Putin's Visit to Bauman Moscow State Technical University: Talks with Students & Space Activities

Several combined events

The university complex

Here’s how the Kremlin described the day’s activities:

The head of state began the visit with an inspection of the complex of dormitories and the leisure center "Spectrum". Vladimir Putin was shown the living rooms of students, a co-working area and a food court, the Novoselye information center. Then, at the University Congress Center, the President got acquainted with the developments of MSTU, including including in the field of space, quantum technologies, mechanical engineering. Vladimir Putin also presented a model of the Quantum Park building - an interdisciplinary cluster advanced technologies, which will bring together 25 unique laboratories.

At the end of the inspection, the head of state talked with Bauman students.

In addition, the President of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" Mikhail Kovalchuk told Vladimir Putin about the development of nuclear power plants and their application in space.

MSTU is one of the oldest higher technical educational institutions Russia and was founded on July 13, 1830. The University Development Strategy until 2030 is aimed at transforming it into a full-cycle university and maximum integration into the scientific and technological agenda of the state.

As part of the implementation of the federal project "Creation of a network of modern Campuses" in 2021-2024, 14 buildings of MSTU were built and restored, including the complex of dormitories "Spectrum" and "Strela," the congress center, exhibition and educational media space "Palace of Technologies." Total designed capacity of the new campus is for 8.9 thousand students.

So, overall quite a lot of activity at what appears to be an excellent place to learn. We’ll begin with Putin’s meeting with students after his tour of the facilities that the video indicates lasted about 20 minutes:

M. Gordin: These are a few of our students. The most active of them participate in various organizations, engineering centers, and student design bureaus. And they would certainly like to ask some questions.

Vladimir Putin: But not very difficult ones. You are welcome.

My question is: Does anyone live on these new campuses?

Tatyana Gorshkova: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Where are you from?"

Tatyana Gorshkova: I'm from Ivanov.

Vladimir Putin: And when did you check in here?

Tatyana Gorshkova: I moved to a new hostel in August.

Vladimir Putin: Do you like it?

Tatyana Gorshkova: Yes, of course.

Vladimir Putin: And who lives with you?

Tatyana Gorshkova: Students of my own department live with me. I'm in my third year, my roommate is in her fourth year, and two roommates are in their sixth year. We communicate, I gain experience from them.

Vladimir Putin: This is what the rector was talking about. Communication is very important. Different courses and areas of study?

Tatyana Gorshkova: No, it's the same direction, they're just a little older.

Vladimir Putin: That's great. Congratulations on this campus.

Tatyana Gorshkova: Thank you.

S. Vostrikova: Good afternoon!

My name is Sofia Vostrikova. I am a fifth-year student of the Department of Special Life Support Systems, Refrigeration and Cryogenic Engineering.

Until recently, Russia actively cooperated with European countries in the creation of space projects, which are currently suspended.

In this regard, I have a question: is it planned to resume these projects and how important is Russia's participation in international space programs?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You probably understand even better than I do how important cooperation is in such a complex, science-intensive field as space. Everything is packed with ideas and modern technologies.

Russia is active, and the Soviet Union at one time, then Russia actively began to interact with partners, and until recently we worked with Europeans. As you said, [cooperation] has been suspended, but you did not say on whose initiative–-not on our initiative, but on the initiative of the Europeans.

By the way, we continue to cooperate with the Americans in space. No matter what, everything continues. And the Europeans decided to suspend it. It's their choice. But how important is it for both us and our partners? It says that, despite the fact that our European partners have stopped cooperating with us, practically reduced it to zero, nevertheless, Russian equipment is still working at their stations, at their facilities, including, in my opinion, for the study of Mars, and so on. That is, what we did, whether or not we did it together, it is still working. So it's important to them, too. They also curtailed cooperation, but the devices were not seized, the devices are still working.

As for cooperation with other countries, with the United States, as I said, it continues, and Roscosmos is in contact with NASA. In what year, in 1975, did we have the first docking, Soyuz-19 – or what kind of Soyuz was there? "and the Apollo." And since then, cooperation began, which then resulted in the international space station. This work continues, and I repeat, we are in contact with NASA. By the way, when the Soyuz–Apollo spacecraft docked–-in my opinion, it was in 1975--there is a very interesting moment there. Maybe you know about it, and if you don't, I'll tell you. It was planned that the docking would take place over Moscow. In fact, it actually happened over the Elbe. Exactly 30 years earlier, Soviet and American troops met there, delivering the final blow to Nazi Germany. And exactly 30 years later, in 1975, Apollo and Soyuz docked just above the Elbe.

Since then, the International Space Station has been established and operating. Now there are all sorts of ideas about how it should finish the work, how, what we will have to do next. But I am sure that the work will certainly continue, including with new partners.

We have big plans with the People's Republic of China-–interesting, good and grandiose, with the BRICS countries in general: with India, with South Africa, with Brazil. This cooperation does not stop and cannot stop, because so many countries are interested in this cooperation. Moreover, we were and still are leaders in many areas. This means that we are of interest to our partners. I'm sure it will continue.

A. Eichler: I will ask a question to develop the topic of international cooperation.

Hello!

I am Artem Eichler, a second-year student of the Department of Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles, founded by Sergey Pavlovich Korolev.

I am an activist of the Youth Space Center and dream of working on a manned mission to Mars after graduating from university.

Do you think I will be able to do this? Do you plan to create such a project in Russia?

Vladimir Putin: You know, there is a man in the States where he lives, Musk, who, you can say, is delusional about Mars. Such people do not often appear in the human population–-charged with a certain idea. If it seems improbable even today, then after some time such ideas are often realized. Just as the ideas of the same Korolev, our pioneers, were implemented in their time. It seemed incredible–-some of the plans that they made, but everything came true.

The project to fly to Mars is very complex, and today it seems very difficult to implement. If you're interested, you probably know about it. The first thing that needs to be solved is the problem of a long and safe human stay in space, and not just in near space, but in deep space, because there are different amounts, degrees, and power of radiation.

Second, we need to address the issue of new ways of transmitting information. It is very important.

The third is to provide energy for future facilities, including those that humanity plans to implement in relation to Mars.

But in general, of course, this is a grandiose and interesting task. I am sure that it will attract more and more supporters.

We also have certain plans for exploring deep space–-both the Moon and Mars. Let me remind you that once we were the first to carry out an automatic landing on a planet where 400-500 degrees Celsius, but this was done. It seems incredible, but nevertheless many projects are being implemented. It seems to me that this one is finally being implemented.

In Soviet times, the song was very popular: "And on Mars there will be apple trees in bloom." I don't know about apple trees, but in general, of course, this is what humanity will strive for. It's great that you are now thinking about it and planning your participation.

Today, right now, we will talk directly about the plans for the development of Roscosmos, our space activities, and we will also talk about this, about deep space.

A. Eichler: Thank you.

Evgeny Vokhminov: I have just a question to continue the topic of Mars exploration.

I am a student of the department" Plasma power plants", I am extremely interested in this topic and, like many Baumans, I am inspired by the exploration of deep space. It seems to me that with the help of plasma propulsion systems, this will be much faster and more energy efficient.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, please tell us whether in the coming years support will be created for the development of projects on plasma engine building and [will there be] international cooperation on plasma science?

Vladimir Putin: We are certainly leaders in this area, although we could and should have done much more in practice than we have done so far. We could have done this if we had worked more purposefully on this topic.

If you are interested in this, you probably know that in principle, these ideas were born in the 60s, these are the three "K": Keldysh, Korolev and Kurchatov. They were engaged in this, and there are good developments.

Of course, when we talk about deep space, we are attractive to our potential partners, including because we have similar developments. The flow of this fuel is much, tens of times faster than that of thermal devices, any other power plants, electric motors. But this is very promising both from the point of view of movement, movement of objects, and from the point of view of energy sources for the implementation of those projects that are related to deep space. One of the most promising [directions]. Without this, deep space exploration is hardly possible, and this is our competitive advantage. We'll also talk about this today.

V. Kameneva: In continuation of the project, I would like to ask a question.

My name is Veronika, I am now a post-graduate student, head of the Space Technology department at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. I've always wanted to do space exploration since I was a child, and I can finally do it here. At the same time, I am creating a project for a small-sized Zoryanka lander, which will promptly deliver various experiments both from orbital stations and from low-Earth orbits. A Russian orbital station is currently being developed, which is very interesting from the point of view of conducting experiments in circumpolar orbits.

In this regard, the question is: do you think it is possible to fully implement student initiative projects both in the Russian space station and in Russian cosmonautics in general?

Vladimir Putin: Not only is it possible, but it is necessary. But they should certainly be competitive, they should preferably be one step ahead. We have design bureaus, design bureaus, and design bureaus, which I think are now established in more than 70 regions of the Russian Federation, 76, I think, and in more than 200 universities. These design bureaus, I don't know, maybe the rector knows, are already somewhere over 600. And through these structures, it is quite possible to offer your own developments and solutions. But we must, of course, make sure that they are competitive.

A colleague and I were just talking about navigation elements. I asked him: "What's their accuracy?" "A few dozen meters." And it would be desirable-however, for different purposes you need different devices—up to a meter. This is a very important point. And other indicators. Maybe in this case we were talking about other tasks, but I'm just giving you an example: we need all this to be competitive. Taking into account the opportunities that Bauman has, I think it is possible to achieve this competitiveness. We will do our best to ensure that your ideas are implemented in the future, and even now. There is no need to postpone it for the period when the Russian station will start working.

A. Kameneva: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: You're welcome. Thank you for the idea.

Igor Zaichkin: Vladimir Vladimirovich, to continue the topic of competitive developments.

My name is Zaichkin Ivan, I am a sixth-year student of the Department "Spacecraft and launch vehicles".

In 2017, at the Sirius Educational Center, when I was still a schoolboy, I presented you the first school satellite.

Vladimir Putin: As I remember now. (Laughter) In 2017, right?

Igor Zaichkin: Yes, 2017.

In 2018, it was sent into orbit, and the spacecraft was operating successfully.

Vladimir Putin: And he flew, didn't he? Great. I congratulate you

Igor Zaichkin: It has even burned up in the atmosphere, and it has fulfilled all its tasks. Actually, the case was not abandoned. After six years of studying at the university, I became…

Vladimir Putin: So you visited Sirius and then entered Bauman?

Igor Zaichkin: Yes, I was at Sirius twice, then I entered Bauman and continued to develop my specialty.

Vladimir Putin: Where did you study, at what school, when did you go to Sirius ?

I. Zaichkin: Lyceum "Second school".

Vladimir Putin: That's great.

I am particularly pleased that you have passed through Sirius, which I also have something to do with.

I. Zaichkin: This is a very significant place that has changed a lot in the lives of so many people. Many of us have stayed in the subject, continue to work in the industry and develop it, just like me.

I continue my development as a student. During my training, I became a developer of my own systems for eight Bauman spacecraft, which were launched by the Roscosmos State Corporation under the UniverSat program. Thanks to this, we were able not only to create something new, but also, as students, to get real practical experience in developing new hardware, which is very necessary for engineers.

Vladimir Putin: What functions do your devices perform?

Igor Zaichkin: You were told about our devices in the previous audience. Studying space weather…

Vladimir Putin: So this is exactly what you did?

Igor Zaichkin: Yes, I am a developer of communication systems for them.

Vladimir Putin: That's great.

Igor Zaichkin: But, unfortunately, the program for launching university apparatuses ends this year.

Vladimir Putin: We need to extend it.

Igor Zaichkin: Mr President, please do so.

Vladimir Putin: You were "understood," as they sometimes say in the countryside.

M. Gordin: They [student satellites] as a passing load are launched for free…

Vladimir Putin: Good. We need to extend it.

Igor Zaichkin: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Dmitry Voropanov: Mr President, good afternoon!

My name is Denis Voropanov. I am a student of the "Advanced Engineering School", studying under the network educational program "Project management of cryogenic power propulsion systems development".

In 2024, I managed to pass a competitive selection for an internship organized on the basis of TsENKI JSC at the Yuzhny Space Center at the Baikonur cosmodrome. This experience has taught me the main thing: even the most difficult and ambitious tasks can be achieved when specialists from different fields combine their knowledge and enthusiasm.

I have a question for you: do you think it is possible to introduce grant support for internships at key cosmodromes in the country, such as Baikonur and Vostochny, in order to increase the interest of young specialists in the rocket and space field?

Vladimir Putin: I do not know through what channels, but since you did an internship, [this] is supported–-both by Roscosmos and other institutions.

Of course, it is absolutely necessary to do this in order to maintain interest, so that people who have a future in the profession, of course, are determined more precisely with what they are going to do and would like to do. Of course, we need to do this.

I will now talk to the head of Roscosmos, who was born in Baikonur, by the way, he told me recently. Therefore, both on the East, and here, and I think that on some-why not? At the Ministry of Defense, too, it may well pass. Why not? Sure. Moreover, you have dual-use topics very often, and almost everywhere dual-use. So why not? Definitely need to do. I'll definitely talk to my colleagues right now, okay?

And the source of funding–-in this case, this is not a problem, because it is not some kind of project.… this isn't a trip to Mars.

N. Korshakov: My name is Nikita Korshakov.

I will move a little away from the subject of space. I am a post-graduate student at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and I am also a junior researcher at the Dukhov VNIIA.

At our new campus, in the Quantum Park cluster, I develop superconducting quantum processors for next-generation supercomputers and data centers.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I was told.

Nikolai Korshakov: Yes, we had an exhibition [at the exhibition presented].

Why do we need this at all? The use of quantum technologies will allow our country to develop faster and more efficiently in various fields of science and technology, as well as in space projects in principle. Thus, we will be able to strengthen our country's position on the world stage in the areas of high technologies and innovations.

What do you think are our prospects for the development and implementation of quantum technologies in the country? And also what is necessary, what steps should we take to achieve technological leadership in this matter?

Vladimir Putin:What steps need to be taken--you know better.

And how much it is necessary is obvious, just now the rector was talking about it, and you just said it yourself.

In principle, we have already started this research and development quite a long time ago, and we are applying it now – (addressing A. Fursenko) Yes, Andrey Aleksandrovich? – we are already applying them in many industries. Therefore, I think that the advantages that quantum technologies provide, without any doubt, as well as artificial intelligence, we should put much more broadly at the service of achieving the final results in technological development. We will definitely do it, there is no doubt about it.

Russian Railways is currently active here…

N. Korshakov: Russian Railways, Rosatom, Sber.

Vladimir Putin: These are still large enterprises with a good financial base. But the state will also support you. We will work, no doubt. Good luck to you.

Mikhail Gordin: Mr President, we have a tradition. Dmitry Andreevich Sulegin is the vice-rector for educational work, and he will tell you about it.

Dmitry Sulegin: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

We, Baumans, love and honor values and traditions very much and always try to pass them on from generation to generation, because we believe that without them it is impossible to raise a real engineer.

Let me briefly tell you about one of our traditions. Students of our university, when defending their diploma, wear a white helmet to confirm their status, they are proud of being awarded the qualification of an engineer. And after that, they collect signatures from their close people, favorite teachers, mentors who accompanied them in the process of student life.

Our students and I have also prepared for you such a small gift from our university – our Bauman helmet with the signatures of the best students of our university. We'll give it to you as a gift.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, we have a request: could you leave us a hard hat as a keepsake? It will take its rightful place in memory of your visit.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. [My Emphasis]

If you recall, in the epic film 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the main characters was named Dr. Dave Bowman. Bauman is very similar, yes. Of course, the real historical Bauman was no scientist but a Bolshevik activist with a florid history, and it was for the latter reason the university bears his name. I don’t know if Arthur C. Clarke knew of that connection or not, but I don’t think I’m the only one to have seen that possibility.

Now, we get to read about the meeting on the development of space activities Putin mentioned when talking to the Baumanites. Unfortunately, we don’t get to read the entire discussion as the transcript is confined to Putin’s opening remarks:

Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues,

Our focus today is on the long–term development of the domestic space industry. Addressing this topic is always a special responsibility to the pioneers of space, to those people who set the highest bar for us.

Just recently, on April 12, we all celebrated Cosmonautics Day together, the day when the first person flew into space, and this person was our compatriot Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin. The memory of his feat still unites all generations of our citizens.

I would like to once again congratulate industry veterans, cosmonauts, and military personnel of the Russian Aerospace Forces on this past holiday, and thank all employees of state–owned enterprises and private space companies–-and we also have such employees, thank God--as well as employees of scientific organizations and universities, and, of course, for their hard work., the team of the legendary Baumanka, where our meeting is taking place. Among its graduates are a whole galaxy of famous cosmonauts, outstanding scientists and designers.

The best traditions of personnel training are developing and multiplying these days, and, as we have seen, in the new campus as well. It creates modern conditions for obtaining the required competencies. Of course, we will implement such projects in other cities of Russia as well.

You may have noticed that a short conversation took place just now during our acquaintance with Baumanka and with students and postgraduates of the university.

I ask the Government and Roscosmos to carefully work out the proposals made during the conversation. The guys have a lot of good ideas, they understand the challenges facing the industry, and they believe that the contribution of young people to the implementation of the space program should increase--it's hard not to agree with this. I ask you to support these ideas once again.

In this regard, I would like to remind you… I have already mentioned cosmonauts, and a whole galaxy of cosmonauts came out of Baumanka there, and I think the whole crew was formed at one time from graduates and researchers–-let me remind you that Korolev was also a student of Baumanka. Here he not only studied but also designed a model of a light-engine aircraft as a thesis, and then, as you know, three decades later, together with a team of like-minded people, he ensured the primacy of our country in space. So the traditions here are serious and fundamental.

Today, our plans in this crucial area should correspond to the historical status of our country as an advanced space power. It is absolutely necessary to build up the potential of the national space program so that it is the flagship, one of the key driving forces of our entire national development, technological renewal of the economy and improvement of the quality of life of citizens.

It is precisely in this logic that in October 2023 we spoke about the need to develop a comprehensive, systematic national project in the field of space activities. It is designed to cover all the most important areas for Russia: from the creation of its own multi-satellite groups for various purposes and a national orbital station to deep space exploration programs.

In March, at a meeting with the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Vladimirovich Bakanov–-who is also here and will speak--we agreed that the new national project will be approved in the very near future, so that as part of the preparation of the federal budget for 2026 and for subsequent years, until 2028, it will be financed in the nearest future in full. Today I would like to tell you about the progress of work on this key element of the national project.

Dear colleagues, what fundamental issues do I consider it necessary to pay special attention to? First of all, the national project should clearly and concretely formulate both the immediate and long-term goals of the Russian space program. This will make it possible to set subject tasks for science, the education and training system right now without delay–-and these are, I emphasize, key components of the implementation of all technology leadership projects.

Of course, you need to identify clear investment guidelines for technology companies. So, together with business, an entire industry of space communication services, navigation, and satellite data acquisition and analysis will have to be formed on the horizon of 2030. Of course, in order to guarantee the quality and availability of such products and services, we must have our own advanced competitive solutions.

In this regard, I believe that it is absolutely necessary to provide support to domestic universities, research organizations, design bureaus, and private companies, which I have already mentioned and which are working on platform solutions for multi-satellite groups, within the framework of a relevant national project. This includes the development of methods for mathematical modeling and data processing, instrument and component bases, optical equipment, as well as technologies aimed at significantly reducing the cost of space launches.

Another important topic is the domestic nuclear space power industry. As part of the national project, it is necessary to ensure a qualitative step forward in its implementation. I am referring to the creation of electric jet engines and other systems necessary for autonomous operation on various space objects.

At first glance, what I am talking about now seems to be the tasks of the future, but in fact, all the leading space powers are actively working on this topic in practice. I will add that the nuclear power plants created by Soviet scientists were already operated in orbit. And at the present stage, taking into account advanced materials and new technologies, qualitatively different, fundamentally new great opportunities are opening up for the implementation of such complex projects.

Russia's undisputed leadership in this area needs to be further developed. In this regard, I propose to discuss today the main parameters of work on the creation of a space system with a special power plant and the so–called space tug—a transport and energy module based on a nuclear power propulsion system. These are large-scale programs that are being implemented with the leading participation of Roscosmos, Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute.

In this regard, I would like to add that the most important direction of the national project for the development of space activities should be fundamental research of deep space. Russia has serious groundwork here, and significant programs have been launched. First of all, it is the Spektr-RG orbital observatory: a real space laboratory that makes a detailed map of the universe.

Let me also remind you that Russia has unique scientific schools in the field of studying the Moon, Mars and other planets. So, for example, the domestic technology of landing autonomous spacecraft–-I mentioned today and at the meeting with the guys–-on the surface of Venus has not yet been able to recreate or copy anywhere in the world. How many there, I remembered, 500 degrees, in my opinion, yes?

Gennady Krasnikov: President of the Russian Academy Sciences: 450 [degrees] and 70 atmospheres.

Vladimir Putin: We round it up to 500. Anyway, no one has replicated it yet.

I also ask the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gennady Yakovlevich Krasnikov, to explain in detail what research areas are planned to be included in the national project, what tasks we need to set for ourselves, and what additional solutions are needed for their successful implementation.

Dear colleagues, we are well aware that any space projects are always complex and require significant financial investments, but they are vital for Russia as a large and sovereign country if we want to remain so and continue to develop in this capacity.

I would like to emphasize that it is important to identify clear and stable sources of funding for the domestic space program, because what we do in the space sector in the coming years will determine our development for decades to come. At the same time, the scientific knowledge and technologies obtained must necessarily be converted into advanced developments to achieve national goals, to develop the Arctic, and to build up the country's defense capability.

In general, the national space project is designed to become one of the end-to-end, integral for all national projects of technological leadership, to accelerate the practical implementation of many fundamentally new technical solutions, including information transfer using quantum and photonic technologies, to promote the development of robotics, advanced materials, microelectronics, bio - and medical technologies in our country, to accelerate the creation and implementation of deployment of unmanned systems.

I would also like to add that Russia's technological achievements, especially in the field of deep space exploration, can become a very significant contribution to international programs, and we are open to such cooperation and are ready to implement joint projects. We will definitely discuss the formats of interaction with our partners from other space powers.

Let's move on to the discussion. Please give the floor to Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Vladimirovich Bakanov. [My Emphasis]

As many kids coming of age during the 1960s, I was a Spacenik, experimented with model rockets and closely followed NASA’s activities. Before I saw the movie. I read Clarke’s 2001. And of course, I was a Trekkie and immediate fan of Star Wars. I was fascinated by Isaac Asimov because he was such a prolific writer and only later became a fan of his SciFi works. When the ISS’s first components were launched into orbit, I wanted to build a model of the completed station but lacked the money. In the 1990s, I became involved with designing food support systems for long distance space flight that assumed the radiation issue would be resolved. I learned more about how vastly different closed versus open systems were in reality and the very real problems related to long-term life support. I only learned about the huge issue related to radiation protection in the early 2000s that still remains the main roadblock today—we can do the moon and near-Earth asteroids, but not the objects beyond. IMO, propulsion issues will be solved well before the radiation issues; however, even non-organic materials are subject to grave damage from radiation meaning that even humanoid robots will find space travel dangerous. Robotic Lunar mining operations would also need to pay close attention to Space Weather. It’s hoped materials science can eventually create a solution.

As Putin mentioned, Roscosmos and NASA still talk and most recently their discussions have been about how to deorbit the ISS so it causes negligible terrestrial damage. As those following the topic know, China is the most active nation with a manned space program, although its timeline for establishing the International Lunar Research Station continues to be rolled back from the initial goal of 2030 to 2035. This very current—published today—op/ed article in Space*News details some of the issues and domestic US politics in play, with the scientific issues being shared challenges, although both Russia and China are better positioned than the USA.

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