Ilya Nachvin: “We are not overtaking the US and China because we don't have trillions of dollars to invest”

Russia ranked only 30th in the AI readiness index

The AI Readiness Index appeared for the first time in 2025. China, the United States, and the United Kingdom topped this ranking, while Russia placed only 30th. The large gap is explained by infrastructure investments. The US invested 1.5% of its GDP share in AI development, amounting to $459 billion; China invested 0.7% of its GDP ($136 billion); and our country invested 0.001%, or less than $8 billion. These figures were announced by the republic's Minister of Digital Development, Ilya Nachvin, at a briefing in the Tatarstan Cabinet of Ministers.

Another factor influencing the index, according to him, is personnel. Today, China consolidates 47% of all leading AI specialists, the US — 18%, while Russia accounts for less than 1%. However, according to data from one of the largest venture capital funds for March 2026, the Russian application “Yandex” entered the global top 10 AI applications by monthly active users for the first time.

— For the first time in the fund's history of observation, it officially identified Russia as an independent third pole on the global AI map after the US and China. As analysts explained, sanctions created a void, and local products filled it within two years. However, it's important to understand that we are not overtaking the US and China because we don't have trillions of dollars to invest and don't have half a million engineers working in this field. Nevertheless, we are capable of working with accessible and open models that are already being recognized on the world stage, deploying them in the right framework and fine-tuning them to our needs, thereby increasing the competitiveness of our enterprises, — Nachvin said at the briefing.

In the republic's agriculture, AI manages milk yields

According to Nachvin, Tatarstan already has a good foundation for integrating AI into company operations and daily life. For example, over 4,000 users from 152 organizations are already working with the “GosPrompt” program, created for municipal civil servants. Over 15 million intelligent assistants have been created on the platform, which correct errors in texts, perform analysis, provide recommendations for improving school lessons, and more.

In the republic's agriculture, AI manages milk yields, thereby reducing the number of cows suffering from mastitis. In Kazan, the same technologies are being implemented in public transport. Using cameras installed on buses and street-sweeping vehicles, over 1,000 km of roads are analyzed daily for violations — from potholes to lighting.

Artificial intelligence is also used in medicine. In republican hospitals, AI is used for analyzing X-rays, CT scans, and so on, thereby reducing diagnostic waiting times by a factor of five. In construction, AI helps check estimate documentation.

“Simultaneously, we will launch a program for business”

Tatarstan began implementing its artificial intelligence development program late last year. Its main goal is to create a full-fledged ecosystem in the republic, cultivate specialists capable of working with AI, and integrate the developed technologies into the real economy. The republic's budget will allocate 5 billion rubles for the program's implementation between 2026 and 2030, or 1 billion rubles per year. However, it is expected that part of the allocated funds will “return” to the republican budget as trained specialists remain working at local enterprises and contribute to the republican economy. The program itself consists of four main blocks: infrastructure, personnel, applied projects, and science.

— One of the most important blocks is infrastructure. We will purchase and update infrastructure for government needs every year, simultaneously launching a program for businesses by leasing these capacities to our small and medium-sized businesses so they can develop startups without huge investments. For example, a server designed for AI work is very expensive, and not every company can afford to buy one at the moment, but they will have the opportunity to lease it, — said Nachvin.

In agriculture, Tatarstan will launch a consulting bot for farmers this year to help agrarians determine where best to plant a particular crop. Currently, the Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Agriculture of the republic are collecting all available data on crops and lands over the past 10 years into a single database. This innovation will increase the effectiveness of government support, help reduce crop losses, and prevent problematic situations. In ecology, the AI system will help identify violations.

Furthermore, two AI laboratories will be launched in Tatarstan this year.

— Together with the Academy of Sciences, we are launching a system of AI laboratories. This will be a team of scientists, engineers, and students solving specific applied problems for the economy… We are launching two laboratories this year. To do this, we will hold a competition and select the strongest (laboratory workers — editor's note), — said the Minister of Digital Development.

Priority research areas will be the use of AI in medicine and bioinformatics, industrial robotics, natural language processing and digital cultural heritage, as well as in the agro-industrial complex and the oil and gas sector.

It is planned that two AI laboratories will be created annually in the republic. About 200 master's and doctoral students will begin working in these equipped research spaces.

Tatarstan schools to start checking homework with AI

Artificial intelligence will also affect the education sector. Next school year, AI clubs will be launched in 100 engineering-oriented schools in Tatarstan. They will cover over 3,500 students in grades 5-7 annually. In classes, 5th and 6th-grade students will learn to work with neural networks, create simple projects, texts, and presentations, while in the 7th grade, they will move on to creating AI agents using a visual constructor.

Also, starting August 2026, Tatarstan will begin advanced training for 623 computer science teachers. Of these, 239 of the best teachers will lead AI clubs in 100 schools. The training will last about 9 months and will be completely free.

— On December 4, we will hold a final congress and annual festival of computer science teachers at the IT Park. Teachers will present their best practices for leading AI clubs to share their experience with other colleagues and scale successful cases across the republic, — Nachvin added.

Additionally, in 2026, AI training will be launched in 35 IT-focused colleges in the republic. The training will be synchronized with business demands and will cover about one and a half thousand first-year students annually.

Furthermore, Tatarstan schools will begin checking tests and homework using AI, announced the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the republic, Ramis Muzipov, at the same briefing.

— In the future, we also plan to integrate artificial intelligence and its various mechanisms for reporting and analytics in the education system. To reduce the routine tasks present in our education system. First and foremost, the most common tasks — checking tests and homework, — he said.

According to Muzipov, the republic's Ministry of Education and Science plans to check typical and standard assignments using an automated system, which will reduce the workload on teachers. It is also planned that AI will ensure assessment efficiency due to uniform checking criteria across all educational institutions in Tatarstan.

At the same time, the deputy minister noted that AI will never replace teachers but will only help ease their workload.