I’d say certain types yes, others no. Anything that cannot be use to make money isn’t going to get much investment from private capital. I think this is why a strong university system is important.

I am going to say no. If it were then why do organisations only do R&D in countries that give tax breaks for R&D

Depends if it can make money. If it's computer science for example, absolutely. The USSR was decades behind the west in that aspect. In terms of climate change science (and efforts related towards it, like green energy), no.

That's why the government is important, to give grants and give monetary incentives to scientists and companies to advance interests and the human race. Otherwise corporations would inadvertently poison us all and cook the planet (research on toxicity of substances and climate change respectively)

Communism hampers non-government affiliated research (like companies). If there's zero incentive to improve methods, manufacturing or research no one will. There were even negative incentives, you were given less resources for production if you became more efficient, increasing stress, work and there's less slack. Accordingly most consumer products were less advanced and worse overall.