SCIENCE

During a speech in 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that Russia is "significantly behind" other countries in producing powerful supercomputers, and said the lag hurts Russia's competitiveness and its ability to defend itself. "If we are talking seriously, a huge number of entrepreneurs, not to mention officials, do not know what supercomputers are," he said. "For them it is an exotic type of those machines that were created in the 1920s to catch up and overtake America. “It is the same in this field; it is something which seems to be detached from the reality of practical life. Today businesses and federal agencies do not manifest their interest in supercomputer technology. Such possibilities tend to be ignored, even when their application may result in a breakthrough."

Medvedev called on the Security Council to figure out where Russia’s supercomputer needs, improve the country's electronics industry so it can manufacture more supercomputers, improve training in Russian universities, figure out how the government can support supercomputers and see that software and networks are developed.

Two years later, Russia aims for exascale supercomputer within 10 years. The scale of investment Russia is applying to their supercomputing efforts means they would eat the West’s lunch.

Read more about their plans at Russia’s biggest technology Web site: http://eng.cnews.ru/news/top/indexEn.shtml?2011/09/29/457577 .