I visited Russia on business 15 years ago. Went to their most advanced optical facility -- one that made the optics for their satellites.
The most striking thing I learned was that the head of this company was really more concerned with meeting his quota for cabbages than with any scientific advances. (They were grown on the land around the factory.) Not that their science was bad, but the penalties for not feeding his workers were severe.
At that time, at least, it was a different and very foreign world over there.
State owned company?