teams. All these technoparks and “innovation centers” are trying to create such ecosystems for “hi-tech” themselves, but they are not doing well”
In Russia, there are a lot of small innovative teams capable of creating breakthrough products by international standards. For various reasons, they often try to stay away from traditional instruments of state support. But they are not going to emigrate anywhere, their homeland is here. They need to be given conditions for work – first of all, a real order from large state-owned companies.
We will be surprised how quickly we can solve many technological problems.
