Medvedev?s Cabinet compels state-owned corporations to buy Russian technology

The Russian Government has endorsed a special ?roadmap? compelling government-controlled corporations to buy Russian technology.

The Russian Government has decided to compel large domestic corporations controlled by the state to buy Russian technology. The official Russian Government website earlier this month posted an announcement that Prime-Minister Dmitry Medvedev had signed into a government decree a special ?roadmap? that is expected to ease business suppliers? access to procurement programs initiated by state-owned infrastructure monopolies. The decree covers Russia?s largest energy and transport corporations, including Gazprom, Rosneft, Russian Railways, Rosatom, Transneft and others that are more than 50% owned by the government. These companies are now expected to increase a percentage of technology solutions purchased from domestic developers. The decree puts special emphasis on purchases of innovation products and technologies; a separate program is being put together to streamline purchases of innovation between now and 2018. Mr. Medvedev drew attention in his decree to the necessity of developing related legislation and regulation that would ?eliminate vagueness in defining what can be referred to as innovation and/or high-tech products/services, and what cannot...