Bringing Russia down to earth: Russian space industry is in decline, but more could be done

Russians have two reasons to be proud: victory in the ‘Great Patriotic War’, as they call it, and successes in space exploration. And while the Russian myth of the world's ‘second 'army’ has already been debunked, Russian spacecraft are still ‘ploughing the space’, albeit with problems.

In addition to its ideological significance, space technology is now one of the strategic resources on the battlefield. Therefore, weakening the Russian space industry should be an important priority for the civilised world.

Nataliia Borotkanych, a PhD in History and coordinator of space projects at Noosphere, an NGO focused on promoting STEMS, looks into how effective the sanctions against Russian space industry are and what the West can do to increase their effect.