Russian Organizations Allocate 4.5 Trillion Rubles to Innovation Spending in 2025
Large and medium-sized Russian organizations spent 4.5 trillion rubles on innovation in 2025. Almost half of the total came from the services sector, while information technology and telecommunications accounted for 860.9 billion rubles.
The calculations were released by the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge at HSE University using data from Rosstat. Innovation intensity, measured as the ratio of spending to shipped output, reached 2.7 percent, exceeding the corresponding figures for Finland, France, and Austria cited in the study.
The entire services sector allocated roughly 2.3 trillion rubles to innovation. Of this amount, 882.7 billion rubles went to scientific research and development, and 860.9 billion rubles were directed specifically at telecommunications and information technologies.
Inside an IT Company
IR Director Vladislav Anshakov of Astra Group described how such investments materialize in practice. The primary expense is the creation and enhancement of products; the group maintains a portfolio of more than 37 solutions and services, including Astra Linux, database management systems, and backup solutions.
The second major area covers equipment for cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Anshakov noted that computing capacity represents one of the most capital-intensive investments in the sector.
The third direction involves acquiring ready-made technologies and development teams. In 2026 the group obtained exclusive rights to the intellectual property of the Perseus DBMS and integrated around 50 of its developers. It also purchased a 26 percent stake in AI developer AIB.
Nevertheless, such large-scale investment remains inaccessible to many organizations. According to HSE University data, more than one-third of companies view the high cost of innovations and the lack of their own funds as serious constraints.
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