Progress is underway: how has Russia progressed in the field of industrial robotics
The Russian industry is showing an active growth in automation. The number of implementations of industrial robots, including domestic ones, is steadily increasing, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation told Izvestia. This is observed not only in traditional sectors such as the automotive industry, but also in metallurgy, the oil and gas industry and precision instrumentation, the ministry said. However, Russia is still seriously lagging behind the global level of robotics. Last year, Vladimir Putin said that by 2030, Russia should become one of the top 25 countries in the world in terms of the number of industrial robots. To achieve this goal, it is necessary that favorable conditions for investment be created for medium-sized businesses, according to the expert community. About the benefits and prospects of industrial robotics in the Russian Federation — in the material of Izvestia.
How is the robotization of the economy developing in Russia
Russia has all the necessary prerequisites to become one of the world leaders in industrial robotics density, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation told Izvestia. However, this path will require systematic efforts and concentration of resources.
"At the current stage, the domestic industry is demonstrating an active growth in automation — the number of industrial robot implementations, including Russian ones, is steadily growing, not only in traditional sectors such as the automotive industry, but also in metallurgy, the oil and gas industry and precision instrumentation," the ministry's press service said.
The need to robotize the economy is becoming particularly relevant against the background of the increasing shortage of personnel in Russia. Earlier, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, called the labor shortage the main economic problem. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova estimated the cumulative shortage of personnel in Russia at 2 million people by 2030. Anton Kotyakov, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection, claimed that this figure would be at least 2.4 million people. One of the most effective tools to overcome the shortage of personnel is likely to be a robotics and retraining program.
— Our approach is robotics, automation of production, and we see potential in this. And the second is the education and retraining of those who are being released due to increased labor productivity due to robots and machine tools, and their retraining for other specialties," Anton Alikhanov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told Izvestia on May 21, 2025, after a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade.
Government support, including within the framework of a federal project, creates unique conditions for the accelerated transition of enterprises to automated technologies, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation noted.
— However, the main challenge lies not in technology, but in the need to change the production culture itself, where robotics should be perceived not as a cost, but as an investment in future competitiveness. The experience of robotic companies proves that with a competent approach, Russian enterprises are able to achieve global automation standards," the ministry said.
Industrial robotization is one of the most important tasks for the development of the Russian economy. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in his message to the Federal Assembly that by 2030 Russia should be among the top 25 countries in terms of the number of industrial robots.
Currently, in Russia, the level of robotics is 29 robots per 10,000 employees employed in the industrial sector, while the global average (as of 2023) is 162 robots per 10,000 employees. In 5 years, Russia has been striving to increase the number of robotic systems in enterprises by about five times, and to increase the density to 145 units per 10,000 employees.
Why is Russia lagging behind in the field of robotics
To date, South Korea (1,012 robots per 10,000 employees), Singapore (730), Germany (415), Japan (397) and China (392) have become leaders in robotics density. The expert community sees several reasons for Russia's lag.
Firstly, historically in Russia, the labor of a worker — a welder, a turner, a milling operator — was cheaper than in other countries, so it was more profitable for entrepreneurs to support people rather than automation of production, Oleg Kivokurtsev, co-founder and development director of Promobot, told Izvestia.
Secondly, in the Soviet and then in the Russian economy, the emphasis was on the development of heavy industry with an emphasis on the military-industrial complex (MIC). In these areas, the work of robots was not in demand everywhere. In other countries, besides the military-industrial complex, consumer branches of light industry were actively developing, where robotics could be used everywhere, Oleg Kivokurtsev noted. These processes have been going on since the 1970s, so during this time both Asian and Western countries managed to get ahead and overtake the USSR, and then the Russian Federation.
Thirdly, since the 1990s, a peculiar business approach has developed in Russia, according to which, due to the underdevelopment of robotics, entrepreneurs preferred to buy the same robots abroad rather than produce their own. As a result, there is no sustainable mass production of robots in Russia today, Vladimir Bely, head of the Alpha Robotics Venture Venture fund specializing in civil and applied technologies in robotics, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
To change the situation for the better, it is necessary to create clear and stable investment conditions for businesses, the expert believes. In his opinion, it is necessary to apply venture investment mechanisms more actively. They are the ones that make it possible in developed countries to overcome high risk and launch robotics projects in the private sector.
"Medium—sized businesses, the main potential customer of robotics, face serious barriers: administrative pressure, difficult access to financing, and limited resources for development," explained Vladimir Bely.
Another problem for entrepreneurs was the short planning horizon. The pandemic and sanctions have led to the fact that it has become too risky to invest heavily in a project that may not pay off immediately. In addition, spending in the Russian state budget on the "National Economy" in 2024 was the lowest since 2007.
At the same time, the government still provides financial support to companies implementing domestic robots, Oleg Kivokurtsev emphasized. For example, they receive grants, subsidies, and a refund of part of the money spent on the production of robots. Therefore, we can expect that the situation will change for the better.
With effective robotization, Russian enterprises can increase their profitability by 30-40%, Vladimir Bely believes. This will lead to an increase in tax revenues to the budget, an increase in output and an improvement in product quality.
"If there are a thousand or even ten thousand such enterprises, we will see a multiplier effect: profitability scales across the country, and the economy as a whole begins to grow faster in terms of product quality, volume, export potential, and tax revenues," Vladimir Bely summed up.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not specify a specific date when Russia will enter the top 25 countries in terms of automation. They only noted that while maintaining the current pace of implementation and expanding the practice of replicating successful cases, "Russia has every chance to gain a foothold in the group of industrial robotics leaders in the foreseeable future."
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
