MOSCOW, RUSSIA / RankWire.AI / – On July 17, the Federation Council approved a comprehensive bill establishing a national framework for artificial intelligence in Russia. The legislation sets guidelines for large foundation models operating within the country. It outlines the scope of applicable technology and grants authority to government agencies. Additionally, the bill introduces standards concerning model ownership, domestic data hosting, transparency with users, and AI-generated content. Having passed the State Duma on July 8, the bill now awaits presidential approval and official publication before becoming federal law.
The draft legislation characterizes a large foundation model as software capable of executing multiple intellectual tasks at a level comparable to humans. Such systems must comprise at least 1 billion parameters. They can provide information, make decisions, or predict outcomes based on human-defined objectives. The framework emphasizes principles such as technological sovereignty, human rights, individual choice, security, and legal compliance. These principles apply throughout the development, deployment, and utilization of qualifying AI systems.
The law categorizes models as sovereign or national, linked to Russian control. A sovereign model must be developed by a Russian legal entity and hosted on data centers within Russia. Developers are required to maintain the ability to reproduce the entire development process, including training and original parameters. A national model adheres to similar ownership and localization criteria but may integrate foreign software components under open licenses, provided Russian entities retain necessary control and operational capacity.
Legal classification for domestic AI systems
The government might support developers of qualifying foundation models through access to state-held datasets for training purposes. Authorities may also mandate exclusive use of sovereign or national models within government information systems and other sensitive environments. Additional rules concerning defense, security, public safety, and property protection may be established through separate legislation or presidential decrees. The framework assigns responsibility to state agencies for enforcing these requirements within their legal authority.
Separate obligations apply to large digital services offering AI-generated audio and visual content. Platforms with over 500,000 daily users must provide a feature enabling users to mark such content. This applies to websites, applications, and social media platforms. The regulation does not specify an automatic labeling requirement for every piece of content but allows developers and users to agree on the notice format through terms of service. The primary aim is to ensure that creators and distributors of qualifying material can disclose AI-generated content easily.
Standards for copyright and content disclosure
AI providers are required to inform users about ownership rights related to generated content. They must also clarify access conditions and whether users are permitted to download or transfer the material. The legislation specifically addresses the use of copyrighted works for machine learning, allowing analysis for extraction, comparison, classification, and pattern recognition when lawful access has been obtained. Training models with protected works is permitted if no technical restrictions were bypassed to gain access. These provisions link the training process to existing copyright and access regulations.
Most of the rules are set to take effect on September 1, 2026, following presidential approval and official publication. Regulations concerning domestic model classification, developer responsibilities, content labeling, and intellectual property rights will come into force on March 1, 2027. Existing AI systems may operate until September 1, 2032, provided they process and store data within Russia. Until the bill is signed into law and officially published, it remains an approved draft rather than an enacted federal law under Russia’s legislative procedures.