FSB traces found behind Russia's Starlink analog: Who really controls Rassvet?
Photo: Russia's equivalent of Starlink, Rassvet (Bureau 1440 website)
Behind Bureau 1440, which is developing Russia’s Starlink analogue, Rassvet, is X Holding LLC — a structure with assets in cybersecurity and telecommunications, some of which are already under Western sanctions, according to an RBC-Ukraine article Russia develops its own Starlink: Who's behind Rassvet and where it could fail.
Owners in the shadows and millions in state support
The key owner of Bureau 1440 is X Holding LLC, which owns about 57% of the company. Another 4% was owned by CEO Shelobkov at the time the ownership structure was concealed, while 3% each belonged to Artem Ikoyev and Sergey Stolyarov, according to a study by the Center for Defense Reforms.
About 33% is linked to the closed-end fund Olymp-M, which is managed by Mercury Capital Trust Management Company. It is difficult to establish the ultimate owners of this stake because current data on the owners of Bureau 1440 were hidden by a decision of a Russian state agency back in 2022.
Shelobkov simultaneously heads Bureau 1440, X Holding, and a number of other entities within the group, which also includes YADRO, Citadel, Garda, Kryptonit, and Micran. Some of these assets are under US or EU sanctions, while Bureau 1440 LLC itself and its head are absent from the sanctions lists.
According to the Center for Defense Reforms, Bureau 1440 actively uses YADRO’s infrastructure and computing resources, Citadel’s hardware and software systems, and Micran’s products. Its own subsidiaries include Labs 1440 (solar panels), FAB Rassvet (a production base for satellites and terminals), and Belarusian Aerospace Instruments.
The total cost of the Rassvet project was estimated at approximately $6.1 billion as early as 2024, with about 26% expected to be provided by the budget. In 2025, Bureau 1440 received 3 billion rubles (about $41 million) through the Federal Treasury to compensate for production and technological costs, while another approximately $197 million came in the form of loans from Perspective Technologies, an affiliate of X Holding.
FSB links in X Holding’s structure
The Center for Defense Reforms traced X Holding’s links to the FSB: Citadel’s hardware and software solutions are used by Russian intelligence agencies to monitor telephone communications and internet traffic. In 2017, Boris Miroshnikov joined Citadel’s management. He had previously headed the FSB’s Department of Computer and Information Security, now known as the FSB’s 18th Center.
In 2018, Citadel acquired a 51% stake in Bastion, one of whose co-owners was Boris Korolyov, the son of Sergey Korolyov, the first deputy director of Russia’s FSB. In 2023, Boris Korolyov became deputy CEO of X Holding.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, said that the deployment of Rassvet was being accelerated. The constellation is expected to reach 292 satellites by 2027 and 924 spacecraft by 2035. Meanwhile, Defense Minister’s adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov warned that the Rassvet network would become a problem for Ukraine because it would improve the enemy’s communications on the front.
