Wildberries says revising return rules for some marketplace product c…

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 27 September that United Russia's victory in the State Duma election shows Russian society has consolidated around President Vladimir Putin and confirms support for his course. He gave no quantitative indicators in the statement.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced on 27 September that an opening ceremony was held at the Chebarkul range of the Central Military District for the command-and-staff exercise of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, Interaction-2026, together with the special exercises Search-2026 and Echelon-2026. The ministry said about 2,000 servicemen and 350 pieces of armament, military and special equipment are involved. Contingents from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan arrived in Russia on 26 September. CSTO Joint Staff Chief Andrey Serdyukov stressed that all the events are planned in nature and not directed against third countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 27 September that Vladimir Putin has confirmed plans to attend the APEC summit and did not rule out meeting Xi Jinping and Donald Trump on its margins; on the G20 summit he said no participation decision has been taken yet. China had earlier invited Trump to the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18–19 November and he accepted. Compared with the 25 September edition, which reported the summit schedule as settled, what is new here is the Kremlin's formal confirmation of Putin's attendance.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on the evening of 27 September that he was stepping down early and signed his resignation; the duties of head of state passed to National Assembly speaker Ana Brnabic. He could have stayed in office until 31 May 2027 but left less than a month before the snap parliamentary election on 25 October; should his Serbian Progressive Party win, he is expected to seek the premiership. He had told Vladimir Putin by phone on 26 September that he intended to resign; this edition records the resignation itself.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 27 September that any provision of Starlink satellite systems for strikes deep into Russian territory would be a very dangerous and reckless step. He also stressed that Russia has the technological potential needed to ensure its security, in both the military and the civilian sense.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on 27 September after a meeting with Defence Ministry leadership that the servicemen who died in the Caspian drills were not properly equipped, including with maritime life jackets, and that a government commission must assess the actions of every official responsible for preparing and running the exercise, for supply and for safety compliance. The presidential press service said that on 24 September, during the Khazar Korgany-2026 exercise, 17 servicemen were swept into the sea while disembarking from the Kaisar boat: three were rescued and 14 died. The commission conducting a full audit of the ministry is headed by Aida Balayeva, deputy chair of the Security Council. Against the 24 September edition, which reported 19 swept overboard and nine dead, this edition corrects the figures to 17 and 14 based on the Kazakh presidential press service.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed Dauren Kosanov as defence minister on 27 September and appointed Aydos Myrzakhmetov, former commander of the Special Operations Forces, to head the ministry, instructing him to submit a military reform plan within ten days. Kazakhstan's Supreme Audit Chamber has begun an inspection of the Defence Ministry. Also that day, the Kazakh servicemen who died in the Caspian exercise were posthumously awarded state orders.

Senator Artyom Sheykin warned on 27 September that fraudsters have begun inserting the digital rouble into old scam patterns: on a classifieds site a scammer claims to have paid in digital roubles and then asks the seller to follow a link, scan a QR code or enter banking-app details. He stressed that the transfer is initiated and confirmed by the sender, who enters the phone number of the recipient holding a digital-rouble account; sellers should verify receipt themselves in their own banking app and must not hand over goods if the funds do not show in the digital rouble account. The digital rouble became widely available on 1 September 2026, with almost 200,000 such accounts opened in the first three weeks.

Under a government order published on the official legal acts portal, recruitment platforms will gain access to electronic work-book data through Gosuslugi, with the operator of HeadHunter among the companies named in the document. The data may be used to build an applicant's CV and verify work history, and the sites will also be able to obtain education and driving-licence information. In September the government widened the range of purposes and data users may pass to electronic platforms via Gosuslugi, including Avito, HeadHunter, Yandex, Ozon and VK. The pilot on authorisation through the unified identification system began in April 2021 and has been extended to 31 December 2026.

Under a Russian government decree, the amount payable to the state for illegally caught freshwater crayfish rose almost fifteenfold from 115 to 1,688 roubles per specimen, regardless of size or weight. Crayfish previously appeared in the register alongside sea urchins and shrimp at 115 roubles each. Explanatory materials note that high market prices and overly lenient penalties have expanded the grey trade, with the old 115-rouble payment comparable to or below what a poacher earns from selling a single specimen, leaving illegal harvesting profitable; there is also a risk of a sharp decline in freshwater crayfish populations. The compensation is levied on top of the penalty for poaching.

On 27 September several trains on the third Moscow Central Diameter line (MCD-3, D3) ran late towards Ippodrom. The Central Suburban Passenger Company press service said the train was held while emergency services worked and then resumed. The Moscow Railway press service said that at 17:42 on Sunday an injured person was found on the Perovo–Lyubertsy-1 section of the Kazan direction, who had preliminarily violated the rules on being on railway infrastructure. Long-distance suburban trains on the Kazan direction are running behind schedule while MCD-3 trains are running at their set interval.

In materials seen by RIA Novosti, the Russian Interior Ministry advises that if banking-service login data may have been obtained by fraudsters, users should promptly change the password and access code, freeze cards and accounts, and contact the bank on its official number to report the call or message and give the scammer's phone number. Law enforcement notes the bank will itself block the account, reissue cards and block the fraudster's number. Citizens should also warn relatives and acquaintances that their cards may be compromised and that money should not be transferred to them.

The press service of the EMERCOM directorate for the Komi Republic reported on 27 September that a call came in about a roof fire at the Belye Nochi shopping centre on Lenina Street in Vorkuta. When the first unit arrived, the attic floor of the building was burning. Preliminary information puts the fire area at 430 square metres and no casualties have been reported. Twelve firefighters and four vehicles are engaged in suppression.

The Russian Defence Ministry reported on 27 September that air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 96 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight. The summary does not specify interception locations or ground damage. The ministry also issued separate figures for the daytime window and for a full day; because the reporting windows differ, only the overnight figure of 96 is retained here.

On 27 September an attack by Ukrainian forces on Energodar in the Zaporizhzhia region killed one person and injured two. The Russian side did not specify the method of attack or the specific facilities damaged. Reports of casualties in Belgorod region and the LPR also came in the same day; because accounting methods and time windows vary, only the Energodar figures are retained here.

According to Rosstat data published in a statistical bulletin for World Tourism Day, in 2025 Russian tour operators sent 3.713 million people to Turkey, the top destination for organised outbound tourism. Egypt was second with 1.96 million travellers and the UAE third with almost 1.16 million on package tours. They are followed by Thailand (914,200), China (509,000), Abkhazia (419,000) and Vietnam (380,800), the Maldives (196,600), CIS countries (150,100) and Sri Lanka (120,500). The data excludes the Donetsk and Lugansk republics and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Alfir Bakirov, the business rights commissioner for Yaroslavl region, has filed a complaint with the Russian Constitutional Court asking it to declare unconstitutional parts 6, 10 and 13 of Article 22 of the law on roads and road activity, which govern requirements for roadside service facilities along federal highways. The complaint is filed on behalf of entrepreneur Y. Uvarova-Koryagina from Pereslavl-Zalessky: her roadside inn on the M-8 Kholmogory highway covers 490 square metres with a cadastral value of 7.9 million roubles, while she estimates the required access works at about 20 million roubles. After the road agency removed the access, she lost her only source of income. The complaint cites data from the Pribaikalskoye road directorate: only 57 of 134 roadside service facilities (42%) met the requirements, and the R-258 Baikal highway is only 10% covered; the Prikamye directorate reports 48 of 249 facilities (19%) compliant.

The General Assembly of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on 27 September, upheld the suspension of the Russian Chess Federation. Some members objected to extending the restrictions, but a majority voted to keep them in place. A day earlier, Kazakhstan's Timur Turlov was elected FIDE president and former Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov became one of the vice-presidents. Turlov said some countries are losing a generation of players under current conditions but international law must be respected, and pledged to work so that young players are not caught by the restrictions on the Russian federation. Russian players continue to compete under neutral status and the ban on holding events in Russia and Belarus remains. The federation's membership was suspended in June 2024; compared with the 26 September edition, which recorded Turlov's election, what is new here is the assembly's vote on the Russian federation.

At the World Sports Acrobatics Championships held in Pesaro, Italy, from 24 to 27 September, Russian gymnasts won nine medals and finished second in the medal table. Gymnasts from Israel led the standings with five gold and three silver medals.

RBC reported on 27 September that Wildberries (legal entity RWB) said the question of revising return rules for certain marketplace product categories is "overdue". No category list, draft text, effective date, or statement on coverage of foreign sellers was disclosed. The same day, Pavel Smelov, head of the Centre for Strategic Research (CSR), told RIA Novosti that the government is to be empowered to set special return and refusal rules by category. These are separate statements by different parties, not a repeat of one fact. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential at this stage: if return limits are enacted, return-handling costs in high-return categories (apparel and footwear, perfumery and cosmetics, electronics) could fall, but applicability to cross-border sellers is unconfirmed.

Kommersant, using Central Bank data: in August the Russian unsecured consumer loan portfolio grew by more than 220 billion roubles (+1.7%) versus 1.1% in July; auto lending slowed to 0.6% (0.9% in July) and mortgages rose 0.5%. By growth rate, Ozon Bank (+20%) and Yandex Bank (+9%) led the top-50 banks, while Wildberries Bank topped the top-100 in relative terms at +88%. In absolute August portfolio growth, Ozon Bank added 13 billion roubles and Yandex Bank 12 billion, behind only OTP Bank (14 billion) and MKB (18 billion). The implication for sellers is inferential: a rising share of platform-owned financial services means instalments and consumer credit carry more weight in marketplace transactions, so seller-funded instalment subsidies may increase.

FESCO data: in August the Russian container market contracted 0.9% year on year (FESCO counts port and rail border crossings, cabotage and domestic rail), mainly due to falling throughput at Novorossiysk and the widening high military-risk zone in the Black Sea. Over January-August the market still grew 6% to 4.72m TEU: imports +16% to 2.03m TEU, domestic +3.4% to 1.06m TEU, exports -3% to 1.24m TEU, transit flat at 384k TEU. Russian Railways puts eight-month loaded and empty container volumes at +4.6% to 5.26m TEU and August at +7.3% to 664.9k TEU, and notes import container trains from Far East ports doubled to 16 per day in August from 8.3 in January. Delo Group estimates a 9% month-on-month drop in August and expects recovery in September as some flows shift to Baltic and Far East ports. Impact on Chinese sellers is layered: the confirmed fact is the sharp rise in Far East import container trains, an available capacity increase for first-mile shipments via Far East ports; Black Sea uncertainty is also confirmed, while the pass-through to specific routes and rates is inferential.

Interfax, citing the UK Maritime Trade Operations office (UKMTO): commercial shipping intensity in the Strait of Hormuz remains about 75% below the level preceding the US-Iran conflict, with tankers still making up most transiting vessels. Of 43 projectile incidents reported to UKMTO since 26 July, 26 occurred on the southern route off the Omani coast. Iran Hormuz Strait administration (PGSA) warned the same day that vessels using unauthorised routes will face serious restrictions and said it has information about charterers forcing ships onto "impermissible routes". Impact on Chinese sellers is layered: the confirmed fact is the effect on mainline capacity and war-risk insurance costs; whether the alternative Persian Gulf-Caspian corridor into Russia becomes more expensive through diversions and delays is inferential and applicability is unconfirmed.

RIA Novosti interviewed Pavel Smelov, head of the Centre for Strategic Research. He said sellers too often face returns of goods with no defects, so the consumer protection law needs targeted adjustment: food and medicines, which cannot be freely returned in offline retail either, should have returns restricted; for perfumery, cosmetics and electronics, the return procedure should be brought closer to traditional retail rules, i.e. after the buyer inspects the item and confirms receipt. He also called for more transparent return control for sellers: if damage costs along the logistics chain are shifted entirely onto the seller, they end up embedded in the price. "To my knowledge, legislative fine-tuning will happen," he said, adding that the government will be empowered to define categories with a special return and refusal procedure. As of February 2026, a quality product bought remotely can be returned within seven days if its marketable appearance is preserved; the offline list of non-returnable goods does not extend to online purchases, and the law fixes neither the place nor the method of return. This updates the 22 September item on the Ministry of Economic Development plan to tighten online return rules; what is new is the named categories and the empowerment mechanism. There is no confirmed impact on Chinese sellers: no draft law text exists yet, so no new obligations; if adopted, applicability to foreign sellers is unconfirmed.

Vedomosti, citing NZZ: Nestlé headquarters in Vevey has lost control of six Russian entities but has not abandoned the Russian business; it is assessing the situation and possible actions and intends to take the necessary steps to protect its rights. Nestlé Russian units employ about 7,000 people (about 270,000 worldwide). The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said they are in contact with Nestlé and providing support through diplomatic channels, hoping to give the company a chance to present its position to Russian authorities and obtain cancellation of the temporary management. The report also notes that the Russian subsidiary statement about operating as usual and cooperating with the new manager L.E.V. Management was not agreed with headquarters. Context: on 17 September the Russian president signed a decree transferring Nestlé Russia assets to temporary management by L.E.V. Management; the same decree covered Auchan Russian entities; Auchan and Nestlé Russia earlier said this is "not nationalisation". Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: supply and channel terms of the brand may change; whether this affects marketplace availability and prices is unconfirmed.

Kommersant reports: the Russian government added packaged dietary supplements to the list of goods subject to higher import duties; under the resolution published on the evening of 25 September it enters into force seven days later, on 2 October, with a 35% rate through 31 December 2027 covering all unfriendly countries except Hungary and Slovakia. DSM Group CEO Sergei Shulyak says current rates for the main supplement groups are 10-20%; with an annual market of about 300 billion roubles, the increase may bring the budget about 30 billion roubles, while retail prices on the affected items are expected to rise 10-15%. He believes the measure is aimed at supporting domestic producers and replenishing the budget, and that importers will find it more profitable to look for brands from friendly countries, though switching suppliers requires rebuilding logistics and payment channels and takes time. Confirmed impact on sellers: landed costs rise for goods originating in unfriendly countries. Applicability to Chinese sellers is unconfirmed: eligibility is determined by country of origin, China is not on the unfriendly list, but goods originating in unfriendly countries routed or contract-manufactured via China may be affected.

Kommersant, citing the White House statement of 26 September and the Chinese foreign ministry: the sides reached consensus on a more favourable tariff regime for non-sensitive goods worth $30bn in each direction. The US will ease duties on Chinese small household appliances, toys, holiday decorations and child car seats: in July US imports of Chinese toys were $818.6m (67.6% of all supplies in that category), child car seats $66.9m (95.4%) and small appliances $431.5m (47.6%). China will ease duties on US agricultural products, fish and seafood, timber, cosmetics and medical devices. The existing trade truce, due to expire on 10 November, was extended by two months to 10 January 2027, and China committed to import at least 10m tonnes of US coal in 2027 and the same in 2028. Specific rates, the full product list and effective dates have not been announced. According to Euler analyst Bennett Kerr, the deal covers about 11% of annual US imports and more than a quarter of exports (January-July US imports from China were about $156bn, exports about $65bn). There is no confirmed impact on Chinese sellers: no direct change in obligations; the effect on Russian-market operations is inferential, since toys and small appliances are core Russian marketplace categories, so a rebound in US orders taking up factory capacity could feed through to Russia-bound pricing and lead times, with applicability unconfirmed; the truce was extended by only two months, so escalation risk in early 2027 remains.

Kommersant, citing Infoline: the drogerie chain M.Cosmetic (formerly Magnit Cosmetic), part of the Magnit group, closed 97 stores in January-June, 4.6 times more than the 21 stores in the same period last year. Net revenue for the half-year rose only 0.8% to 116.5 billion roubles (versus 6.2% growth a year earlier). The brand operates about 7,900 stores. Infoline-Analytics CEO Mikhail Burmistrov estimates that 57% of all non-food goods are now sold through the online channel; Stanislav Bogdanov, chairman of the Russian Retail Companies Association, adds that the format is squeezed by economy-wide factors: high borrowing costs, more expensive rent, construction and store fit-out, and staff shortages. Confirmed relevance for sellers: offline drogerie shelf space in beauty and household chemicals is shrinking while traffic and sales keep shifting online, market data that can be used directly for category and channel decisions.