The State Duma approved in the first reading a government bill defining limitation periods for privatization disputes. According to the lower chamber’s website, the measure is intended to protect “good-faith” owners from lawsuits seeking the seizure of assets.
279 deputies voted in favor of the bill, 54 voted against it, and another 20 abstained.
What the bill provides
The bill states that privatization disputes should be subject to the limitation periods set out in the Civil Code: three years from the moment a violation is discovered. At the same time, the overall limitation period may not exceed 10 years from the date the property left state ownership.
The new rules are proposed to apply not only to future lawsuits, but also to ongoing cases if the rulings in them have not yet entered into legal force.
Why the bill’s effectiveness is in doubt
At the same time, the measure will not affect nationalizations carried out through “anti-corruption” or “anti-extremism” lawsuits, or disputes involving violations of foreign investment rules in strategic enterprises. These are precisely the grounds that have most often been used recently to seize property from Russian businesses.
“The first two points [among the exemptions] cover all the needs of law enforcement for seizing any property. Terrorism and extremism in our country are interpreted very broadly. Such rules protect no one from anything. <...> If anti-corruption lawsuits are filed arbitrarily, if terrorism and extremism are interpreted arbitrarily, then these two exemptions [will not stop the security services],” political scientist Ekaterina Shulman said.
The Ministry of Economic Development said that current court practice allows limitation periods not to be applied when seizing property privatized even 15 to 30 years ago. The ministry said this puts pressure on investor behavior because it creates uncertainty about the criteria for the legality of acquired property. In its view, the bill should become a “positive signal” for entrepreneurs and investors.
The bill was presented in the State Duma by Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksei Khersontsev and deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov. The explanatory note separately states that the bill was drafted on the instruction of Vladimir Putin.
In March, Russia’s prosecutor general reported that in 2025, companies with a total value of 4 trillion rubles had been nationalized. The head of Rosimushchestvo, the federal property agency, said the courts had transferred about 805 companies to the state. According to findings by Novaya-Europe, the largest assets were handed over to people from Putin’s inner circle.