- WIADOMOŚCI
Putin makes an offer to the leaders. 'Competitors have to catch up with us'
On Wednesday, 28 October, during the Russia–Africa summit in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in which he argued that Russia is among the global leaders in innovation and technological sovereignty. However, reality does not necessarily support these claims.
Putin persuades African leaders
The Russia–Africa summit was held in Moscow on 28–29 October. Many leaders of African countries came to Russia to hear the Kremlin’s offer – technological, military, and political alike. During his speech, Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is one of the leaders in innovation and technological sovereignty, offering the world a range of solutions that are being copied by Russia’s competitors. He also pointed to Russia’s development of two large language models (LLMs) and offered “African friends” support in terms of digital know-how and modern technologies.
“We firmly maintain leading positions in the global race for technological sovereignty (…). In many fields, Russia creates world-class solutions. Competitors have to catch up with us in some areas and copy our solutions,” Putin told the African leaders.
Reality does not support Putin's words
The Russian leader’s optimism does not, however, hold up under the pressure of reality. Russian science and industry are by no means in good condition today – in October 2025, Russia’s share in global patent applications amounted to a mere 0.8%, which was the worst result since the beginning of the 21st century.
It is impossible not to mention Russia’s dependence on foreign components, without which the Geran-4 drones could not be produced, or the total dependence on Chinese optical fibres, due to the destruction of Russia’s only such factory by Ukrainian attacks.
