Nezavisimaya Gazeta informed that Russian economy evidences signs of a slowdown: according to data announced by Vladimir Putin, GDP reduced by 1.8% in January–February, with industry, manufacturing, and construction all experiencing losses. In this context, experts discuss not only the risks of economic "overcooling" but also the potential consequences of new regulatory initiatives, including in the sphere of artificial intelligence.
Kirill Chernovol, Researcher of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, focused on the draft law published in the "Monitoring of legal regulation of the digital economy No.3 (27)”, which could obligate owners of AI services with more than 500.000 daily users to store user data in Russia.
"A message means any information transmitted or received by a user. Could messages include requests from all AI users?" he noted, pointing out the vagueness of the wording.
According to the expert, such requirements can significantly change the market.
"If this initiative is adopted, services that are not formally operative in Russia may simply avoid entering the market, and those that already operate may be blocked by Roskomnadzor for failing to comply with information transfer requirements," Kirill Chernovol noted.
He also cited the popularity of foreign AI services as an example: the Chinese neural network DeepSeek recorded approximately 351 mn website visits in March 2026, with Russia's share being 10.4%, or over 36 mn visits per month. According to the expert, the introduction of strict localization requirements could result in growing costs for companies and, as a consequence, make the use of artificial intelligence in Russia significantly more expensive.