Russia installed just 2,100 industrial robots in 2025, well below the pace needed to meet national targets set for the end of the decade, the newspaper Kommersant reported, citing data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
To fulfil the plans adopted for the period through 2030, Russian manufacturers would need to install more than 80,000 industrial robots. At the current rate, the country is falling far short of that goal.
Russia now has 21,900 industrial robots in total, according to the ministry's figures. The country's robotisation density held flat in 2025 at 29 robots per 10,000 workers, showing no improvement over the previous year.
The 2024 presidential target
A decree signed by the president on national development goals on June 7, 2024, calls for robotisation density to reach 100 robots per 10,000 workers by the end of the decade. Reaching that level would put Russia among the top 25 countries worldwide by that measure.
At the current density of 29 robots per 10,000 workers, Russia remains far below the level the decree envisions.
Why demand is weak
Nikolai Chernetsov, director of the strategic and operational consulting practice at Kept, said the gap between actual and planned robotisation stems from weak demand for machines within industry. He pointed to revisions of long-term production plans and cuts to investment as contributing factors.
Chernetsov also said companies lack staff with experience implementing robotisation at mid-sized firms, along with adequate information about what robotisation can offer. He added that a persistent bias exists, with many assuming robotisation only makes sense for large companies.
Roman Rufov, senior manager in the business consulting practice at TeDo, said companies most often lack the money, expertise and integrators needed to robotise their operations. He said businesses are also deterred by uncertainty over how quickly the investment would pay off.
Targets seen as unreachable without change
Rufov said that unless the situation changes dramatically, Russia will not meet its robotisation targets within the set timeframe. He said international experience shows that a sharp acceleration in robotisation is only possible when a full ecosystem of support exists for such efforts, something he said Russia currently lacks.
Link to interest rate policy
The Central Bank of Russia has previously said wage growth in the country is outpacing growth in labour productivity, a gap that accelerated robotisation is meant to help close. The bank has cited this imbalance as one of the reasons it lacks room to cut its key interest rate more quickly.
