3

I was reading some Russian propaganda and came across this tidbit:

Indeed, the sanctions have done what many considered impossible: they jolted the country’s economy out of the well-trodden path of oil and gas dependency. Russians are re-learning to manufacture what they once could but no longer bothered with – passenger planes, trains, ships, and the like, not to speak of garments and furniture. The Russian government has set sights even higher, toward regaining the level of technological sovereignty that was abandoned in the wake of the Soviet Union’s demise.

That would obviously sound good to any Russian.

But what is the reality:

  1. Are there any concrete actions taken by the Russian government towards this directions - for example, has Putin's administration actually passed any legislation for this? Or taken (and implemented) any executive policies towards this goal?
  2. Has any local defunct industry been actually revived?
  3. Has any foreign investors expressed interest in starting such industries in Russia?

(Note: I am not interested in answers about Russia's economy or who it is selling its oil and gas to now, but only want to know about their current policies - post-sanctions - on domestic manufacturing and the actual results so far. Russian sources are welcome, but supporting foreign media sources would be preferred).

9
  • 2
    An example of defunct industry being revived is SSJ-100 airplane, after 20 years delay in production of competitive passenger jets. Though it happened before the bulk of sanctions.
    – alamar
    Jun 24 at 15:34
  • @alamar, the problem is, SSJ-100 was specifically created as a world cooperation project (like any modern airliner), and the majority of its parts were imported (including such critical things as the control system and half of the engine). This is why it's struggling under sanctions. Besides, SSJ's base was created essentially from scratch, without much use of the USSR base (Tu, Yak, etc.), but that's a bit of politics. The point is, SSJ is not the best example of "revival".
    – Zeus
    Jun 26 at 8:57
  • @Zeus Realistically, you could not create an airliner from scratch without cooperation. A powerhouse that is Japan could not create an airliner even with all the cooperation.
    – alamar
    Jun 26 at 9:00
  • 3
    @alamar, there is a more fundamental issue here (and it's pertinent to the question). Japan (and Russia!) can create an airliner from scratch. (Well, within reason: if you don't demand to produce every piece of silicon in it). They have enough skills. But it just doesn't make much sense in an open world. Yet in isolation, it starts to make sense, and the problem of competitiveness suddenly fades away. Lada is a great car if you can't get anything else, and it's better to have one than not have any.
    – Zeus
    Jun 26 at 9:28
  • 1
    @sfxedit, well, that's what I'm saying: when you have no choice, you do whatever you can, even if the result is not the best possible. / Aviation is a difficult business, and it can take Boeing more than 5 years to "start manufacturing" a new model. Even USSR needed western equipment to manufacture aircraft (or tanks, for that matter). In addition, modern commercial aviation is so vastly different to the military one (esp. re servicing and overall cost efficiency requirements) that being able to design/produce military jets doesn't help that much.
    – Zeus
    Jun 27 at 0:45

1 Answer 1

6

Are there any concrete actions taken by the Russian government towards this directions - for example, has Putin's administration actually passed any legislation for this? Or taken (and implemented) any executive policies towards this goal?

Most industries: just letting the market economy do its thing. If something cannot be imported, then local businessmen start to try to produce it domestically. The fact that Russian wealthholders can no longer invest their assets in the West and therefore look for local opportunities also helps a lot

Aviation: the state subsidises production and usage of locally produced planes

Semiconducters: also subsidies

Has any local defunct industry been actually revived?

I.e. Mikron does produce various microelectronics (although not state of the art).

Has any foreign investors expressed interest in starting such industries in Russia?

Probably not much and if so, such investments are arranged in such ways as not to make headlines for obvious reasons. Still, there are some examples.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .