NO. Russia is not playing games. Most of Chinese rip off was planned in the 90s when USSR was dead and many scientists were jobless. China took the advantage of Commie-commie relationship and started to utilize Russia's jobless engineers and scientists. This was like a lottery for the Chinese industries as the information and technology coupled with a dedicated focus in industrial manufacturing, caused the Chinese defense industry to rise like a rocket.
Russia is a country that has to see its financial benefits as well. USSR is no more and Russia has to ensure that its weapons supplies don't run dry. In order to sustain their enormous defense industry which forms the core of their economy other than oil and gas, they have to either export en masse or their local forces should be able to afford keeping the factories running. The reason why Russian industries are in a crisis at the moment is because a lot of Russian engineers went for greener pastures compared to Soviet era when the USSR collapsed. Their research and knowledge was welcomed by USA and other western countries that massively benefited from this additional flow of research and talent. The same was with China which acquired most of Russian know how including several industrial secrets that the scientists revealed for keeping their bank balance to reasonable levels.
By the time Russia re-emerged from the ashes, it was too late. China, unhindered by any collapse, had blasted through the block of lack of technical know how due to Russian engineering and hence gained an edge in manufacturing. What Russians used as the basis of their research (initial prop planes during WW2) and later developed their peak fighters and ships, became the basic foundation of further research for Chinese, thus causing their sudden and massive rise in military development.
I would blame our fellow Indian mentality and that of the GOI that we are behind in terms of industrial production of military weapons. We are incapable of designing anything on time and fast because of the fact that we cannot run like Chinese state capitalism that is possible due to communist regime. Despite the presence of a so-called well oiled democracy that the west and UPA's masters keep praising, the GOI took ZERO INITIATIVE TO DO what is to be done to arms industries for efficiency in a democracy; PRIVATIZE THEM.
Paranoid that the privates will take it big and overshadow the government babus and lazy rumps, the GOI ensured that no one, not even the rapidly evolving TATA and others, could get a significant share of defense pie. So blame the GOI for its literally lack-lustre and anti-national weakling policies that screwed our military capabilities' image and made us a mockery in the list of world powers. And it still continues to do so.
Blaming the Russians will get you nowhere. They are still the only country that gives us access to top most military technology, which NO Western country would be willing to give anyday, no matter what money we offer them. Russians also have effectively not sold their weapons to Pakistanis directly unlike West. THAT is one big political gesture you need to see, even if it is to retain our huge client base for their industries. And for that, we must really appreciate them.
Our Russian made planes are far more advanced than what's exported to China. It is true that Russia has become slightly business-minded as compared to Soviet days, but we have to see its position as well. They are not Soviet Union anymore. Their population is shrinking by the day. Their supply chains are drying up and their resources that lie below the massive Siberian lands, need to be properly utilized. With corruption that would make India look like Finland (the least corrupt country on earth by crime and corruption index), Russia needs to get out of a system rot that is taking place in its structure and society.
IT has come a long way, but a lot more needs to be done. To retain its talent and to keep its industries chugging, they need cash in terms of weapons research and designing. Chinese who worked hard for their economy (which is 3 times ours) have a LOT OF CASH compared to our economy which we blew it due to corrupt, spineless government. So.... what do you expect them to do? Cry and wait for our turtle pace dodos to catch upto China to buy their weapons or researches?
We claim so much TOT from others and yet NOTHING IS DONE to use it. DRDO and ADA announce massive projects to gain much publicity. AURA, AMCA, RUSTOM, ASTRA,.... none of them have come out in their real form except a de-scaled version of Rustom that made a few public appearances. Chinese on the other hand effectively used whatever they got on their hands and now have become major arms exporters (even if it is to terrorist states).
IF US WAS IN RUSSIA'S PLACE, WE'D HAVE BEEN IN PAKISTAN'S PLACE TODAY.
