From March 1, 2026, new laws and regulations take effect in Russia, expanding state control in the digital sphere, business, transport, culture and social policy.
A government resolution on centralized management of the public communications network comes into force. The listed threats include cyberattacks, technical failures, information security violations and mass circumvention of blocks. If such threats are detected, Roskomnadzor will be able to reroute traffic through special equipment, use filtering mechanisms and restrict access to specific resources.
Businesses must provide publicly accessible information in Russian, including signs, notices and pointers. An English-language brand name will have to be duplicated in Russian unless it is entered in the state register of legal entities or registered as a trademark. Names of capital construction projects used in advertising aimed at equity holders must also be written in Cyrillic.
From the same date, banks will begin supplying information at the request of law enforcement agencies, while connection to the interagency electronic interaction system must be completed by August 31, 2026. Mandatory localization is also introduced for taxis: only cars produced in Russia, scoring at least 3,200 localization points in 2026, or manufactured under a special investment contract, will be added to the registry. Cars already listed may remain in service until retirement.
The Culture Ministry will be allowed to deny distribution certificates to films deemed contrary to “traditional values”; the restrictions will also apply to large websites and social networks. The list of state secrets is being expanded to include data on the number of citizens reserved from mobilization and on the mobilization capacities of the economy in the military sector.
Online services will be barred from charging users automatically after a subscription has been canceled; they must also provide a simple way to cancel and remove a bank card. Updated aviation rules will allow refunds, including for nonrefundable tickets, if a flight is delayed by more than 30 minutes or in the event of illness of the passenger or close relatives; water must be provided after three hours, hot meals after six, and hotel accommodation after more than 10 hours of delay by day and eight at night.
The deadline for paying for housing and utilities is moved to the 15th day of the following month, while billing documents must be issued no later than the 5th. Graduates of medical and pharmaceutical programs will have to work under a mentor for up to three years, and targeted education rules are also being tightened. Employers will be allowed to dismiss foreign nationals to comply with regional caps, and microfinance organizations issuing remote loans of up to 1 million rubles will have to verify clients through the Unified Biometric System.