A new Russian humanoid robot just faced President Vladimir Putin in a televised encounter made even more charged by a recent onstage flop in Moscow.
Russia’s largest bank, Sber (formerly Sberbank), unveiled the bipedal humanoid named Green at its AI Journey 2025 conference in Moscow, held from Nov. 19-21. The humanoid spent almost two minutes interacting with Putin. Calling itself Russia’s first truly AI-powered humanlike robot, Green danced to the electronic pop song “Солнце встало высоко (The Sun Rose High).”
The sleek, metallic robot towered over a visibly amused Putin, whose height is reported as 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches). Putin’s staff, and the robot’s handlers, appeared nervous as the Kremlin leader approached the humanoid. The proportions suggest Green is at least 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches), which makes it one of today’s tallest humanoids.
“My name is Green. I am the first Russian humanoid robot with embedded artificial intelligence,” the robot said. “This means I am not just a program on a screen, but a physical embodiment of technology.”
The performance, which Putin called “very beautiful,” came a week after another Russian general-purpose humanoid, named AIDOL, went viral for its sloppy debut in front of a Moscow audience. With the theme from Rocky blaring, the full-sized humanoid attempted a wave and a few steps forward before it suddenly collapsed face-first. Parts of its frame snapped off as engineers hid it from view.
According to Russian state media, Green was developed and assembled entirely in-house by Sber’s Robotics Center, the financial institution’s hardware R&D wing. The project was first announced in late 2023, when more than 150 engineers and specialists were already working on it. It’s being developed as a universal assistant for people.
The robot’s intelligence is powered by GigaChat AI, Sber’s self-developed large language model (LLM). Sber says Green can process natural language, make quick decisions, and learn from interactions in real time.
Green boasts a reported 40 degrees of freedom (DoF). It has 10 visual sensors to process information about its surroundings, while inertial measurement units and force sensors in its joints help it maintain balance and precision. Its outer shell appears to be metal or plastic composite with Sber’s logo and GigaChat emblazoned on its chest.
The humanoid’s developers claim it navigate through unfamiliar environments autonomously. However, an engineer could be seen controlling the robot remotely after the meeting with Putin.
Green’s AI is also trained for object manipulation. With its five-fingered end effectors, Sber reports that the humanoid can successfully execute pick and sorting tasks in unstructured settings. The company also claims it can learn on the job and correct its own errors.
Sber announced a pilot program to integrate Green into its business processes. Possible near-term roles include assisting with logistics, acting as an interactive greeter or info-kiosk, or event marketing. Commercialization does not appear imminent.