BusinessWeek.com reports that nanotechnology is the next big thing in Russia:
Russia will pour over $1 billion into equipment for nanotechnology research over the next three years as it uses massive oil and gas export earnings to diversify an economy now heavily dependent on raw materials, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.
“(Nanotechnology) is a very promising scientific and technical field, capable of fundamentally changing the model of the Russian economy … from a fuel economy to an economy of the future,” Ivanov said after a meeting Wednesday at the Kurchatov nuclear and scientific research institute, which was attended by President Vladimir Putin.
Nanotechnology is an emerging field that works with microscopic particles the size of atoms [sic]…
“Russia’s economic potential has been restored, the possibilities for major scientific research are opening up,” Putin said. “The concentration of our resources should stimulate the development of new technologies in our country. This will be key also from the point of view of the creation the newest, modern and supereffective weapons systems.”
Ivanov predicted that 90 percent of nanotechnology developments would be used for civilian purposes and 10 percent for military purposes.
More on Putin’s views at the Russian News and Information Agency Novosti:
He said nanotechnology will lay the groundwork for new weapon systems, both offensive and defensive, adding that nanotechnology is already being used in high-tech sectors of industry, medicine, transport, space research, and telecommunications.
The Russians, offensive weapons…haven’t we been through all this before? Glenn Reynolds comments. —Christine
