Expenditures of the Russian budget in the event of the annexation of Crimea to the territory of the country as a new entity will increase by $3 billion per year, writes on Friday, March 7. the Kommersant newspaper

Crimea now costs Ukraine about $1.5-2 billion a year, based on the balance of taxes and subsidies. This amount does not take into account the expenses of the Ukrainian treasury for Sevastopol, which has a special status. The transition of about 2.5 million of the population of Crimea to budget subsidies according to the standards of budgetary provision, for example, of the Stavropol Territory, will increase the amount to $2.5-3 billion per year, the newspaper notes.

The annexation of Crimea from the point of view of the Russian economy should mean several events: the creation of minimal transport and energy connectivity with the main territory of Russia, the integration of the region into the financial and budgetary systems, the extension of social and other obligations for the regions of Russia to the population of Crimea.

Spending on transport infrastructure will be a major investment need. Due to the maritime supply of Crimea, including energy, local prices will rise sharply in comparison with the rest of Ukraine. Most likely, at least in the first months, the standard of living will quickly decrease and there will be a need for special subsidies for the population of Crimea in order to avoid their outflow to Ukraine, writes Kommersant.

A separate significant issue is the conversion of Ukrainian pensions and the monetization of Ukrainian benefits in Crimea according to Russian standards.

There are no official opinions or estimates of how much the annexation of Crimea could cost Russia. The Ministry of Finance refused to answer questions about the results of the communication with representatives of Crimea regarding financial support that began on March 3. The newspaper's source in one of the departments said that this issue lies exclusively on the political plane, and no one will comment on it.

On March 6, the Crimean Parliament addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal to begin the procedure for the autonomy to join Russia as a subject. The Kremlin did not comment on this appeal. The head of state's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said only that Putin discussed the treatment with the Russian Security Council on Thursday.

Read also the column by Leonid Bershidsky: Crimea: the price of imperialism

Russia's expenses for maintaining Crimea are estimated at $3 billion a year