Ozon enables cash payment for orders via Ozon Bank ATMs, capped at 15…

President Vladimir Putin, meeting the leaders of the parties that entered the State Duma at the Kremlin on 28 September, said he fully supports nominating Vyacheslav Volodin as speaker of the ninth State Duma, noting that Volodin ran the previous Duma "very much in a partnership manner." United Russia chairman Dmitry Medvedev said a joint session of the party supreme and general councils had decided to back Volodin. According to the report, the leaders of all parties entering the Duma voiced support. The first plenary session of the new convocation is set for 30 September.

A presidential decree signed and published on 28 September sets the authorised strength of the Russian Armed Forces at 2,441,630, including 1,550,500 servicemen. Under the previous decree of 27 July the figure was 2,426,130, including 1,535,000 servicemen, meaning service personnel rose by 15,500. The decree takes effect on the day of signing and instructs the government to allocate the relevant budget funds to the Defence Ministry.

Speaking to party leaders on 28 September, Putin said all attempts to derail the campaign and interfere in Russia internal affairs had "completely failed," including through terrorist methods and the tools of foreign intelligence services. According to final CEC results, United Russia took 349 seats, the Communist Party 37, the LDPR 23, New People 19 and A Just Russia 17, with one Rodina deputy and four independents; turnout was 59.8%.

On 28 September Putin signed decree No. 701, extending by another six months, to 1 April 2027, the effect of decree No. 172 of 31 March 2022 on the special procedure for foreign buyers settling obligations to Russian natural gas suppliers. The original scheme allowed payment only via Gazprombank; at the end of 2024 the wording "authorised bank" was replaced with "Russian credit organisation," meaning any Russian bank. The arrangement has been extended repeatedly before.

The Council of the European Union on 28 September imposed restrictive measures on ten individuals over the barring of the Yabloko party from the September 2026 State Duma election. The measures freeze assets and bar EU citizens and companies from making funds or other economic resources available to those listed. The list includes three judges of the Russian Supreme Court and an official of the Prosecutor General Office, the judge who sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month (Viktoriya Mlyamova), the state prosecutor who requested that sentence, and judges in the cases of Maxim Kruglov and Nikolai Rybakov. The mechanism now covers 108 individuals and seven entities.

US President Donald Trump told reporters on 28 September that he had a "great meeting" with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous week and would rate it "12" on a scale of 0 to 10, adding that the talks were "very respectful, very good." He did not disclose any concrete outcomes or the list of topics discussed.

In the main trading session on 28 September the MOEX index fell 0.86% to 2,254.28 (intraday it dipped to around 2,245), while the dollar-denominated RTS index fell 0.94% to 841.33. The decline was attributed to continued geopolitical tension around Ukraine and Iran and to a drop in metals, with higher oil offering some support — the November Brent contract rose to around $107.5 per barrel. Leading decliners included HeadHunter (-6.4%), MMK (-3.7%) and Polyus (-3.4%).

The government raised the maximum capacity that microgeneration facilities may export to the grid: 50 kW for individuals and 150 kW for legal entities, sole traders and apartment buildings. Previously the cap was 15 kW for all consumer categories. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the change would create additional incentives for distributed generation, letting companies install solar plants at production sites and retail outlets and letting apartment owners use facade and rooftop solutions. The cabinet also amended grid-connection rules and the use of common property in apartment blocks, implementing a law of 26 June 2026.

According to Vedomosti, the Finance Ministry has suggested regions encourage local companies to go public on a "returnable" basis: the region provides support measures and in exchange receives an option on the future listed company, usually in the form of preferred shares so as not to affect management. Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov also raised the issue of succession in regional family businesses. The report gives no figures for the scale of support, option size or number of companies. Alexei Yakovlev, head of the financial policy department, had earlier said amendments allowing IPOs of regional companies with state participation were being prepared.

Meeting party leaders on 28 September, Putin called housing and utility tariffs a "most important" and "very sensitive, acute" issue, stressing that all tariffs must be economically justified while remaining socially restrained and commensurate with real household incomes. He said parliament and the government must work on this "fine matter" virtually daily. He gave no specific tariff levels or timetable for changes.

The Yekaterinburg National Guard directorate in 2026 brought 19 school principals to administrative liability for violating safety requirements at educational institutions. Since the start of the year it inspected 210 education facilities — 194 municipal schools and 16 supplementary education institutions, including 19 unannounced checks. All buildings have approved safety passports, but only 62 meet requirements while 148 do not. Typical shortcomings include no vehicle checkpoint at entrances, no speed-reduction or anti-ram devices, no autonomous alarm or alert system, no metal detector, no guard room on the ground floor, no rigidly fixed gates, and insufficient cameras and lighting. The relevant article carries fines of 30,000 to 50,000 roubles for officials, or disqualification for six months to three years.

According to the regional ministry of natural resources and forestry, as of 28 September Krasnoyarsk region had culled 729 brown bears under population-control measures. Since the start of the year the region issued 180 orders covering 1,214 brown bears and received 128 applications for monetary rewards for culling. Authorities warned residents that the risk of bears approaching remains in parts of the region and urged caution.

The Dodo Pizza chain reported on 28 September that its IT system was hit by a cyberattack on 27-28 September and that some customer data may have leaked. Available reports do not specify the number of affected customers, the type of data or the attack method; the company said it is investigating. A day earlier the Russian Interior Ministry advised users to change passwords, freeze cards and contact their bank if banking services are breached.

According to the EMERCOM, as of 22:00 on 28 September the fire at the fireworks plant in the village of Kubrinsk, Pereslavl-Zalessky district, Yaroslavl region, left 15 victims: 14 dead and one woman hospitalised; the fire was fully extinguished. Ten deaths had been reported earlier. Governor Mikhail Yevrayev declared a regional state of emergency; 200 people and 23 pieces of equipment were deployed, most of the village lost power and temporary accommodation points were set up. A criminal case was opened under Part 3 of Article 217 of the Criminal Code; 30 September was declared a day of mourning in the region.

Kherson region governor Vladimir Saldo reported on 28 September that Ukrainian strikes caused an emergency power outage leaving 213 settlements without electricity. The outages affected the Genichesk, Golaya Pristan, Ivanovka, Nizhneserogozsky, Verkhnerogachiksky, Kakhovka, Novaya Kakhovka, Novotroitskoye and Chaplinka districts. He said power-service specialists were carrying out repair work. No casualties were reported.

The Belgorod region operational headquarters reported on 28 September that in the Shebekino district a drone struck a car in the village of Rzhevka, wounding two men — one with shrapnel wounds to the back and chest, the other to the back; both were taken to Shebekino district hospital. The same day, an FPV drone detonation damaged infrastructure in the village of Nikolskoye, another damaged the roof of a commercial building in Grayvoron, and a drone hit an enterprise in Borisovka, damaging the roof of an administrative building and a truck; private houses and cars were damaged in several other localities.

First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said at the Microelectronics 2026 forum that Sber Integral Systems will become the base for a united Russian microelectronics company that will pool resources for expanding production and receive funds from the technology levy taking effect on 1 December 2026, with Sber as the main partner. He stressed the new structure will not be an analogue of the United Aircraft or United Shipbuilding corporations and will not absorb existing private microelectronics companies. Integral Systems had earlier acquired the Element company, which holds a component base and R&D and production capabilities.

Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev told Putin on 28 September that the corporation plans to reach total revenue of 5.5 trillion roubles by 2030, with more than half coming from technological sovereignty projects; the current investment programme is 1.7 trillion roubles, one of the largest in the country. The construction portfolio includes 18 reactors in Russia and 28 abroad, with an order book of another 45 units in 13 countries. It was earlier reported that Rosatom open-part revenue exceeded 3 trillion roubles in 2025, foreign revenue was $17.2 billion and the foreign order book rose to $206 billion.

Violinist Sergei Erdenko, founder and leader of the Loyko trio, died on 25 September aged 67. His death was announced by the group director Tatiana Erdenko and confirmed by the Karelian State Philharmonic. He had been ill for a long time. Erdenko founded Loyko in 1990; its repertoire blended Roma music with Romanian, Hungarian and Celtic folk elements and classical music. The group performed and recorded with musicians from The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, as well as Ravi Shankar and Gidon Kremer.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman and Boeing commercial programme head John Mulholland said at a joint press conference on 28 September that the first regular operational crewed flight of Starliner to the ISS has been moved to mid-2028. An uncrewed Starliner 1 mission to the station is planned no earlier than December 2026 to validate recent remediation work. NASA will allocate about $359 million more for Starliner engine and onboard system upgrades and for certification of the new Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle. Astronaut Woody Hoburg was named commander of the first operational crew.

Ozon said on 28 September that it has enabled cash payment for orders: before collecting goods at a pickup point, the buyer deposits cash at an Ozon Bank ATM by selecting Pay for order, scanning a barcode in the app and inserting the amount. It applies to orders of up to 15,000 roubles and does not require the buyer to be a bank customer. The service covers more than 1,400 ATMs in about 170 cities and localities, and the bank plans to expand the network to 3,000 devices by end-2027. The report does not say whether the method covers cross-border sellers goods or how it counts toward cash-on-delivery share. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: a wider cash channel may lift payment success at remote pickup points with a strong cash preference, but applicability is unconfirmed and no terms for non-resident sellers were published.

Banki.ru reported on 28 September that Wildberries is scaling its loyalty programme into My WB, now open to all buyers in Russia via the Profile section in the app or on the site. One WB point equals one rouble of discount, with discounts of up to 99% on marketplace purchases; paying with a WB Bank card outside the ecosystem returns 5% cashback in points. Perks also include personalised offers, daily tasks, level progression and extra privileges, spanning the online pharmacy, cosmetics chain, travel, banking and resale arms of the ecosystem. Founder Tatyana Kim said that for sellers this is a new toolkit for building their own audience, stimulating repeat purchases and managing sales. Whether participation is paid, the exact seller tool list, and the timing of further stages were not disclosed. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: whether cross-border goods qualify for points and who bears the cost of points are not stated, so applicability remains unconfirmed.

Interfax reported at 21:20 on 28 September that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a government resolution establishing a three-year experimental legal regime (ELR) for transport and logistics services using rovers; the document is dated 26 September and was posted on the legal acts portal. The three ELR subjects are Robodostavka (a Yandex entity), Droneshub and SberLogistika. The document defines a rover as no wider than 80 cm, no longer than 110 cm, up to 120 kg excluding cargo, with motor power not above 4 kW; speed limits are 25 km/h on combined bicycle-pedestrian and cycle paths, 6 km/h at pedestrian crossings and 10 km/h on pavements and in residential zones; connection to a dispatch system, cameras and road-condition recording devices, identification numbers and a QR code of the operator are mandatory. Third-party liability insurance of at least 500,000 roubles per rover is required. The regime covers roughly 38 federal subjects including Moscow and St Petersburg. Performance targets: at least 500 rovers in the first half of year one and at least 12,000 by the end of year three, with completed orders rising from 450,000 to 10.8 million. The Ministry of Economic Development drafted the document. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: scaled-up robotic delivery could push last-mile costs down, but the text states no onboarding path for cross-border sellers or beyond platform pickup points, so applicability is unconfirmed.

RBC reported at 19:53 on 28 September that the Finance Ministry has drafted an order expanding the three existing risk indicators used in oversight of cash-register equipment, shifting the focus to detecting non-use of registers in retail and catering. New risk indicators are: a high share of refunds, correction operations and expense operations; settlements predominantly or exclusively by one method, meaning cash only or cashless only; no register registered with the tax authority after the set deadline; and a prolonged absence of fiscal data in the tax authority information system. The draft is posted on the draft regulations portal under number 169175 and implements an instruction from Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff Dmitry Grigorenko. The ministry said the indicators let the Federal Tax Service pinpoint risk without raising the administrative burden on compliant businesses. Note that this is a draft: it is not yet in force and no effective date was given. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: where a seller has a Russian legal entity using cash-register equipment, such as own retail or payment collection at a pickup point, the refund-share and single-settlement-method indicators are the most likely triggers; whether it applies to sellers operating purely through online platforms is unknown, as the report does not address it, and applicability remains unconfirmed.

RBC reported at 09:16 on 28 September that a government resolution taking effect the same day suspends scheduled inspections of commercial facilities damaged by drone and other fire attacks since 1 January 2026, running until 1 October 2027. Unscheduled oversight is also restricted, permitted only on the prosecutor's request, by instruction of the president or government, where life, health, state security or an emergency is at stake, plus cases of operating without a business-start notification and of verifying earlier violations were remedied, the latter allowed remotely via a mobile app. The suspension excludes industrial safety at class II hazardous facilities, safety of class II hydraulic structures, transport security, education and energy oversight. Context: in late August the government introduced separate relief for facilities of RWB, the combined Wildberries and Russ entity hit by attacks, granting a one-year deferral on certain taxes and insurance contributions and freezing tax audits until end-2026. This item is a general rule for all damaged commercial facilities, not a repeat of that targeted relief. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: where a leased or owned warehouse or sorting point in Russia was genuinely damaged and falls within the scope, scheduled-inspection pressure eases in the near term; but the qualification criteria and application route are not disclosed, so applicability remains unconfirmed.

Kommersant reported at 12:32 on 28 September, based on its own calculation from Rosstat data, that output of suitcases, handbags and similar goods fell 13.9% year-on-year in January-July to 7.6bn roubles; only January showed growth, up 20% year-on-year, while March was the worst month at minus 35.1%. Adjacent categories shrank far less: footwear output in physical terms fell 1.5% and clothing 4.5%. On the import side, textiles and textile articles, footwear, hide raw materials, furs and articles thereof totalled USD 10.4bn in the first half, up 11.8% year-on-year. Bag production is heavily dependent on imported inputs: Fashion Consulting Group CEO Anna Lebsak-Kleimans estimates that imported content accounts for an average 25-50% of the cost of a Russian-made bag, with hardware, zips, linings, glues and dyes usually sourced abroad. On demand, Chek Index data show purchases in the category down 4% year-on-year in January-August while average ticket rose 6% to about 3,500 roubles per item; online is the sole bright spot, with internet purchases of such goods 11% more frequent than a year earlier in January-August, and CDEK.Shopping orders for delivery of luxury and premium-brand items from abroad up 16% year-on-year. On the supply side, 388 bag and suitcase manufacturing companies were registered in Russia in early September, 6% fewer than at the start of the year, while individual entrepreneurs in the field numbered slightly over 1,500 and edged up. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: shrinking local output, dependence on imported inputs and growing inbound premium deliveries all point to continued reliance on the Chinese supply chain, but no marketplace share or seller-structure data are given, so no concrete uplift can be derived and applicability remains unconfirmed.

Unlike the 26 September edition, which recorded that the 26.09 rate group carried through to 28 September, the Bank of Russia reset rates on the coverage day, ending that carry-over. Interfax reported at 19:21 on 28 September that the yuan gained 8 kopecks to 12.59 roubles on the Moscow Exchange on Monday, with the weaker rouble attributed to exporters reducing currency supply after completing monthly tax payments, including personal income tax, social contributions, VAT, mineral extraction tax, excises and profit tax that day. In parallel, the Bank of Russia published official rates effective 29 September: the dollar up 6.61 kopecks to 84.4075 roubles, the euro up 37.9 kopecks to 96.2499 and the yuan up 2.74 kopecks to 12.5629. The editors additionally checked the CBR official currency interface directly: a request for 28 September rates returns effective date 26.09.2026 (USD 84.3414, EUR 95.8709, CNY 12.5355), while a request for 29 September returns effective date 29.09.2026 with values matching exactly, confirming that a repricing did occur on the coverage day. For Chinese sellers this is a confirmed impact: converting yuan-denominated purchase cost into rouble selling prices, the settlement reference rate rose from 12.5355 to 12.5629, so rouble revenue per yuan is about 0.22% higher under the new group. This is a change in the official settlement rate, not a market quote.

Lenta reported at 17:28 on 28 September that President Vladimir Putin signed an order permitting Softeks to acquire 100% of the Russian legal entity of the Western Union payment system; the document was posted on the official legal acts portal under number 0001202609280004. The deal value, closing timeline and any comment from the parent company were not disclosed. Context: in April 2022 Western Union reported losses of USD 11m after exiting the Russian and Belarusian markets; this year online transfer channels from Russia to CIS countries continue to face sanctions-driven disruption, with one popular remittance system already restricted after its operator lost its licence. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: if the new owner restarts or restructures the service, one more personal outbound remittance route from Russia may appear, but the report says nothing about business-to-business settlement, and no verifiable link to marketplace payment collection or cross-border repatriation has been established, so applicability remains unconfirmed and this should not be read as a collections improvement.

Kommersant reported at 21:50 on 28 September that Chinese cross-border platform Shein disclosed a 13.9% year-on-year drop in second-quarter European sales to USD 3.77bn, citing Reuters quoting documents the company filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The cause is the EU fee of 3 euros per parcel worth under 150 euros introduced on 1 July, which led Shein to raise prices; Europe accounts for about a third of its revenue. The company expects the main impact in the third quarter and warns it may exceed the effect of the earlier US removal of duty-free treatment for low-value parcels. US sales fell 6% over the same period to USD 2.5bn, with total sales up just 0.9%, carried by Latin America, and shares have fallen 27.3% since the 1 September Hong Kong listing. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential, and markets must be separated: the evidence shows how the EU per-parcel fee transmits through a major platform, which differs from Russian practice, where our 25 September edition recorded only a proposal to apply 22% VAT to goods bought online from abroad, still a proposal. These are different mechanisms and conclusions should not be carried over to Russia; whether to reallocate effort between the two markets depends on per-category logistics cost and margin models, for which we have no verifiable basis.

Kommersant reported at 16:49 on 28 September that President Vladimir Putin signed a decree transferring 100% of Metro Warehouse Noginsk, previously held by METRO Cash & Carry Russia B.V., to UK Torg RUS for external management, together with Retail Property 5 LLC. The document was posted on the legal acts portal under number 0001202609280008. Public records show UK Torg RUS was registered on 8 September with Tolay Johannes Maria listed as founder. Store count, turnover and any subsequent sale plans were not disclosed; Metro AG responded later the same day saying it is assessing the situation. As the outlet explains using comparable cases, external management separates the Russian business from its former foreign owner and has typically been an interim stage before a sale, with deals taking six to eight months according to expert estimates. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: Metro operates a cash-and-carry format for small wholesale buyers and is not a primary channel for cross-border sellers, so the change of control does not itself alter the marketplace landscape; whether supply contracts are re-signed or payment terms adjusted is not addressed and would need separate verification, so applicability remains unconfirmed.

Kommersant reported at 21:07 on 28 September, citing a survey by consultancy TeDo, that 52% of Russian retailers raised digitalisation budgets in 2025, focusing on technologies with measurable financial effect within 12-24 months. Verifiable figures include: the Russian generative AI market grew 4.5x in 2025 from 13bn to 58bn roubles; product-forecast and auto-replenishment platforms cut out-of-shelf time by 2-4%, up to 15% in individual cases, reduce surplus stock by 10-15% and raise turnover by 5-12%; Rosstat puts retail turnover for January-November 2025 at 55.18 trillion roubles, up 2.5% year-on-year, with X5 full-year revenue up 18.8%. On logistics: 15 Evocargo autonomous electric trucks at Wildberries cut fleet maintenance costs by 30%; Magnit operates more than 100 autonomous tractors; and Lemana PRO reduced depalletising cost by 40% using a Yandex Robotics arm. On payments: adoption of the digital rouble could cut acquiring costs to 0.3% and shorten shift closing by 20-40%, while AI personalisation and recommendation engines add 5-15% to online revenue. Cited barriers include sanctions restricting some Western systems, fragmented data infrastructure, high hardware cost and high line-staff turnover. Impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: platform and large-retail investment in warehouse automation lowers marginal logistics cost and could in theory feed through to platform logistics rates, but the piece contains no rate data and does not mention cross-border sellers, so applicability remains unconfirmed.