
On this page, incrEAST provides an overview of the research and technology potential of Russia.
Research indicator
Table 1. Main Science and Technology Indicators1
1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Gross domestic expenditure on R&D, million roubles, before 1998 – billion roubles:
at current prices 12149.5 76697.1 105260.7 135004.5 169862.4 196039.9 230785.2 288805.2 371080.3 at constant 1989 prices 2.5 3.3 3.9 4.3 4.8 4.6 4.6 4.9 5.6 Gross domestic expenses on R&D: as a percentage of GDP 0.85 1.05 1.18 1.25 1.28 1.15 1.07 1.07 1.12 as a percentage compared to the previous year at constant 1989 prices 84.9 116.0 117.8 111.0 110.4 96.6 98.3 n.a. n.a. Federal budget appropriations on civil S&T, million roubles, before 1998 – billion roubles: at current prices 4413.6 17091.7 23023.0 29962.5 41576.3 47478.1 76909.0 97363.2 132703.4 at constant 1991prices 2.48 2.03 2.35 2.65 3.22 3.08 4.16 4.55 5.46 as a percentage of GDP 0.31 0.23 0.26 0.28 0.31 0.28 0.36 0.36 0.40 National R&D personnel, thousand 1061.0 887.7 885.6 870.9 858.5 839.3 813.2 807.1 801.1 Researchers, thousand. 518.7 426.0 422.2 414.7 409.8 401.4 391.1 388.9 392.9 Researchers per R&D institution, head-count 128 104 105 106 108 110 110 107 99 Researchers per 10000 employed, head-count 78 66 65 63 62 60 59 n.a. n.a. 1R&D Indicators: 2009. Statistical data book. M.: HSE, 2009. p. 108.
Research performers
The S&T institutional structure has a number of specific features that distinguish Russia from most of the other developed countries. There are about 3,600 R&D organizations operating in Russia (see Table 1).
Table 2. R&D institutes by type2
1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total 4059 4099 4037 3906 3797 3656 3566 3622 3957 Research institutes 2284 2686 2676 2630 2564 2464 2115 n.a. n.a. Design organisations 548 318 289 257 228 194 489 n.a. n.a. Construction project and exploration organisations 207 85 81 76 68 63 61 n.a. n.a. Experimental enterprises 23 33 31 34 28 31 30 n.a. n.a. Higher education institutions 395 390 388 390 393 402 406 n.a. n.a. Industrial enterprises 325 284 288 255 248 244 231 n.a. n.a. Others 277 303 284 264 268 258 234 n.a. n.a. 2R&D Indicators: 2009. Statistical data book. M.: HSE, 2009. p. 108.
Russian S&T organizations are divided into four main sectors, depending on the industry and their main functions:
- Governmental sector organisations which provide support to government institutions, working for the society as a whole.
- Business enterprise sector organisations which support companies producing goods and services for sale (both privately and publicly owned).
- Higher education sector organisations engaged in highly skilled professionals training at higher education institutions.
- Private non-profit sector organisations, including private companies which do not operate for profit.
The years of reform have brought significant changes to the governmental and business enterprise sectors. Paradoxically for a market economy, one can notice considerable growth in the governmental sector and an equally significant decline in the number of S&T organisations in the business enterprise sector.
Table 3. Number of R&D organisations by sector3
Total Governmental sector Business enterprise sector Higher education sector Private non-profit sector 1990 4646 929 3139 546 32 1995 4059 1193 2345 511 10 2000 4099 1247 2278 526 48 2001 4037 1248 2213 529 47 2002 3906 1218 2110 531 47 2003 3797 1233 1990 526 48 2004 3656 1230 1851 533 42 2005 3566 1282 1703 539 42 2006 3622 1341 1682 540 59 2007 3957 1483 1742 616 116 3R&D indicators. Statistical data book. M.: HSE, 2009. p. 108
Research funding system
R&D funding sources in the Russian Federation include the following:
- Budget funding (including federal, regional and local budgets).
- Budget allocations for higher education institutes.
- Non-budgetary foundations.
- Money from foreign sources.
- Governmental sector organisations.
- Business enterprise sector organisations.
- Higher education sector organisations.
- Private non-profit organisations.
- Own profits of R&D organisations.
The state budget remains the biggest source of funding for Russian science. Almost 97% of the funding comes from the federal budget, and only 3% from all regional budgets put together. During the last ten years, the structure of sectoral R&D expenditures in Russia has remained practically unchanged. Almost all expenditure is concentrated in the business enterprise (about 70%) and governmental (about 25%) S&T sectors. The business enterprise sector’s share in the total R&D expenditure in Russia is comparable with the level in other developed countries (e.g. the USA has 70.1%) and even exceeds the average for the EU (63.3%).
However, the composition of this sector in Russia is quite different from other developed countries. In Russia, the business enterprise sector includes many government-owned companies and organizations, while in other countries it mostly comprises private companies. In 1995-2004, domestic R&D expenditures in the governmental sector grew by 1.8 times (adjusted for inflation), mainly due to increased federal budget funding. Expenditure on RAS organizations for the same period increased more than two-fold. As a result, the RAS' share in total R&D expenditure grew from 10.2% in 1995 to 11.1% in 2004.
The governmental sector's share in the total R&D expenditure in 2004 exceeded 25%, which is much more than, for example, the average for the OECD countries (12-15%). Expenditure on R&D undertaken in the governmental sector amounts to about 0.3% of the GDP.Source: HSE
Last up-date: 05.11.2009
Russian Science and Technogy at a Glance: 2009
Link to the online data book of the Russian Centre for Science, Research and Statistics (CSRS).
This external link opens a new window:
(Identify and analyse the S&T Potential of EU-Russia Cooperation) (URL: http://www.st-gaterus.eu/)
This external link opens a new window:
(link to ERAWATCH website: profile is also available as PDF download) (URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.content&topicID=4&countryCode=RU)