Law & Legislation

Federation Council passes ban of private lotteries

Senators have approved legislative amendments that ban private lotteries starting from July 1, 2014. The law stipulates that only two kinds of lotteries will be legal starting from July, the National Lottery and the International Lottery (held in two and more states, including Russia, under an international agreement with Russia).

14:20 25.12.2013

Putin toughens punishment for encouraging underage drinking

President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill which toughens the criminal and administrative liability for inducing children and teenagers to drink alcoholic beverages into law. The law also increases the fines for violating the rules for selling alcohol to minors by several times.

14:20 23.12.2013

State Duma passes bill to restore supervisory role of Russian Supreme Court

This morning, the State Duma passed a law in both the second and third reading to restore the supervisory functions of the Russian Supreme Court. The court will now be able to respond to verdicts announced by regional last-instance courts.

13:25 23.12.2013

Federal Security Service gets the power to investigate cybercrime

President Vladimir Putin has given the Federal Security Service (FSB) the power to investigate cybercrime, reads a document published on the Kremlin portal of legal information.

11:34 23.12.2013

Russian Central Bank stands for criminalizing false financial information

The Russian Central Bank proposed the introduction of criminal liability for those playing an active role in spreading allegations that compromise financial institutions.

15:17 20.12.2013

Putin pardons Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Friday pardoning jailed YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The decree will take effect immediately.

12:07 20.12.2013

Ukrainian parliament pardons pro-EU protesters

Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday adopted a law to free all protesters detained while attending demonstrations in favor of integration with the European Union.

10:32 20.12.2013

State Duma lawmakers unanimously declare amnesty

The State Duma on Wednesday unanimously adopted the draft bill on the presidential amnesty, which has been arranged to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

16:54 18.12.2013

Russian Upper house approves law on biometric passports with fingerprints

Russia’s Federation Council on Wednesday approved the law on issuing biometric foreign passports with fingerprints starting January 1, 2015.

15:05 18.12.2013

State Duma rejects amendments to pardon all Bolotnaya Square riot convicts

The State Duma has rejected amendments to the draft law on the presidential amnesty which proposed pardoning all convicts in the Bolotnaya Square riot case.The amendments were put forward by members of the Communist Party and A Just Russia party.

12:10 18.12.2013

Top news

Russian courts allowed not to implement rulings of Europe's human rights court

Russia's Supreme Court proposed not to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).

12:53 09.12.2025

Redomiciliation stalls: How sanctions are shaping new practices for Russian companies

The mechanism for redomiciliating foreign companies to Russian jurisdiction, in effect since 2018, has recently encountered serious obstacles. Taking into account the background of sanctions-related restrictions introduced in 2022 through 2025, it has become extremely difficult to achieve the goal. The situation gave rise to the phenomenon of dual domicile and led to a rise in the number of new litigations, both in Russia and abroad.

12:32 09.12.2025

Soldiers jailed for killing US journalist Russell Bentley

A military court in Donetsk sentenced three soldiers to up to 12 years in prison for torturing and killing Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old U.S. national who collaborated with Sputnik news agency.

14:05 08.12.2025