Putin Heaps Praise On Musk, Compares Him To Soviet Union Space Hero

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lauded SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, likening him to Sergei Korolev, a pioneering Soviet engineer who kick-started Soviet Union's early space adventure. The Russian leader was speaking to university students about the country's space policy when he mentioned the American billionaire and his achievements in the field of space.

"You know, there's a man, he lives in the States, Musk, who, one might say, raves about Mars. It is not often that such people, charged with a certain idea, appear in the human population," said Mr Putin, according to state-owned news agency TASS.

"If even it seems incredible to me today, after a while, such ideas often materialise. Just like in their time the ideas of Korolev, our other pioneers, got to materialise. They seemed incredible - some of the plans they made. But they all materialised," he added.