Russian President Vladimir Putin has compared Elon Musk to Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev, the man behind the USSR’s earliest and most significant space achievements, including the world’s first crewed spaceflight. During a visit to Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Putin praised Musk’s space ambitions, talking about his Mars-focused vision and comparing it to the pioneering spirit of Korolev. “You know, there's a man — he lives in the States — Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars,” Putin told students, according to The Moscow Times. Putin continued his praise, citing the rarity of individuals with such visionary drive. “These are the kind of people who don't often appear in the human population, charged up with a certain idea,” he said as per The Moscow Times. “If it seems incredible even today, such ideas often come to fruition after a while. Just like the ideas of Korolev, our pioneers, came about in due time,” he added. According to Reuters, the Russian president also remarked, “Such people rarely appear in the human population, charged with a certain idea. Even though it may seem incredible to me today, after a time such ideas are often realised.” Korolev and Musk Sergei Korolev is credited as the chief architect of the Soviet space programme. Under his leadership, the USSR launched Sputnik —the first satellite— in 1957 and sent Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961, marking the dawn of human spaceflight. Musk, as the founder and CEO of SpaceX, is widely known for reigniting the world’s interest in deep space travel and making space launches more cost-effective. He has often spoken about colonising Mars, an ambition that has drawn both admiration and skepticism. Putin’s remarks come at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and follow recent criticism by Musk of Ukraine, which continues to resist Russian military advances that began in 2022. Musk, who also runs Tesla and controls the Starlink satellite internet network via SpaceX, has taken controversial stances in the ongoing war. He accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March of pushing for a “forever war”, and earlier claimed Kyiv had gone “too far". (With inputs from Reuters and The Moscow Times)
