Russian businessman Yevtushenko: Russia is lagging behind the US and China in technology

AFK Sistema founder Vladimir Yevtushenko admitted in an interview with Expert magazine that Russia is technologically behind both the US and China and is now forced to return to Soviet-era production models. According to the billionaire, Russia has either failed to develop critical technologies or neglected them, and must now search for them urgently under conditions of severe financial and intellectual constraints.

Russian oligarch and AFK Sistema founder Vladimir Yevtushenko has publicly acknowledged that Russia lags significantly behind the US and China in technological development, and that the country is forced to turn back to Soviet-era production models.

The oil dollar illusion

Yevtushenko commented to Expert magazine on business leaders' complaints about the shortage of innovative solutions that hinder their implementation in production. The businessman described Russia's previous approach bluntly: "When oil dollars appeared in Russia, we began to live by the principle 'we'll buy everything and bring everyone to their knees'. It turned out we couldn't buy everything, and we couldn't bring everyone to their knees either."

According to him, Russia is now forced to turn back to "the foundations of the mighty Soviet Union". Yevtushenko recalled that at one time both the US and the USSR were two full-cycle technology empires, from fundamental science to manufacturing. Today, those two countries are the US and China, while Russia has fallen out of this category.

Critical technologies underdeveloped

"Russia has a whole range of critical technologies that have either not been developed or have been neglected," Yevtushenko said. "Now we must search for them feverishly and catch up, under conditions of severe financial constraints. And intellectual constraints as well."

Earlier, the publication Projekt reported that Yevtushenko is connected to FSB leadership and personally to the president's adviser and former FSB director Nikolai Patrushev. Yevtushenko is also under Western sanctions. According to Forbes, his wealth is estimated at $1.6 billion.