Russia Introduces New National Messenger Law to Centralize Government Services and Communication

The President of Russia has officially enacted a law aimed at establishing a national messaging service within the country. This legal document has already been published on the official portal for legal acts. The legislative process for this law involves seven distinct stages, starting with the proposal, moving through preliminary reviews, three readings in the State Duma, approval by the Federation Council, presidential review and signing, and culminating in official publication. The law concerning the national messenger has now reached the final stage of official publication.

Initially, the draft law was introduced on May 31, 2025, was approved by the State Duma on June 10, and passed through the Federation Council on June 18, before being signed by the President of Russia on June 24.

The authors of the legislation envision that this document will integrate government services, finance, and business into a single application. This new service aims to enhance the existing «Gosuslugi» system, streamlining everyday tasks and reducing the risk of fraud.

Through this innovative platform, users will be able to verify their identity, present driver’s licenses and student ID cards, and access various benefits. The application will also facilitate the submission of documents to governmental agencies and enable users to receive responses. Additionally, educational services will be part of the offering.

According to the press service of the State Duma, educational services and communication channels for educational institutions will transition to the national messenger. The Ministry of Digital Development of Russia has recommended that all government officials migrate to this new messaging service. Moreover, the head of the ministry, Maksut Shadaev, has announced that the national service will be developed based on the Max messenger created by VK, which is expected to exit beta testing in the summer.

While the law does not specify the company responsible for developing the messenger, it does state:

*“The creation and operation of a multifunctional information exchange service shall be ensured by an organization designated by the Government of the Russian Federation, meeting certain requirements (Article 1, Part 2).”*

This organization must comply with the following criteria:

— Be a legal entity registered in Russia;
— Have a member who owns a major internet platform (a website/system/software with an audience exceeding 500,000 daily users in Russia);
— Hold exclusive rights to the software listed in the Unified Register of Russian Programs.

Thus, the selection of the executor is entrusted to the Russian government, and the developer must meet specific technical and legal standards.

Key requirements for developing the service include:

— The developer organization must be a registered legal entity in Russia;
— It must possess exclusive rights to the software included in the Russian program register.

Technical criteria for the service are as follows:

— Electronic messaging can only occur between users within the system;
— Messages will not be publicly available on the internet;
— The service must interact with the IT infrastructure of government services, including the Unified Portal of State Services (EПГУ), the Unified Identity and Authentication System (ЕИАС), and regional systems;
— It must support document signing capabilities (including enhanced qualified signatures);
— Certified information protection measures must be utilized.

Functional criteria for the messenger include:

— The capacity to transmit information from state information systems (with user consent);
— The applicability in education, access to benefits, age verification, etc.;
— The service should be equivalent to presenting physical documents;
— Information can be disseminated without additional consent if the user is a participant in the service;
— The service must be usable in contractual relationships.