Why Russia’s AI-powered economic future lies in its Far East

I attended this year’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and took part in a dialogue on technological development. There, I had a deep discussion with Maxim Oreshkin, Russia’s deputy chief of the presidential executive office, who co-chairs the country’s national AI headquarters. I left Vladivostok with a broader impression: Russia increasingly sees its Far East as a place to build a new version of its economy.

For decades, Russia’s Far East has been understood through geography. It is vast, resource-rich and sparsely populated. At the forum, those characteristics were recast as strategic assets.

President Vladimir Putin presented an updated development strategy running to 2036 and called for the Far East and Arctic to serve as testing grounds for advanced technologies. A special legal regime due to begin next year is intended to speed up experimentation. The government is planning new data centres, stronger power infrastructure and next-generation transport systems.