Federal Law No. 152-FZ provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in the Russian Federation and follows an approach similar to that of EU Directive 95/46/EC. However, data protection in Russia is regulated by several laws in addition to the Law about Personal Data; other notable laws include the Federal Law No. 149-FZ of 27 July 2006 on Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information.

Russian news aggregators are required to store the news disseminated, information about the news source, as well as information about the terms of its dissemination for six months and to provide access to such information to the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Media.

According to Art. 19 of the Law No. 152-FZ, the data operator should take all reasonable organisational and technical measures when processing personal data in order to prevent unauthorised access to personal data, its destruction, alteration, blocking, copying, distribution or conduct of other illegitimate acts.
Art. 22.1 of the Law, which has been in force since 2011, requires the appointment of a person responsible for organising the processing of personal data. This person is responsible for organising the processing of personal data and should:
- exercise internal control over compliance by the operator and its employees with the legislation of the Russian Federation concerning personal data, including requirements relating to the protection of personal data;
- make employees of the operator aware of the provisions of the legislation of the Russian Federation concerning personal data, of by-laws on the processing of personal data and of requirements relating to the protection of personal data;
- organise the acceptance and processing of applications and requests from data subjects or their representatives and (or) exercise control over the acceptance and processing of such applications and requests.

Federal Law No. 374-FZ provides that Internet and telecommunications companies are required to disclose communications and metadata, as well as “all other information necessary,” to authorities on request and without a court order. The law penalises companies that fail to disclose requested information with fines of up to one million rubles (approx. USD 16,500) (Arts. 11, 13, 15).

Government Resolution No. 925, adopted on 16 September 2016, applies broadly to all goods, works, and services, introducing a 15% price preference for domestically produced products. Alternatively, it imposes a 15% price reduction on foreign products during tendering procedures. Additionally, paragraph 8 of Resolution No. 925 stipulates that priority must be determined in compliance with the provisions of GATT 1994 and the EAEU Treaty.

Russia is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2013.

Under Art. 2 of Federal Law No. 57, foreign states, international organisations, and entities under their control — including those established in Russia — are prohibited from entering into transactions that would grant them a majority interest in business entities deemed strategically important for national defence and state security. Consequently, foreign state-controlled investors are restricted from acquiring more than 50% of shares or majority voting rights in such companies.
According to Art. 6 of the law business strategically important for national defence and state security include those involved in the development and production of encryption tools, maintenance of cryptographic systems, and provision of encryption services, as well as activities such as detecting covert information-gathering devices.

Art. 19.1 of the Law on Mass Media stipulates that, unless otherwise provided by an international treaty of the Russian Federation, a foreign state, an international organisation, or an organisation under their control; a foreign legal entity; a Russian legal entity in which foreign participation in the authorised capital exceeds 20%; a foreign national; a stateless person; or a citizen of the Russian Federation who also holds the citizenship of another state, whether acting individually or jointly, shall not be entitled to exercise ownership, managerial influence, or control, whether directly or indirectly (including through controlled persons or by the collective holding of more than 20% of shares or participation interests), over more than 20% of the shares or participation interests in the authorised (share) capital of a legal entity that is a participant (member or shareholder) of the founder of a mass media outlet, the editorial office of a mass media outlet, or an organisation (legal entity) engaged in broadcasting.
For the purposes of the Law, Art. 2 defines a mass media outlet as a periodical printed publication, an online publication, a television channel, a radio channel, a television programme, a radio programme, a video programme, a newsreel programme, or any other form of periodic dissemination of mass information issued under a permanent title (name).

According to Art. 6 of Federal Law No. 160-FZ (amended in 2017), transactions involving Russian business entities by foreign investors require prior approval under Art. 57 of Federal Law No. 57 on "Procedures for Foreign Investments in Companies Having Strategic Importance for National Security and Defence". This law aims to safeguard national defence and security interests. Following the 2017 amendments, the Government Commission for Control over Foreign Investments, as outlined in Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 57, has the authority to impose additional conditions on foreign investors seeking approval for transactions deemed critical to protect national defence and state security.

Arts. 6 and 7 of Federal Law No. 57-FZ specify that preliminary approval is required for certain transactions related to the acquisition of shares in entities deemed of strategic importance. These entities include companies involved in the development and production of encryption tools, maintenance of cryptographic systems, and provision of encryption services.
Additionally, pursuant to Art. 14 of Federal Law No. 57-FZ and the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 795, foreign investors must notify the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of any transaction enabling the acquisition of 5% or more of shares or interests in such strategic entities. This notification must be submitted within 45 days of the transaction's closure.

According to Art. 2 of Law on Mass Media, a foreign legal entity that disseminates information and materials (including via the Internet) by audio or audiovisual means while receiving financing from a foreign State, State bodies, international organisations or foreign citizens could be recognised as a foreign mass media performing the functions of a foreign agent. The Russian Ministry of Justice maintains a register of such foreign mass media agents (Art. 6). These foreign mass media agents can disseminate information and materials only through locally incorporated legal entities and only with a special note indicating that such information has been created and disseminated by a foreign agent. If the respective mass media does not comply with legal requirements, its transmissions shall be blocked in Russia.

Art. 5 of Federal Law No. 236-FZ mandates that foreign companies operating within the Russian segment of the internet must establish a subsidiary or branch office within Russia. Reports from Russian state-owned news agencies and members of parliament indicate that the legislation targets a range of sectors, including social networks, video platforms, instant messaging services, e-mail providers, search engines, hosting services, online retailers, and Wikipedia.org.

According to Art. 1247 of the Civil Code, foreign legal entities shall carry out their dealings with the federal executive power body charged with intellectual property matters, meaning Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) through patent attorneys registered with Rospatent, unless otherwise envisaged by an international treaty of the Russian Federation.
Previously, Art. 15 of the Patent Law of Russian Federation No. 3517-1 required individuals with permanent residence outside the Russian Federation or foreign legal entities or their patent attorneys shall deal with the Federal executive authority on intellectual property through patent attorneys, registered with the Federal executive authority on intellectual property. This Article was replaced on 1 January 2008 by Part IV of the Civil Code.

The Russian government has adopted a decree that will allow local companies and individuals to use inventions, utility models, and industrial designs held by owners from “unfriendly countries” without their consent and without paying any compensation. This includes, among others, all members of the European Union and the United States.
The decree is based on art. 1360 of the Russian Civil Code, which allows the government to use inventions, utility models and industrial designs without the consent of the patent holder when extreme needs of national defence and security or protection of life or public health justify this.

Russia is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). However, the country does not consider itself bound by Art. 59 related to disputes.