Also in 1998 the Russians came up with a way to fund the modernization of their nuclear submarine strike force. They used the strategic Delta-4 ballistic missile submarine Novomoskovsk to launch a German research satellite into orbit. The satellite launch was engineered by the Makeyev State Rocket Center. This facility continues to develop new generations of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Stalin established the State Missiles Center back in 1947 for the expressed purpose of creating a strategic rocket force.
Work is underway on the next generation of ballistic missiles for submarines.
This could be viewed as turning your swords into plow shares, but it might be more accurate to say they are making and selling these plows to subsidize the purchase of new assault riffles. The new Russian activity shows the former USSR retains a surprisingly potent military space capability. This expansion of Russian military space activity occurred during the same time that the Western media was proclaiming that the Soviet military had fallen apart. The launch of their relief and resupply crew was postponed because of financial problems that delayed production of the Soyuz booster rocket needed for the mission. On one hand the Russians say they don't have money to build Soyuz booster rockets, but on the other hand they manage to come up with all the money they need to continue modernizing their strategic missile force.