Moscow, April 17: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday likened Elon Musk to Sergei Korolev, the legendary Soviet engineer who led the USSR’s early space triumphs, including Yuri Gagarin’s historic 1961 spaceflight.
Speaking to students during a discussion on Russia’s space ambitions, Putin said, “You know, there’s a person who lives in the States, you could say that he’s absolutely crazy about Mars,” according to a report by state news agency TASS.
He went on to compare Musk to Korolev, noting that individuals with such relentless dedication to an idea are rare. “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,” TASS quoted him as saying.
Putin has previously described Musk, the founder of SpaceX and a top advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, as “an outstanding person.”
Musk has increasingly drawn attention for his outspoken views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, often echoing positions seen as favorable to the Kremlin. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, launching a full-scale war that continues to this day.
