It's no secret that Russia has been slowly working to bypass as much Western technology as possible and develop its own, and its latest effort appears to be related to video games. On December 25, Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Information Policy Committee, Some information about a home video game console that is being developed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, as reported . The theoretical console will have an Elbrus processor and will run Aurora or Alt Linux, both Russian versions of the popular Linux operating system.
According Technological pointThe Elbrus processor was developed by the SPARC Moscow Technologies Center and designed primarily for defense, critical infrastructure and other applications. This processor isn't on par with what Intel, AMD, and Arm are producing right now, and it certainly won't reach the power levels of the PS5 or Xbox. Despite the weaker chipset, Gorelkin emphasized that the console is not designed to play versions of older games, but will instead play “domestic video game products.” Presumably, this means that Russia will also need its own developer community to design these games.
There is also another console called Fog Play in development, but it is more of a cloud gaming device. Users with high-end computers can rent them from Fog Play owners, who play on these computers via the cloud.
These potential consoles are just one aspect of Russia's broader plans for technological sovereignty. Since its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions, Russia has been trying to make this a reality, but is making this difficult.
The adoption of Astra Linux in government, intelligence, military and even educational computers is another Russian effort to develop its own technology. To this end, Russia is also trying to replace the VirusTotal file and website scanner (owned by Google) with its own Multiscanner platform, fearing infiltration by the US government.
Despite this progress, Russia still relies heavily on Chinese technology. Chinese smartphones are popular there, and Chinese electronics and dual-use technology <a target="_blank" data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-china-sanctions-dual-use-yangjie-technology/33223415.html” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:continue to enter Russia;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “> even like the Middle Kingdom to the USA.
Russia will likely not be able to achieve true technological independence, in video games or other crucial areas, as it is too dependent on China and does not have the capacity to produce PS5 or Xbox level chips. The two Russian video game consoles are a good example of the challenges the country faces given its poor relations with many of the world's superpowers. Just as the Elbrus processor won't really compete with the best consoles, Russia will likely continue to fight for technological sovereignty.
