The clock was ticking – and Big Pharma needed lots of money in order to expedite the creation of a miracle drug. In the United States, the Trump administration launched Operation Warp Speed, a lavishly funded program that aimed to accelerate the development and distribution of coronavirus elixirs.

At the same time, the Russian government poured resources into developing its own vaccine. Funding for the public health initiative came from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund. In June 2020, RDIF announced a joint venture with R-Pharm, one of Russia's largest pharmaceutical firms. The duo would work together to produce and distribute a vaccine developed by the Russian health ministry's Gamaleya Center.

The health ministry approved the vaccine after less than two months of testing, making Sputnik V the world's first registered COVID shot. The drug's catchy name was the brainchild of RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (Class of 2009). The Soros Foundation spotted Dmitriev's potential at an early age, and awarded him a scholarship to study at Stanford University and later Harvard Business School. He worked for Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company before taking the reins at RDIF in 2011.