Foreign companies banned from researching the Russian market
On 31 July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Law on the Fundamentals of State Regulation of Commercial Activities, which introduces requirements for marketing companies researching Russia's commodity markets. The State Duma passed this law in the second and third readings on 15 July. Among other things, it prohibits foreign individuals and entities from conducting research on the Russian consumer market.
The ban will come into force on 1 March 2026. It will apply to foreign countries, international organisations, and foreign entities, as well as Russian companies with more than 20% foreign ownership having more than RUB 800 billion in revenue. In addition, the ban will apply to foreign nationals, stateless persons and Russians with dual citizenship.
The law also introduces a mechanism for regulating the operation of Russian research companies that acquire, process and analyse data on the structure of the commodity market. Russian companies engaged in such activities must be entered in a specialised register whose operator will be determined later. Processing Russian market data will only be allowed at facilities located in the country.
One of the bill's authors, Anton Gorelkin, a Duma lawmaker from the United Russia party, wrote in his Telegram channel that data from foreign analytical companies that continue to operate in Russia are "very likely" to be used to adjust sanctions, and added that Ipsos, GfK and Nielsen continue operating in the country.
Following the launch of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in 2022, IDC and Gartner stopped publishing Russian market data and GfK stopped updating its website for Russia. In December 2022, the provision of market research services to individuals from Russia was included in the EU sanctions package.