Russia must move beyond its "fatal" dependence on oil exports and reorient its economy around high-tech and innovation, President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
"Our post-crisis economy should be based on knowledge and innovative technologies, not on Russia's potential in raw materials, no matter how endless they are," Medvedev said.
Speaking at a nanotechnology forum in Moscow, Medvedev said the global economic crisis had been a "huge stimulus" for reforming Russia's economy and argued that the nascent recovery must not be allowed to end the process.
"We must not proceed along the familiar scenario: the global economy begins to grow, oil prices rise, export potential rises, we don't need any technology and we can continue to export energy resources," he said.
"This scenario would be fatal for our country and our economy," Medvedev said in the keynote speech at the nanotechnology forum.
Russia enjoyed strong growth in the years leading up to the economic crisis, but it was largely driven by high prices for such commodities as oil, gas and metals, which the country has in abundance.
This year Russia's economy is expected to contract by around 8% after oil prices plunged amid the global crisis.
Critics of Medvedev's predecessor, former president Vladimir Putin, say he missed the opportunity to carry out structural reforms when Russia's coffers were flush with oil revenues.
Medvedev, who maintains a blog and solicits feedback from citizens via the Internet, has made technology one of the themes of his presidency.
Tuesday's forum was organized by Rosnano, a state-owned company that was founded in 2007 with a budget of $5 billion and a mandate to turn Russia into a leading force on the global nanotechnology market.