New security regulations in Russia: legal aspects for Uzbek business
On August 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new decree on ensuring the security of critical infrastructure facilities in the country. The document provides for the temporary transfer of the property and property rights of economic entities in Russia that fail to meet security requirements to state management in certain cases. Could this rule also apply to Uzbek businesses in Russia?
New security regulations in Russia: legal aspects for Uzbek business
The question itself is not accidental: Russia accounts for about 13 percent of Uzbekistan's exports, around 700 companies with Uzbek capital operate in the country, and the trade turnover of Uzbek products through Wildberries alone approached 1.5 billion dollars in 2025.
On August 24, the President of Russia signed Decree No. 604 "On measures to ensure the security of critical infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation."
The summary of the decree is that if an economic entity fails to take measures to ensure the security of a critical infrastructure facility or delays them, violates security requirements, creates a threat to the security or normal operation of the facility, including if measures aimed at preventing unmanned aerial vehicle attacks are deemed ineffective, or fails to restore a damaged facility in a timely manner, temporary management may be introduced over it.
The owner of property placed under temporary management does not automatically lose their ownership rights. However, the temporary manager exercises certain powers of the owner and, in doing so, does not have the authority to dispose of the property, i.e., to sell or alienate it.
The management may cover the enterprise's movable and immovable property on the territory of Russia, certain securities, shares in Russian companies, and property rights.
The answer to this is clearly visible in the scale of economic relations between the two countries. According to the National Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, the country's foreign trade turnover in 2025 amounted to 81.2 billion dollars. The volume of trade with Russia was about 13 billion dollars.
In 2025, Uzbekistan's total exports amounted to 33.8 billion dollars, while exports to Russia reached 4.3 billion dollars.