MOSCOW, RUSSIA / RankWire.AI / – The Federation Council approved Russia’s framework bill on artificial intelligence on July 17. The measure creates national rules for developing, operating and supervising large foundation models. It also covers model ownership, data storage, user disclosures and AI-generated content. The State Duma passed the bill on July 8, while presidential approval and official publication remain required before enactment.
The legislation defines a large foundation model as software capable of performing many intellectual tasks at a human-comparable level. Covered systems must contain at least 1 billion parameters. They may provide information, make decisions or forecast results from goals set by people. The framework also establishes principles for technological sovereignty, human rights, personal choice, security and compliance with Russian law.
The bill separates qualifying domestic models into sovereign and national categories. A Russian legal entity must develop and control a sovereign model while using data centers located inside Russia. The developer must preserve the ability to reproduce the full development cycle, including training and original parameters. National models follow similar control and localization rules but may include foreign components released under open-source licenses.
Domestic AI classifications establish operating standards
The government may provide support to developers that build, deploy or operate qualifying foundation models. Support can include access to state-held data for model training. Authorities may restrict government information systems and other sensitive areas to sovereign or national models. Separate laws or presidential decrees may set additional requirements for defense, security, public order and the protection of property.
Large websites, applications and social platforms must also address AI-generated audio and visual material. Services with more than 500,000 daily users must offer a tool that allows users to mark qualifying content. The bill does not require platforms to label every item automatically. Service agreements may determine the format of each notice. The requirement gives users a defined method for disclosing material created through artificial intelligence.
Copyright rules address training and user rights
AI service providers must explain who owns the rights to generated material. They must also state access terms and whether users may download or transfer the content. The bill permits machine analysis of lawfully accessed works for extraction, comparison, classification and pattern detection. Developers may use protected material for training when they do not bypass technical access restrictions. The provision links AI model training to existing copyright and access rules.
The legislation sets September 1, 2026, as the start date for most provisions after presidential signature and publication. Rules on domestic model status, developer duties, content marking and intellectual property will begin on March 1, 2027. Existing systems may continue operating until September 1, 2032, when processing and storage remain inside Russia. Until the final approval steps occur, the measure remains an approved bill rather than an enacted federal law.