The spending on the Sfera project in 2023 will be increased by 10.7 billion rubles (168.8 million dollars), to 17.7 billion rubles (279.2 million dollars). In 2024, the funding will amount to 18.6 billion rubles (293.4 million dollars). In 2025, 8.5 billion rubles (134 million dollars) were allocated for these purposes. Additional funds will be used as Russia’s asset contribution to the authorized capital of Roskosmos to create a “space complex of the highly elliptical system providing broadband satellite Internet access in remote areas”.

According to Nikolay Pozhidaev, president of Sitronics Group, the increase in funding for Sfera may be associated with the fact that foreign companies that previously provided satellite data are disconnecting Russian users from their services.

At the same time, the spending on GLONASS is expected to be cut in 2023. In 2022, the amount of funding for the development and support of the system is 1.9 billion rubles (30 million dollars) more than was planned a year earlier. In 2023, project financing will be cut by 394.2 million rubles (6.2 million dollars), and in 2024 ― by 650.7 million rubles (10.3 million dollars).

The financing was reduced due to “the impossibility of fulfilling certain government contracts in the context of external sanction restrictions”. As a result, almost 24.7 billion rubles (389.6 million dollars) were allocated for the development of GLONASS in 2023, about 24.5 billion (386.4 million dollars) - in 2024, and 28.2 billion (444.8 million dollars) - in 2025.

Original in Russian

Documents on the topic:

Draft law On federal budget for the year 2023 and for the planning period of the years 2024 and 2025.