President Vladimir Putin held a government meeting on Monday to urged Russia's officials to support the country's own scientific programs, according to Reuters.
The president's call for the development of local technology is in response to the sanctions imposed by other nations on Russia.
Stemming from Russia's annexation of Crimea and its growing conflict with Ukraine, the United States government has issued various bans and restrictions to the country. One of the most detrimental sanctions involves restricting Russia's oil drilling operations.
As part of the restriction, the U.S. government has called on firms from other nations to support the sanction and withdraw from deals with Russia to paralyze the country's oil drilling activities in the Arctic.
As a major oil exporter, the restriction has deeply affected Russia's economy. Despite the possibility of falling into a deep economic crisis, Putin considered the current situation as an opportunity to push the country's technological development.
"This is not very good, but it could also possibly play into our hands," the president said during the meeting. "The existing circumstances have an evident plus too: Russia has gained a new impulse toward scientific and technological development."
There are no official details yet regarding the stages of Putin's plan to advance Russia's scientific resource. However, Putin clarified during the meeting that the allocated budget for the government's future science-related programs will remain above 834 billion rubles, or roughly $15.58 billion.
This budget will be used by government organizations to pursue scientific and technological research until 2020.
Putin's announcement about the development of Russian science comes days after he appeared before the nation for the Annual Address to the Federal Assembly.
During the event, the president unveiled his plans to create new alliances with non-Western countries. Putin noted that one of the key aspects of forming international relationships is to learn about the technological capabilities of other nations.
"We will expand our presence in those regions where integration is on the rise, where politics is not mixed with economy, and where obstacles to trade, to exchange of technology and investment and to the free movement of people are lifted," he said during his speech.
