Digital platforms are directly transforming at least three spheres in Russia: consumption, services and employment. Through these areas, they are already reshaping the flow of money by changing transaction routes and intermediary chains. This is affecting both the banking sector, as illustrated by the recent dispute between banks and marketplaces over discounts and payment methods, and the state budget through tax revenues. It is therefore unsurprising that the government wants to bring the rapidly expanding platform economy under closer control by defining strategic objectives and rules for its development.
Russia is expected to draft a strategy for the development of digital platforms by February 2027. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has issued the relevant instruction. Eleven federal ministries and the Russian Export Centre will participate in preparing the document.
They are expected to submit proposals on priority areas for platformisation in the sectors under their supervision, taking into account the anticipated economic benefits, including gains in labour productivity.
The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Digital Development will coordinate the initiative. Among other tasks, they are expected to prioritise the creation of digital platforms in industries involving state participation and identify sectors where government involvement could be especially effective.
The strategy will also establish general requirements for data management, standard digital platform architecture, information security and the use of artificial intelligence. Authorities will monitor the operation of digital platforms, including assessing their impact on GDP and inflation.
Digital platforms are already transforming at least three sectors of the Russian economy: retail consumption, services and the labour market.
According to the government, goods and services sold through marketplaces and online service platforms already account for more than 5% of the country’s GDP. Based on Russia’s 2025 GDP figures, this amounts to approximately RUB 10–11 tn.
Analysts at SberIndex estimate that marketplaces accounted for 19.5% of Russians’ consumer spending in the first quarter of this year. Sociologists cite even more striking figures based on surveys
The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre found that whereas 15 years ago Russians spent around 15% of their monthly salary on online shopping, and almost 20% five years ago, the figure had risen to more than a quarter by May this year. This is largely the result of consumers shifting from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to online commerce.
According to SberIndex data published on June 22, marketplaces remain the fastest-growing consumption channel, with spending increasing by around 28% year-on-year.
The trend is particularly pronounced among consumers under the age of 24. ‘On average, Russians make 58 purchases on marketplaces each year,’ SberIndex analysts said
Remarkably, marketplaces are widely used not only in major cities but also in towns with populations of between 100,000 and 250,000. Moreover, for residents of smaller towns and rural areas, marketplaces often provide the only access to a broad range of goods unavailable locally, underlining their crucial role in ensuring equal access to products and services.
This was highlighted in a study by Alexey Koshel, Vice Rector of the Higher School of Economics, and Ekaterina Kruchinskaya, Associate Professor at HSE, published on the website of the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Major online retailers have previously described their social role in similar terms.
Digital platforms are not limited to online stores. They also include aggregator services that connect customers with providers of various services, ranging from bespoke tailoring to taxi rides.
A new form of employment is emerging as well. According to the government, around 16% of Russians work through digital platforms either regularly or occasionally.
HSE researchers note that the current stage of digital platform development is characterised not only by exponential growth and consolidation, but also by intensifying competition that increasingly cuts across sectors.
Digital ecosystems are no longer competing solely for specific product niches. They are now competing on the speed of innovation, customer loyalty and the ability to attract top talent. ‘A vivid example of this new reality is the dispute between traditional and platform-based business models,’ Koshel and Kruchinskaya wrote.
The clash between these two economic models became particularly visible during last year’s dispute involving financial regulators and major banks on one side and online retailers on the other over pricing, payment methods and tax compliance on marketplaces (see Nezavisimaya Gazeta, November 23, 2025).
On one side stood the traditional economy, where key roles, including those of systemically important innovators, have long been established. On the other was a genuinely new, digital and platform-based economy, which does not yet fit neatly into existing hierarchies.
‘It is precisely at this stage, when digital platforms become not just market participants but full-fledged institutions reshaping the economic landscape and extending their influence across the economy, that the sword of regulatory intervention begins to hang over them,’ Koshel and Kruchinskaya explained.
According to them, debates over issues such as potential restrictions on discounts are early signs that the further development of the platform economy must move into a formal legal framework with clear rules.
Experts distinguish between different categories of digital platforms, including marketplaces and classified advertising websites, as well as specific types such as rental and taxi services. They point to unresolved regulatory gaps and even disagreements over terminology.
For example, Koshel and Kruchinskaya noted that there is still no consensus on the definitions of ‘digital platform’, ‘ecosystem’ and ‘super app’. This is striking given that one might have expected such terminology to be clarified by the platform economy law adopted in the summer of 2025, which is due to come into force in October 2026.
Yet even at the time of its adoption, some market participants considered the law unfinished. Now, after its passage, parts of it may already appear outdated.
ORIGINAL: NG/The Sword of Regulation Hangs Over Digital Platforms
