Statement:
In South Africa scientists published less significant scientific articles than in Russia

In the Citatable Scientific Publications rating South Africa holds position #31 ²⁰²¹ out of 206 and Russia is #8 out of 206 ²⁰²¹.
Position of South Africa is worse than position of Russia.

Referencies:

1. Citatable Scientific Publications ²⁰²¹ by Scimago Journal & Country Rank

   The countries in the rating sorted by 'Citable documents' in descending order.

   Russia	'Citable documents' value is	119,249
   South Africa	'Citable documents' value is	30,360