On April 28, the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ hosted a session titled “Get It Done Before September 1: New Legislative Requirements for Domain Names and Websites.” Participants reviewed major updates to domain registration and administration rules set to take effect on September 1, 2026. The main changes stem from Federal Law No. 569-FZ On Amending the Federal Law On Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection, and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, dated December 29, 2025, which introduces mandatory identification of all domain administrators through the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA, or Gosuslugi), as well as a special registration procedure for domains owned by government entities. In addition, domain registration rules will now acquire the status of an official document approved by the Russian Government. Experts discussed how these measures are expected to strengthen the security of country-code domain zones and what steps must be taken in advance.
In his opening remarks, Georgy Georgievsky, Head of Registrar and User Relations at the Coordination Center, presented data on user protection. According to him, the average time required to block malicious domains within the Domain Patrol project has been reduced to five hours:
“This is a record by global standards. At the same time, legislation is moving toward full identification of domain administrators: starting September 1, this will become mandatory through Gosuslugi for country-code domain zones,” he noted.
Alexei Rogdev, Director General of the Technical Center of Internet (TCI), described the new procedures for government-related domains. Starting from September 1, such domains will be registered through authorized coordinators: the Coordination Center for the .RU/.РФ zones and RIPN for the .SU zone. Government domains will follow a special lifecycle: they can be renewed within one year after expiration (compared to 30 days under standard rules), and once deleted, they will be blacklisted for three years, effectively eliminating the risk of hijacking.
“Recognizing government domains as a special category is a major step toward a more secure and stable system. But its effectiveness depends on the active participation of owners and administrators,” he emphasized.
Andrei Kuzmichev, Head of the Runity Group, shared practical statistics on the identification rollout. As of late April, more than 103,600 administrators had completed identification via ESIA, with data verified for approximately 197,000 domains. However, 7–15 percent of users are unable to complete the process automatically and require manual verification.
“We’ve reached about a quarter of our engaged audience, which reads emails regularly, so far. The most difficult phase is still ahead. We expect a surge in demand closer to September 1, so we are informing clients through all available channels,” he said.
Alexandra Pashko, Head of IT Projects at VK, presented the perspective of major corporate users managing around 2,000 domains across multiple zones and registrars. She highlighted key risks ahead of the deadline, including the absence of a unified domain registry, lost access credentials, and domains registered to individuals rather than organizations.
“A domain is not just an asset but a critical part of infrastructure. When you manage hundreds or thousands of domains, three months is a very short timeframe. Companies should begin auditing and organizing their domain portfolios now,” she advised.
Alina Akinshina, Online Patent CEO and a Russian patent attorney, addressed the impact of converging legislative changes. Amendments to consumer protection legislation, effective March 1, require businesses to use the Russian language in websites and public communications. This has driven a surge in trademark applications using the Latin alphabet.
“In February 2026, the number of Latin-script trademark applications doubled compared to Cyrillic filings, marking a 62 percent year-on-year increase. Businesses understand that trademark registration is the only reliable protection when using foreign-language elements,” she explained.
Anna Sysoenkova, legal counsel for the Coordination Center, reminded the participants that website compliance extends beyond domains to intellectual property rights. Elements such as images, fonts, and design may expose companies to claims from so-called “patent trolls.” She recommended to carefully verify licenses and secure agreements with content creators and developers.
The forum continues. Follow our updates!
