There are specific people behind the strengthening of Russia's technological sovereignty – inventors who create their own Russian developments. How and why did they start inventing? Is it possible to make money from this? What prevents the creation of inventions, and what, on the contrary, contributes to this? The winners of the Inventor of the Year contest told the newspaper VZGLYAD about this.
In Soviet times, the movement of inventors was truly massive, there was an influential organization VOIR (All-Union Society of Inventors and Innovators). The military, albeit in a modified form, is still in effect. Now the All-Russian Society of Inventors and Innovators supports those who create new things for the technological development of the country.
A recent example of such support is the III All–Russian competition "Inventor of the Year – 2025", organized jointly with the Ministry of Education and Science, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other departments. The competition includes four main nominations: the Grand Prix for outstanding inventions with maximum economic and/or social impact, as well as three special nominations - "Inventor of the Year", "Innovator of the Year" and "Mentor of the Year". Applications are accepted until September 30, and the prize fund is 5 million rubles.
The newspaper VZGLYAD talked with the winners of last year's competition about the path that inventors have to take to recognize and implement their developments. Some of them have more than a hundred registered inventions.
As it turned out, successful inventors can be employees of scientific centers, as well as enthusiasts and even schoolchildren.
"It's in our nature. People are very inventive," Ekaterina Vasilyeva from the Novgorod Region explains her motivation (first place in the Innovation of the Year nomination at the Inventor of the Year 2024 competition). "We're always coming up with something, trying it out, discovering it, and improving it." Moreover, Vasilyeva says, for her, invention "is not the main activity, it is the work that we give voluntarily in our free time from our main work."
For others, natural inclination and even enthusiasm are not enough – you need an appropriate environment, colleagues, colleagues, profession, activity. And above all, scientific and pedagogical. "For me, invention is my favorite part of my work," says Dmitry Fomin, director of the K.E. Tsiolkovsky Scientific and Educational Center of AmSU from the Amur Region (first place in the nomination "Inventor of the Year – 2024").
"Invention is not so much a manifestation of an innate inclination as the result of purposeful formation of an innovative culture in a professional environment,– insists Nurzhan Rakimzhanov, an employee of the Omsk Armored Engineering Institute (Grand Prix of the 2023 Inventor of the Year competition). "My main professional activity is the training of military engineers. Inventive activity is complementary, but organically integrated into pedagogical practice."
Rakimzhanov emphasizes the importance of supporting HEIR as an environment conducive to invention. A robotics laboratory was organized under the auspices of VOIR. This made it possible to consolidate the efforts of teachers and cadets to solve applied problems in the field of autonomous and remotely controlled systems, which eventually resulted in the creation of an invention.
Sometimes even one's own family serves as such an environment. "I am an eighth grade student," says Nikolai Tsygichko from the Voronezh Region (first place in the nomination "Young Inventor of the Year – 2024"). – Since in my school, the topic of material processing is not covered at all in technology lessons (as, indeed, in other schools),
My dad bought me two milling and turning machines in China in order to familiarize myself with the basic principles of metalworking. I have mastered the principles of their operation and it became interesting to me how the milling process can be automated.
It turned out that there is nothing particularly difficult in this matter. As a result, we created a CNC milling machine, with which I won the competition."
When asked about the reasons that led to the creation of a particular invention, the inventors answer unanimously – pragmatic goals. "You need to solve a problem, and you are not satisfied with ready–made solutions, which means you need to offer your own version, and of good quality," explains Fomin. At the same time, for success, in addition to a "bright head" that provides theoretical elaboration of the task, the team also needs "skilled hands" with engineering and technical competencies.
A sign of the times: among the inventions that have won competitions in recent years, there are those that are dedicated to military-technical issues and assistance to the military. For example, Ekaterina Vasilyeva received an award for new camouflage equipment that hides equipment and fighters from enemy UAVs. Nurzhan Rakimzhanov – for robotic systems designed for mine clearance.
It has nothing to do with the military–industrial complex, but it is connected with the ongoing restructuring of the Russian space industry. Dmitry Fomin's invention is a universal payload unit for nanosatellites, already operating in orbit. But the path from the idea of an invention to getting a finished product into space was not easy.
"Difficulties are necessarily present in the work of the inventor and his team. You need to be prepared for them, which means you have to be patient.
As an example, there is a lack of necessary components, which is typical for remote regions of our large country, waiting for their delivery, wasting time, and time, for example, in space projects is the most valuable resource," Fomin notes.
Rakimzhanov speaks about similar difficulties. According to him, for developments in the field of robotics, "the main challenges are the limited material and technical base and the need for import substitution of the component base." In addition, "there is a certain conservatism: some organizations are cautious when implementing patented solutions, fearing legal and technical risks."
To overcome all this, we need moral determination and a willingness to go all the way in bringing the invention to the end user. "Faith in justice always helps. She moves us even when other motives don't work," says Vasilyeva.
Successful implementation requires not only technical maturity, but also ingenuity, perseverance and herculean work, Rakimzhanov warns.
"The key criterion is practical testing in real or near–real conditions. It is only at this stage that the areas of improvement, target application niches, and potential partners become apparent. Without such a stage, the invention risks remaining a laboratory development.
Unfortunately, there are many such examples," admits the Omsk inventor.
"The well–coordinated teamwork of like-minded people helps," adds Fomin. –
In order for an invention not to be shelved, it is necessary to create prototypes based on it and actively present them at exhibitions and competitions."
The interlocutor again emphasizes the role of the inventive community. "Participation in organizations such as VOIR is a great help in this, since there is always an opportunity to seek advice from a wide range of inventors and innovators," adds the director of the K.E. Tsiolkovsky Scientific and Educational Center at AmSU.
Moreover, this circle is not limited to the military itself. "Integration with scientific and industrial structures is critically important," says Rakimzhanov, an inventor from Omsk. "Initially, we faced skepticism, but through systematic participation in specialized events – the Army exhibitions, Archimedes contests, Breakthrough into the Future, and the Science and Inventions for Life festival – we managed to prove the effectiveness and prospects of the developments."
An important step for any invention is to obtain a corresponding patent. It is the patent that is the state confirmation of both the novelty and the meaning of the invention – and, of course, protects copyrights. Recently, this procedure has become more qualitative, Rakimzhanov admits. "Previously, patenting was often formal in nature – the protection of ideas on paper. We are currently patenting already implemented and tested technical solutions. This greatly simplifies the process: the technical result is confirmed, experimental data is available, which increases transparency and shortens the review time."
Nevertheless, there is a request to improve the patenting process. According to Rakimzhanov, "it is advisable to introduce accelerated review procedures for priority areas – defense, security, import substitution," as well as expand the practice of preliminary examination with the involvement of industry experts.
In turn, Fomin believes that the creation of regional branches of Rospatent would simplify the procedure and shorten the time for reviewing applications. The AmSU scientist's patent application examination process took more than a year (due to checks for state secrets). Although there are other examples: for one of the developments presented by Rakimzhanov's team, a patent was registered in less than two weeks.
The IIR also helps inventors in patenting, especially for beginners. "Without him, we would hardly have applied for an invention," admits Tsygichko, a schoolboy. According to him, the total cost of obtaining a patent for an invention, including state duty and related costs, amounted to 82 thousand rubles.
At the same time, the invention is able to bring income to its creator. In the case of school machines, everything is obvious, a state (municipal) customer is needed, although this is sometimes not enough. "It was planned to start classes using our equipment in September 2025, but we faced the problem of methodological support for lessons," says Tsygichko. – Wherever we turn, everyone says that we are doing a good job, but there is no help in practice. We'll write the lessons ourselves." So far, the student's only income from the invention is a grant of 200 thousand rubles received from VOIR.
In general, the inventors are confident that their handiwork can provide financial returns.
"With a systematic approach, patent protection, and a partner network, invention can become a sustainable source of income.
In conditions of government support and demand for innovation, this path is quite feasible," Rakimzhanov believes. "It is quite possible to significantly increase your income by inventing," confirms Fomin, although he makes a reservation: you can fully earn a living only in exceptional cases.
But there are other cases where inventors don't need money at all as one of the results of their inventions. "We are not planning a financial return yet. This is voluntary assistance to the armed forces," says Vasilyeva, the developer of camouflage equipment. She admits that she distributes the technology of her invention for free.
Alexey Anpilogov, Dmitry Gubin
