Russian Federation

Details

Total publications count

112

Publication types

Vaccination passports
Drone control
Access to official information limitations
Legal prosecution
Surveillance using governmental apps
Violation of freedom of speech
Cellphone surveillance
Video monitoring and automatic facial recognition
Other

Country profile

On March 30, 2020, borders were closed for tourists, in April a mandatory self-isolation regime was introduced for all citizens for 2 months, digital passes were launched in a number of regions. To monitor compliance with this regime, the authorities obliged telecom operators to transfer data on the geolocation of citizens. In addition, facial recognition technologies were used to track quarantine violators and people without protective masks in the metro. 

In April 2020, a law was passed that introduces administrative and criminal liability for disseminating false information about coronavirus; in October 2020, doctors were forbidden to speak publicly about coronavirus without coordination with the ministry.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, several state applications have been launched in the country: for issuing digital passes - "STOP Coronavirus State Services," for monitoring quarantine compliance and mandatory self-isolation by Muscovites - "Social Monitoring," for tracking traffic police officers cars without issued digital passes - "Quarantine" and for tracking contacts with patients - "State services COVID tracker Numerous cases of official fines for violation of quarantine were recorded, as well as for the dissemination of fake information about coronavirus in social networks. 

In the summer of 2021, a mandatory system of QR codes was introduced in Moscow to visit cafes and restaurants. Later, this system was canceled in Moscow, but from October 2021 the experience of the capital was adopted by Udmurtia, Perm Territory and the Republic of Tatarstan.

As of October 10, 45 million people were fully vaccinated in the country. Vaccinated people are given a digital passport with a QR code confirming the presence of vaccination. The black market for the sale of such documents is actively developed.