Friday, March 9, 2018

Russia’s great at invention, but stinks at innovation

11:35 PM    
Russia’s economy is highly dependent on the

price of oil, as are a few other countries, such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Russia differs from those other countries, however, in having a very strong scientific community. In fact, Russian scientists have been the authors of some of the great discoveries of the past century. Based on this excellent science, Russia should have a diversified, high-technology economy, but it does not.
This dependence matters to the rest of the world because a nuclear-armed country with great ambitions may act unpredictably when the price of oil plummets, as it is currently doing. Without a diversified economy and a healthy business community based on it, that country becomes a wild card.
Why has Russia’s brilliant science not been translated into technological products that sell widely in international markets and contribute to the wealth and stability of the country?