Why Russia’s AI-powered economic future lies in its Far East

I attended this year’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and took part in a dialogue on technological development.

There, I had a deep discussion with Maxim Oreshkin, Russia’s deputy chief of the presidential executive office, who co-chairs the country’s national AI headquarters.

I left Vladivostok with a broader impression: Russia increasingly sees its Far East as a place to build a new version of its economy.

For decades, Russia’s Far East has been understood through geography.

It is vast,...