Wildberries

AKIT Requests Temporary Permission for Russian Companies to Transfer Personal Data Abroad After Data Center Incidents

The Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT) has sent a formal letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin proposing a temporary exemption from strict data localization rules. The measure would allow affected companies to move critical systems and Russian citizens' personal data to data centers in friendly countries when domestic infrastructure is unavailable due to accidents or damage. Members including Ozon, Wildberries, Cooper, and Yandex Market argue that services must continue operating even if Russian facilities are compromised. The proposed special regime would apply only after an officially confirmed incident, require compliance with information security standards, and end no later than March 1, 2028. After recovery, companies would be required to return to normal data processing within Russia. Expert Alexey Muntyan noted that the mechanism activates only after incidents occur and questioned whether countries should be selected based on data protection levels rather than political alignment.

Russian Internet Services Hit by Outages After Drone Attack on Yandex Data Center in Sasovo

On October 8, multiple Russian websites and internal corporate systems experienced significant disruptions. Users reported issues accessing media outlets, transport services, and marketplaces, with many problems affecting internal company tools and professional platforms. Cian linked its website and app outage to an infrastructure partner incident, while developers A101, Granel, and Brusnika also faced temporary unavailability. T-Bank reported problems with its corporate messenger and email distributions, and similar internal system issues appeared at Ozon, Wildberries, and HSE. Astral warned of possible delays in electronic reporting and document management services. Yandex confirmed a fire at its Sasovo data center in Ryazan region following a drone attack, with no casualties but full shutdown of the facility. Experts note that not all complaints can be attributed to a single event due to varying scales of impact across companies.

Wildberries and Ozon to Accept Digital Rubles from September 1, 2026

Major Russian marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon will begin accepting digital rubles for purchases starting September 1, 2026. Ozon plans to introduce the new payment option first in a testing phase alongside bank cards and other methods before gradually rolling it out to all customers. Wildberries confirmed it will comply with requirements from the Bank of Russia and existing regulations without providing further details. From the same date, major banks must enable clients to open digital wallets, transfer funds, and pay for goods through their regular banking apps connected to the Central Bank platform. Operations with digital rubles will remain free for citizens. The rollout is mandatory for large merchants with annual revenue exceeding 120 million rubles that are served by major banks, with smaller businesses facing obligations in subsequent years based on revenue thresholds.