Among the most painful sanctions imposed by the West after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 has been the ban on selling tech to Russian companies, especially those in the military and energy sectors.

The Kremlin has responded by telling Russian companies to develop their own “made in Russia” technological solutions.

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and the shoddy state of the Russian economy today, Russia remains a world power when it comes to tech. It put the first man into space, while still under a totalitarian regime and military tech remains world class even today.

At the same time, thanks to the traditional emphasis on the “hard sciences” in Russian higher education, the country remains in the vanguard of software development.

Several tech companies are rising to the challenge. Based in the Russian cities of Saratov, Penza, Perm, Saint Petersburg and Moscow these companies have received more than 15 billion rubles ($256mn) from the state budget to develop alternatives to western technologies.

The Economic Development Ministry has concluded six public tenders “for the research and development of several projects within the framework of the Federal Target Program No.1”. The aim of the program is to realize the state economic and social policy when solving long-term tasks and large infrastructure projects, according to the Ministry’s website.