In April 2026, ExpoElectronica 2026 — Russia's largest electronic components and modules exhibition — was held in Moscow. At the Telesputnik roundtable, top executives from Russia's microelectronics industry reached an important consensus.
Realistic Assessment: Full Autonomy in the Near Term Is Impossible
Pavel Kutsko, General Director of NIIET and NIIMA Progress (Element Group, MOEX: ELMT), offered a candid assessment: in the foreseeable future, full localization of microelectronics in Russia is unrealistic. Reasons: (1) building a fab at 28 nm and below process nodes requires >$15 billion in investment with a 10-15 year payback period, demanding stable demand of hundreds of millions of chips per year; (2) key equipment — EUV lithography machines — is fully monopolized by ASML and inaccessible through any channel; (3) the most advanced process nodes require talent, materials, and chemical supply chains that significantly exceed Russia's current industrial base.
A Pragmatic Path: Start with Packaging
Kutsko and most experts proposed an alternative strategy: Russia should begin with semiconductor back-end manufacturing — prioritizing OSAT (packaging and testing) capacity buildup rather than competing with global leaders in wafer manufacturing. The logic behind this strategy:
• The OSAT investment threshold is 1/20 to 1/10 of a wafer fab's cost. Launch is possible within 2-3 years.
• Russia can purchase unpackaged die (wafer/die) on the global market and perform packaging, testing, and module assembly domestically.
• OSAT has a more significant employment impact and integrates well with Russia's existing PCB/SMT manufacturing base.
• Demand for chip packaging on open RISC-V architectures and mature process nodes (90-180 nm) is stable and clearly growing.
Policy Support
Russian Government Resolution No. 719 (2025) has already defined "packaging on Russian territory" as a sufficient condition for a chip to be recognized as being of "Russian origin," creating the regulatory framework for this pragmatic course. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved several OSAT line construction projects across three microelectronics clusters: Zelenograd, Saint Petersburg, and Novosibirsk.
Supply Chain Implications
For Asian contract manufacturers supplying PCBs and components to the Russian market, the growth of OSAT capacity in Russia opens up new cooperation opportunities: die supply, OSAT equipment and consumables procurement, as well as downstream PCBA assembly demand.
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