Will and struggle: Russian machine builders explore new markets despite sanctions

The volume of the manufacturing industry in the Russian Federation in 2025 increased by a quarter compared to the pre-sanctioned 2021, and overall industrial production increased by 12% during this period. Vladimir Putin said this on May 14 at the X Congress of the Russian Engineering Union. Over the years, the industry has been able to gain new positions in both domestic and foreign markets. At the same time, today foreign partners are particularly interested in military equipment tested at their facilities, Rosoboronexport said. The sanctions imposed against Russia have accelerated the pace of development of the domestic manufacturing industry, experts have confirmed. Machine builders need to keep up with competitors in terms of decision-making speed: the time from the appearance of an idea to the creation of the final product should be shortened, Vladimir Putin instructed.

How did the Russian engineering industry manage to resist the sanctions

Hundreds of industry and government representatives gathered at the Rossiya National Center in Moscow, where the 10th Anniversary Congress of the Russian Engineering Union was held on May 14. It is one of the largest industry associations in the country, which includes such leading companies as Rostec, Roscosmos, United Aircraft Corporation, AvtoVAZ. The last time the machine builders met in such a composition was in 2021, that is, before the numerous sanctions restrictions that fell on Russia after the start of the special operation.

This area has suffered a lot from restrictions because the industry has been heavily embedded in global supply chains and foreign technologies. Therefore, the delegates' agenda includes technological leadership, support for industry under external pressure, and protection of the domestic market. The president, who traditionally attends the congress to discuss the state of the industry, also drew attention to this.

— Despite all the difficulties in recent years, domestic machine builders have been operating in difficult conditions, including severing ties with some foreign contractors and external pressure from unfriendly countries. Nevertheless, in these circumstances, Russian companies, their managers, and employees show flexibility and the ability to apply non—standard approaches," Vladimir Putin said.

Domestic machine builders have already shown good results: according to the president, last year the output of the Russian manufacturing industry was almost a quarter higher than before the sanctions in 2021.

The volume of industrial production in 2025 was also 12% higher than in 2021. The industry was able not only to maintain its rhythmic operation, but also to take new positions in both domestic and foreign markets due to a change in logistics, the replacement of a number of components, and the development of its own, original scientific and technological solutions.

— The sanctions imposed on Russia have really accelerated the pace of development of the domestic manufacturing industry. The fact that it has grown by a quarter in four years is considered one of the highest indicators in the global economy. The largest growth in machine—building products was in such areas as energy, transport, machine tool construction, and radio electronics," Alexander Spiridonov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade, told Izvestia.

It is still important for Russia to have its own "technological keys" to all industries that are important for the country's economy and security, the head of state warned. At the same time, while strengthening its technological sovereignty, the country does not intend to "lock itself in." On the contrary, it is ready to create and expand mutually beneficial alliances with other states. At the same time, the president urged not to lag behind competitors in terms of decision-making speed: the time from the appearance of an idea to the creation of the final product should be reduced.

— Our strategic line is justified, the decision that we made not so long ago is not to copy someone else's, but to set trends in the markets, to develop new types of competitive products, including the production of high—quality aircraft, railway, agricultural and other equipment, the creation and accelerated implementation of industrial robots, digital platforms and autonomous systems, technologies artificial intelligence. Projects that stimulate demand for such products have been launched and will continue to develop," the president promised.

What technologies are in demand from foreign partners

The industry focuses on the development of the military-industrial complex.

Defense industry enterprises are confidently fulfilling the state defense order, which has grown since the beginning of the special military operation, the president added. Specialists are already launching a series of promising types of military equipment developed on the basis of modern combat experience, and are doing everything to reliably supply the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. And this, by the way, has a positive effect on exports. Today, foreign partners are most interested in military equipment tested on their own — these are high-precision systems, radars, drones, Alexander Mikheev, CEO of Rosoboronexport, told Izvestia.

— They are interested in how our tactical aviation, air defense systems, and small arms work. There are serious successes in this area in our industry. This is a very large capacity on the market," he said.

Attracting new personnel to the industry remains an important challenge, in particular, specialists from among the veterans of the military are needed. The President instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to facilitate the arrival of participants in a special military operation in the Russian military-industrial complex.

— Specific actions are needed here: expansion of professional training programs, internships, and employment. The guys are fighting, showing themselves, we need to support them, we need to look for talented people, there are a lot of talented people there," said Vladimir Putin.

The Union of Machine Builders, together with the Ministry of Education and Science, has already built an end-to-end system for training engineering personnel. It covers all stages — from career guidance to employment. For example, over the past five years, 4 million young engineers have completed a training program in mechanical engineering. The President instructed to develop this work as well, since such specialists will be responsible for solving the tasks of ensuring Russia's technological development.

Throughout his speech, the Head of State repeatedly noted the contribution of workers employed in the industry and repeatedly stressed the difficulties they face — the key rate, sanctions, and staff shortages. The audience applauded the President's words.

"I know, I want to say it again, I know what difficulties you have to go through and I know that you are coping with it. You do it thanks to your organizational talent, commitment, and focus on the end result, and you succeed," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the machine builders also decided not to stand aside: after the official part on the sidelines of the congress, the head of Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, even took the microphone and invited everyone to raise a glass to Vladimir Putin, accompanied by three cheers.