Russia will build a Technology Center for Leadership and Advanced Development in Cuba

Russia will build a Technology Center for Leadership and Advanced Development sponsored by the government of St. Petersburg.

The news was reported following the visit to the island by a delegation from Saint Petersburg, led by Yulia Smirnova, president of the Committee on Informatization and Communications, as stated in a Facebook post by the Russian Embassy in Cuba.

The delegation participated in the SIGESTIC’25 exhibition, dedicated to information technology management systems.

During the meeting, they discussed the joint project for the creation of a Technological Center for Leadership and Advanced Development in Cuba.

"The delegation from St. Petersburg detailed the concept of the Center, its potential for the development of digital sovereignty, and the training of highly qualified IT specialists," they explained.

The delegation also met with Cuba's Minister of Communications, Mayra Arevic Marín; the Minister of Higher Education, Walter Baluja García; and the management of the pharmaceutical holding BioCubaFarma and the company ETI, which belongs to this business group.

"The delegation also visited the municipality of Cárdenas in the province of Matanzas, the local Technopark, as well as the Technological University of Havana (CUJAE) and two schools in the capital, to which St. Petersburg had previously provided computer equipment and interactive whiteboards," they specified.

Then, at the Russian embassy, the delegation from Saint Petersburg was received by Chargé d'Affaires Sergey Parkhomenko and also met with representatives from Cinesoft, a company that develops digital platforms and multimedia content.

"The visit laid the groundwork for long-term collaboration between Saint Petersburg and Cuba in the fields of information technology, education, and creative industries," the report concludes

Cuba, the Russian Silicon Valley

In July, the Cuban government enthusiastically announced the creation of Cayo Digital, an ambitious Russian technological project aimed at transforming the Isle of Youth into a tropical "Silicon Valley."

Presented by official media such as Cubadebate and fueled by the Russian propaganda apparatus, Cayo Digital will, according to its promoters, be a tech cluster with over 15,000 residents, including 12,000 specialists and 3,000 students dedicated to the localization of the production of equipment and software better suited to the realities and needs of the region.

Its implementation, however, seems unfeasible in the Cuban context since it "involves the construction or rehabilitation of infrastructure necessary for the life and work of its inhabitants: offices, laboratories, industrial plants, residences, stores, a shopping center, and sports, cultural, and recreational facilities. Additionally, the 'cluster' would include daycares, schools, and university branches," the news portal detailed.

The authors of the project emphasized that "it is important to ensure high-quality communication routes and services such as gas, water, electricity, sewage, and waste collection," which, paradoxically, do not function in the Caribbean nation.

The stated objective of the project is to provide ICT solutions from the island to the Latin American continent.

However, some analysts suggest that behind the rhetoric of development and modernization, the plan promoted by Russia appears to be designed less to benefit Cubans and more to allow the Kremlin to consolidate its geopolitical and digital presence in Latin America.

The information indicates that the project's goal is to "enhance the international expansion" of the Russian information and communication technology sector.

Alexander Volkov, director of GenIT— a Russian company leading the project— stated that there is "great demand in Latin America and the Caribbean for equipment and solutions in the information and communication technology sector from Russia."

Cuba is not only a historical ally of the Kremlin; it is also the perfect blind spot for evading international restrictions, camouflaging business identities, and presenting Russian products under Latin American brands.

Although the project spokespeople emphasize the importance of "sovereign IT infrastructure," Russia's track record in cybersecurity points in a different direction.

Independent organizations have reported that many of these Russian solutions have been used for cyber espionage, mass surveillance, and political control.

Frequently asked questions about the Russian Technological Center in Cuba and bilateral relations