Cost of Russia’s Baikonur lease stays at $115 million for over 30 years
Russia has been paying a fixed amount to lease the Baikonur Cosmodrome since 1994, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development.
The ministry said Russia pays $115 million a year (51.6 billion tenge) to use Baikonur. Because the payment is denominated in U.S. dollars, the amount received by Kazakhstan’s national budget in tenge rises or falls with exchange-rate fluctuations.
For example, in 1994, $115 million was equivalent to about 5 billion tenge. Today, the same $115 million is worth more than 52 billion tenge. In other words, the lease generates roughly 10 times more revenue in local-currency terms than it did in 1994.
Inflation has eroded the lease’s value
Inflation has also significantly reduced the purchasing power of the lease payment. The dollar has lost more than half of its value over the past three decades. Adjusted for cumulative inflation, today’s $115 million has the purchasing power of roughly $50 million in 1994.
The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development said there are no plans to revise the lease payment or the terms of the agreement.
«There are no provisions for adjusting the lease cost or recalculating it as individual facilities and land plots within the spaceport are gradually removed from the Russian lease,» the ministry said.
Baikonur, the world’s largest space center, was established by the Soviet Union in 1957. Situated in Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda region, it houses 15 launch facilities for various carrier rockets.
How Russia’s Baikonur lease was established
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Baikonur Cosmodrome came under Kazakhstan’s jurisdiction. At the time, however, the newly independent republic lacked the financial resources, specialists and infrastructure needed to maintain the space complex on its own.
In 1994, Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed an agreement establishing the fundamental principles and terms for Russia’s use of Baikonur. The lease was initially concluded for 20 years, with an option to extend it.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Astana in 2004, the two countries extended the lease until 2050.
Kursiv.media previously reported that Russia is expected to pay Kazakhstan 55.2 billion tenge in 2027 for the lease of the Baikonur complex. The figure is based on the projected exchange rate used in Kazakhstan’s draft 2027 budget.
