Much of the money comes from a group of corporate sponsors and investors that includes state-owned lender OAO Sberbank, state-owned oil giant OAO Rosneft and oligarch Vladimir Potanin's holding company Interros.

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Rostechnologii, a state-owned outfit, owns 25% of its holding company.

ECONOMIST: A Russian start-up shows how 4G wireless might work

But in the new century, the company--privatized in 1979 and now with a state-owned body holding only an 8% stake--is moving to globalize.

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