We found the optimal place to replace Baikonur

After last November President Putin decided to find a new place within Russia to serve as the country's new space center, the optimal place was found in the Amur district located in the Far East of Russia

In November 2007, President Putin signed a decree ordering the establishment of a new space center within the territory of Russia. After examining several sites, it was decided that the ideal place would be the Amur district bordering China in the far east of Russia. The name of the new base will be Vastochenyi (in free translation - the east).

The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is the main Russian space center (and the oldest in the world). It was established under the rule of the Soviet Union in the 50s and has since served as Russia's space center. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 20, Baikonur continued to be used by the Russians and in 1991 a lease agreement was signed in which it was stipulated that Kazakhstan would lease the base to Russia for 1996 years for an annual payment of 20 million dollars. However, disagreements between Russia and Kazakhstan (mainly on financial issues) forced the Russians to expand the Cosmodrome-Plestsk, which is located in Russian territory.

As mentioned, Russia operates two bases for launching ballistic missiles, the other in Central Asia in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the other in northwestern Russia. However, the desire to move the entire launch system to Russian territory has continued since the breakup of the Soviet Union and also under Putin's rule. According to Putin, "We are developing Plesetsk, we will remain in Baikonur, but we must take into account that some of the launches will only be carried out from Russian territory, both for civilian and military needs."

According to Putin, many potential locations were considered, but the Amur district is the most optimal of all, so they will do everything to achieve the goal. According to Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, who supervises the Russian military industry, the construction works will take about 10 years. According to him, the first launch from the Vastochenyi base will be carried out in 2015 and by 2018 manned commercial flights will be launched from it into space.

If the move is carried out as intended, the legendary Baikonur space center will be closed and Russia's entire launch system will move to its soil. The government of Kazakhstan will indeed lose high lease fees which are transferred to it by Russia, but the essential effect is in the closing of the huge space base. It is likely that most of the scientists will move to Russia and be located in one of the two new bases. But the infrastructure that will be left behind, the large city that has risen around the base, the businesses and the various service providers will suffer a fatal blow and lose their livelihood. The government of Kazakhstan does not have the high budgets to operate a space array, so it is likely that Baikonur will be abandoned or turned into a tourist site.

Russia will build a new cosmodrome