Russia is raising its vehicle recycling fee, a move expected to push up prices for foreign-made cars. After an October rally in Vladivostok that authorities considered too resonant, residents of the Far East have increasingly been denied permission for new protests. At the same time, anger has also focused on a planned VAT increase.
The recycling fee is charged when a car is purchased: by the Federal Tax Service if the vehicle is produced in Russia, and by the Federal Customs Service if it is imported. Formally, the money is meant to cover future disposal costs, but the state is not required to spend it on building recycling facilities. That has given rise to one of the protest slogans: “There is a recycling fee, but where are the plants?”
From December 1, the preferential import regime for personal-use foreign cars with engines above 160 horsepower will be scrapped. That is expected to add hundreds of thousands of rubles to the cost of some Japanese and European models. In September, Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov told TASS that the measure would not affect more than 80% of the cars used by Russians. Yet in October, customs authorities in the Far East reported that car imports had risen by 3.7 times year on year as tens of thousands rushed to bring vehicles in before the fee increase.
In early October, more than 500 people attended a protest in Vladivostok. After an appeal from Delovaya Rossiya, the date of the increase was moved from November 1 to December 1, but the publication says thousands of cars are still stuck in customs queues. Former Moscow City Duma deputy Yevgeny Stupin, who previously lived in Yakutia and Magadan, said residents in the eastern regions are especially upset because much of the Far East relies on Toyotas, while Russian-made cars perform worse in severe морозs.
At the time of publication, the State Duma had approved in its second reading an increase in the main VAT rate from 20% to 22%, while keeping the 10% rate for some socially significant goods. Mikhail Matveyev, editor of the website Aktivatika, said the recycling fee is felt immediately during customs clearance, whereas the VAT increase will first hit businesses and later filter through as higher prices.
Since early November, only one rally has been approved, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and only on the third attempt and on the edge of the city. Elsewhere, authorities cited stage repairs in Vladivostok until spring 2026, Father Frost’s birthday, anti-racism and anti-antisemitism events, a folk food festival serving fish soup and borscht, a volunteer gathering, a children’s play, No Smoking Day, and even celebrations for Alexander Suvorov’s birthday. Organizers say they plan to appeal to the Investigative Committee and prosecutors, alleging that instead of the declared holiday, a Russian army recruitment tent stood in the square in Vladivostok.
Another rally took place on November 16 in Novosibirsk, drawing several dozen people. A source told Novaya Gazeta Europe that turnout might have been higher, but one organizer was placed under administrative arrest beforehand, and major local public pages did not publish the exact time and location. In Matveyev’s view, under current conditions any protest of more than one hundred people is already considered large-scale, although worsening economic conditions could increase public pressure in the future.