Across all strategic technologies, Russian scientists were most active in publishing research on materials, artificial intelligence and robotics in recent years, according to 2021 UNESCO science report.
Materials science was a clear leader between in 2018 and 2019, with scientists putting out over 8,000 publications on the subject each year.
The second largest field was AI and robotics where Russian scientists published around 5,700 pieces of research in 2019. This is a small percentage of overall global peer reviewed output which surpassed 120,000 publications that year.
As of 2020, one in five Russian companies are involved in tech innovation. In the pharmaceutical sector, the number climbs to 48%, while in computers and electronics it is 60%, the same level as EU member states. However, total corporate expenditure on innovation has stagnated since 2015.
Innovation may also not be translating into new products sold abroad, with UNESCO reporting that exports and imports of technology-related goods and services have been growing slowly and unevenly.
In total, in 2018, Russia devoted 0.99% of its GDP to research and development, with more than two thirds coming from the government.
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