---
title: "Russian Cosmonauts Are Fighting a Robot on Twitter"
description: "There's Twitter drama unfolding at the Russian space agency Roscosmos, where former cosmonauts attacked the agency director who responded as a robot."
date: "2020-10-12"
modified: "2020-10-12"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russian-cosmonauts-fighting-robot-twitter"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "fedor"
  - "Roscosmos"
  - "Russia"
  - "the digest"
  - "twitter"
---

# Russian Cosmonauts Are Fighting a Robot on Twitter

![There's Twitter drama unfolding at the Russian space agency Roscosmos, where former cosmonauts attacked the agency director who responded as a robot.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/russian-cosmonauts-fighting-robot-twitter.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Futurism\</em\>*

## Twitter Fight

Things are getting heated on Twitter among disgruntled cosmonauts, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and an anthropomorphic space robot.

If you're confused, don't worry. So is everyone else. But what we do know is that the Twitter spat seems to stem from longtime criticism against current Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin that finally boiled over, [as *Ars Technica* reports](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/10/cosmonauts-mock-russias-space-leader-on-twitter-a-robot-calls-them-drunks/>). After taking some hits, Rogozin seems to have hijacked the account of the [Russian space robot Fedor](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-russia-humanoid-robot-fedor-electric-drill-space>) to fire back.

## Deep Resentment

Former cosmonaut and current Russian politician Maxim Suraev has long criticized Rogozin, *Ars* reports, but recently became more aggressive on Twitter, especially to [mock Roscosmos](<https://twitter.com/Msuraev/status/1313945340039528448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313945340039528448%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com%2Fscience%2F2020%2F10%2Fcosmonauts-mock-russias-space-leader-on-twitter-a-robot-calls-them-drunks%2F>) for [falling behind SpaceX](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-russia-forced-cosmonauts-spacex>).

https://twitter.com/Msuraev/status/1313945340039528448

Suraev also [tweeted out an apology](<https://twitter.com/Msuraev/status/1313539616385961985>) to Yuri Gargarin, the first man to reach space, which was a thinly-veiled jab at Rogozin for letting Roscomos fall behind.

https://twitter.com/Msuraev/status/1313539616385961985

Rogozin doesn't have Twitter anymore — *Ars* speculates that senior officials told him to delete his notoriously spicy account, so he found a new way to respond.

## Enter Fedor

Fedor is a robot that Russia sent to the International Space Station late last year. The robot can use power tools and, inexplicably, [fire a pistol](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-sent-humanoid-robot-space-station>). It can also sling some mean insults — the [account broke character](<https://twitter.com/SoberAlmost/status/1315279957300518914>) to accuse Suraev and fellow cosmonaut-turned-official Aleksandr Samikutyayev of getting drunk and slacking off on the job.

https://twitter.com/SoberAlmost/status/1315279957300518914

Fedor's account was deleted over the weekend, but the attacks matched the former tone of Rogozin's account, *Ars* reports. With Rogozin deplatformed once more, it will be interesting to see where the spat goes from here.

**READ MORE:** [Cosmonauts mock Russia’s space leader on Twitter, a robot calls them drunks](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/10/cosmonauts-mock-russias-space-leader-on-twitter-a-robot-calls-them-drunks/>) \[*Ars Technica*\]

**More on Roscosmos:** *[Expert: SpaceX Just Made Russia’s Space Program “Null and Void”](<https://futurism.com/spacex-roscosmos-space-program-null-void>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)