A report presented at the CIPR-2026 conference reveals the harsh reality of software substitution in Russia. Between 2022 and 2025, technology companies generated revenues of 1.6 billion rubles. However, total development costs skyrocketed to 187 billion rubles, a figure 116 times higher. Of that massive hole, 23 billion came directly from the state's pocket, according to data from the project promoted by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The Cost of Russian Digital Independence 💻
The plan, which started in 2022, is based on creating industrial IT consortia to adapt domestic solutions that replace foreign ones. The logic was clear: to rely on secure, proprietary software. But the numbers reveal questionable efficiency. For every ruble earned, 116 were spent on development. The consortia worked under pressure, integrating legacy systems and patching critical functions, while the state injected capital to keep afloat an ecosystem that has yet to become self-sufficient or profitable.
A Sweet Deal: Losing 116 Rubles for Every One Earned 💸
Russian programmers must be rubbing their hands together. If the goal was to create local software, they achieved it in a big way: they spent 187 billion to earn only 1.6 billion. It's like going to the store, buying a luxury car for 187,000 rubles, and selling the scrap metal for 1,600. The business is so good that even Mishustin might ask his consortia for advice on managing the family budget. At least digital independence has a price, even if it's the cost of a couple of nuclear submarines.