Russian data center operators to be required to disconnect ‘non-priority clients’ to keep ‘whitelisted’ services running

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry has proposed requiring data center operators to disconnect “non-priority clients” to meet the mandatory 10% capacity reserve set out in a decree signed by Vladimir Putin.Putin signed the decree on November 2, requiring private data center owners to reserve 10% of their existing space and capacity for government needs. The Digital Development Ministry held a meeting on November 6 to discuss how the decree would be implemented.Data center operators will have to provide their reserve capacity to services on “white lists.” They will have 24 hours to respond after receiving a request, which will come directly from the Digital Development Ministry or from a subcommission the decree creates. If an operator lacks available capacity, it will have to disconnect existing clients. The ministry has proposed that operators determine client priority in advance for this purpose.Disconnecting clients will count as force majeure, exempting operators from liability. But failing to meet the capacity reservation requirements could become grounds for imposing temporary management, sources told RBC.The Digital Development Ministry has described the measure under discussion as temporary, though it has set no specific end date: the requirements will remain in effect until the decree is revoked or amended.A ministry representative said the measures for implementing the president’s decree “are still being worked out” and added that all requirements “would be developed together with experts and market participants.”In late August, Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing temporary management to be introduced at critical infrastructure facilities whose owners failed to protect them from security threats — including attacks by Ukrainian drones. The decree was signed after a series of strikes by Ukraine’s armed forces on data centers belonging to Yandex and then Sberbank.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.