VTB analyzed the impact of the law on Russification on business

Most small and medium-sized businesses have been able to adapt to the new requirements of legislation on the protection of the Russian language, VTB notes. Some entrepreneurs have Russified materials in advance or registered brands in Latin as trademarks, according to the results of a VTB survey and Online Patent data presented at SPIEF 2026.

"For most companies, Russian remained the main standard of communication with customers even before the law came into force. The new requirements primarily affected visual elements — signage, advertising materials and individual elements of brand design," said Spartak Solonin, Head of the Corporate Digital Business Department and Senior Vice President of VTB Bank.

More than 90% of entrepreneurs in the VTB survey reported that the new requirements did not affect their activities. Two thirds of those affected by the changes did not encounter difficulties in bringing their work in line with the law — they were able to Russify materials or register brands in Latin as trademarks. The rest of this group of respondents cited the need to bear the costs of rebranding and replacing advertising materials (50%), as well as making changes to websites and IT systems, among the main difficulties.

A third of entrepreneurs who used foreign words on signage, in printing, on the website and in other communications with consumers estimated the impact on costs as minimal. Adaptation required significant costs — more than 10% of the marketing budget — in every fifth company. A third of the respondents reported the risks of reducing brand awareness.

Statistics also indicate that businesses have begun to prepare for changes in advance, VTB said. The turning point occurred back in 2025 — after the adoption of Federal Law No. 168-FZ in June 2025, Russian companies filed more trademark applications in Cyrillic than in Latin for the first time since 2022.

According to Online Patent, in January—April 2026, the number of trademark registration applications increased by 31% compared to the same period last year, to 60.7 thousand against 46.3 thousand applications. At the same time, the number of applications for Cyrillic designations increased by 23%, to 20,000 against 16.3 thousand, and for Latin—based designations by 40%, to 37,000 against 26.5 thousand.

The main contribution to the increase in applications in Latin letters was made by signs in retail (brands on marketplaces, names of online stores and other trading enterprises), in cosmetics and perfumes, as well as in the field of education and entertainment. The peak of applications, according to the researchers, occurred in February and March. In April, as companies that responded to the changes at the time of their entry into force worked out the legislative requirements, activity had already noticeably decreased.

"The companies affected by the changes adapted in different ways: some of them Russified signage, website, packaging and advertising materials in advance, while others simultaneously checked and registered the rights to brands already in use, including designations with Latin elements," said Alina Akinshina, CEO of Online Patent.

According to her assessment, in fact, the new rules have become an excuse for the market to conduct an inventory of brands. "This is also evident in the appeals to our joint Trademark Registration service with VTB: companies have begun to check more often how protected the name is and whether there is a risk of a dispute with other copyright holders," Akinshina added.