In his speech to the forum, Sergei Ivanov announced that in 2011 the Russian government intends to spend 742 billion roubles on innovation development. The state, however, cannot continue to finance innovation activity with its funds indefinitely.

Mr Ivanov believes that the lion's share of investment in the area must be financed by private corporations. "I think we are approaching a Rubicon of sorts," the deputy prime minister said. "As we cross it, private business must become the driving force for large-scale innovation activity." He added that this task is a key target for the Russian economy in the next decade.

Sergei Ivanov stressed that in foreign countries, private-sector spending on innovation exceeds 65% of total investment, while in Russia, non-government companies only account for 20% of total investment in research and development. As a result, the world's top 1000 companies engaged in innovative research and development include only three Russian corporations – Gazprom, AvtoVAZ, and Sitronics, according to Mr Ivanov. The deputy prime minister acknowledged that investing in new technology always poses certain risks, but that any business or investment is a risk.