Russia is rapidly losing its scientific potential: patents, innovations, and universities are declining - Foreign Intelligence Service
Kyiv • UNN
The number of patents in Russia has shrunk to a minimum in over two decades, and real innovations have virtually disappeared. Russia invests more in purchasing foreign technologies than in developing its own science.
Russian science is in a state of systemic collapse, which sharply accelerated after the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine. The number of patents in the Russian Federation has decreased to a minimum in more than two decades, and real innovations have virtually disappeared, giving way to copying foreign technologies. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to UNN.
Details
According to intelligence data, the number of patents issued in Russia for scientific inventions and developments fell by 25% and reached its lowest level since the early 2000s. At the same time, official innovation statistics create a false impression of activity: in 2025, Russian companies announced the implementation of 2725 "advanced technologies," but only about 10% of them were truly new. The rest of the solutions are secondary and have long been used outside the Russian Federation.
The financial model of scientific development also indicates a loss of scientific sovereignty. After the start of the so-called "SVO" (special military operation), expenditures on research and development do not exceed 1% of GDP. At the same time, Russia spends about 1.5% of GDP annually on importing the results of such work, and up to 2% including know-how. In fact, the state invests more in purchasing foreign technologies than in developing its own science.
The current decline is a consequence of prolonged degradation. Russia's withdrawal from the Bologna system in 2022, along with international sanctions, isolated scientists from cooperation with leading world centers. Chronic underfunding and mass emigration of specialists undermined the research base within the country. In response, the Kremlin introduced administrative restrictions: scientists and teachers were obliged to coordinate trips to "unfriendly" countries. This list includes 49 states, including EU countries, the G7, and key scientific centers in East Asia, which effectively means almost complete international isolation.
The consequences of this policy are also reflected in international rankings. In the Leiden University scientific activity ranking for 2025, no Russian higher education institution made it into the top two hundred. The best result was shown by Moscow State University, which took only 227th place. In a year, it lost 12 positions, and since 2021 - 29 positions, which confirms the systemic decline of Russian academic science.
Recall
The Russian economy is experiencing its deepest crisis in the last 20 years, which may force the Kremlin to revise its economic policy. By the end of 2025, a sharp slowdown in industrial growth and a record budget deficit were recorded.