Russia Plans Far East as AI and Tech Testing Ground Under Strategy to 2036

President Vladimir Putin announced a revised development strategy aimed at 2036, identifying the Far East and Arctic regions as experimental zones for cutting-edge technologies. A special legal framework set to launch next year aims to expedite this experimentation. Plans include establishing new data centers, enhancing power infrastructure, and creating advanced transport systems. This initiative is presented as an opportunity for Moscow to innovate in ways that mature economies cannot, allowing for regional system redesign over the next decade. The author, who attended this year’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, engaged in a detailed conversation with Maxim Oreshkin, Russia's deputy chief of the presidential executive office and co-chair of the national AI headquarters. The author departed with the sense that Russia is increasingly positioning its Far East as a foundation for a revamped economy.