Russia could "easily" say: "well, now that this guy has proved that vertical landing is possible, we're going to start doing the same thing and compete on price." They would have the "second mover advantage".
What's stopping them from going this route, other than the embarassement that they were basically bested by one guy?
Russia's space industry has essentially relied on tech developed during Soviet Union. Try to think of any technology that's not encryption related that was developed in Russia in last 20 years.
> Try to think of any technology that's not encryption related that was developed in Russia in last 20 years.
Yandex.
The same issues, that preventing them from fullfilling their promise to open Moon base in 2015.
They're behind in technology, in science, in work culture and they're plagued with corruption.