[Update] Pickup points may shift to cadastral property tax; industry …

Moscow's Basmanny Court ordered two months of pretrial detention for Igor Shpurov, director general of the federal state commission on mineral reserves (GKZ), in a corruption case, law enforcement agencies told Interfax. The alleged bribe-giver was also remanded in custody. Shpurov was appointed by the federal subsoil agency Rosnedra in December 2013; details of the case have not been disclosed, and Rosnedra said it is providing the necessary assistance to investigators.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order releasing Alexander Nikitin from the post of state secretary and deputy minister of sport at his own request, in connection with his election as a deputy of the ninth State Duma. The order is dated 29 September and was published on the official legal information portal on Saturday 3 October.

The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the attack by a detainee on escort officers in Kabardino-Balkaria. Compared with 2 October reports (one escort officer killed, the attacker shot dead), the new element is the formal opening of a case; the federal penitentiary service confirmed one officer died and another wounded officer remains in serious condition.

Deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, in an interview with Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, set out three conditions: a neutral, non-nuclear, independent status for Ukraine; Kyiv's abandonment of its current nationalist course and condemnation of restrictions on the Russian language and culture; and the transfer of Donbas and other new regions to Russian jurisdiction as set out in the Russian constitution. He said President Putin had earlier stated these demands at a Foreign Ministry board meeting, and that Russia would achieve its goals by military means if diplomacy fails.

In the same interview with Iranian media, Dmitry Medvedev said Russia provided Iran with 'direct assistance' at the UN Security Council. He did not disclose the form or scale. The remark came against the backdrop of Iran's ongoing military confrontation with the United States and Israel; Moscow has repeatedly stressed its treaty-based partnership with Tehran.

The Russian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti that drills involving Japan have lost their previous 'purely defensive' character, and voiced concern over Tokyo's participation. The statement highlighted Japanese plans to use domestically deployed Type-25 strike missile systems in the Japan-US Keen Sword exercise in October. The drills start on 19 October and run for 11 days, with contingents from seven other countries including Australia and Canada; the missiles have a range of up to 1,000 km and were deployed in Kumamoto in March.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations office reported that a crude oil tanker was attacked about four nautical miles east of Oman, with an 'unidentified projectile' striking the port side, as reported by the vessel's master. The crew is safe and no environmental damage was reported. A day earlier the same office reported a tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz, which caught fire and lost power before the crew extinguished the blaze and continued. Up to 15% of global oil shipments and 20% of LNG pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The government signed a resolution allowing gasoline and diesel producers, until the end of 2026, to count toward their minimum mandatory exchange sales quota the volumes sold through filling stations that have signed price-cap agreements with regions and report their sales. The current quota is 10% for gasoline and 16% for diesel, of which up to 8 and 13 percentage points respectively may be met through targeted deliveries, with at least 2% and 3% traded openly. The full gasoline export ban runs until 31 January 2027, and the diesel export ban for producers until the end of October.

Belarusian ambassador to Moscow Yuri Seliverstov said mutual investment between Belarus and Russia since the start of 2026 amounts to about $5 billion, with the two sides roughly at parity. He said January-June figures show the Belarusian contribution matching and slightly exceeding Russia's, with just over $5 billion invested in assembly plants in Russia and comparable Russian investment in Belarusian production.

Anatoly Kashpirovsky died at 06:45 on 3 October at the age of 87; his manager Sergei Rudykh announced the death. His nephew Yuri Mamaev told RIA Novosti the cause was stage-four stomach cancer that had metastasised to all organs including the lungs and brain, diagnosed a year and a half earlier. Earlier reports attributed the death to cardiac arrest.

The Russian Health Ministry has drafted rules for mandatory and extraordinary medical examinations of drivers and driver candidates, along with the format of medical certificates and the procedure for notifying drivers. Certificates would be issued electronically, with a paper copy available on request. If signs of a condition that bars driving are found, the driver will be referred for further examination or treatment; if confirmed, a notification will be sent via the Gosuslugi portal requiring an extraordinary examination within three months. The new rules, if approved, take effect on 1 March 2027.

In a shop on Kirova street in the Novovyatsky district of Kirov, a man shot a female cashier in the face with a gas pistol because he considered the service too slow. The regional interior ministry directorate reported the incident on 3 October. The incident itself took place on 29 September.

Acting head of the Sergiyevo-Posadsky district in the Moscow region, Alexei Luzhetsky, announced that cleanup at the Krasnozavodsk chemical plant had been completed and five bodies were found while clearing the rubble. Compared with Thursday's fire and the single body found on Friday, the new elements are the final death toll and the completion of cleanup. Forty people had been evacuated earlier; air monitoring found no exceedances of permissible pollutant concentrations.

Belgorod region governor Alexander Shuvayev said Ukrainian forces struck a residential area in central Belgorod on the evening of 3 October, injuring six people, three of them minors. A four-year-old girl and an eleven-year-old boy were hospitalised with shrapnel wounds to the legs, and a 16-year-old boy with penetrating chest and abdominal wounds is in serious condition; three adults were also taken to hospital, two in serious condition. Drone detonations set fire to one flat and six cars, and damaged five private houses and two apartment blocks. The Defence Ministry reported 244 drones downed between 08:00 and 20:00.

A woman and her five children suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in a house in Balashov, Saratov region, and the family was hospitalised. According to the regional Investigative Committee press service, preliminary findings suggest the poisoning may have been caused by malfunctioning gas equipment. Investigators are examining the scene and have opened a check under Part 1 of Article 238 of the criminal code (provision of services that do not meet safety requirements).

The Sverdlovsk region prosecutor's office reported a localised rock fall at the Cheryomukhovskaya-Glubokaya mine near Severouralsk at the 1,040 m level. A specialist rescue team recovered the body of a man with no signs of life from under the debris. Work was suspended only in the affected section. The regional emergencies directorate said 98 people were underground and no evacuation was carried out. The prosecutor's office will assess compliance with mining safety and labour protection requirements.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the completion of the right tunnel between the SberCity and Novorizhskaya stations on the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskaya line: the 'Sofia' shield bored 2.52 km underground at a maximum depth of 25 m, including about 50 m beneath the Moskva river bed. Construction of the 2.54 km left tunnel on the same section continues. SberCity station is nearly 60% complete and Novorizhskaya more than 40%. The line's first section opened on 5 September, with the next leg due in 2027.

A tanker and a tug towing a barge ran aground near the Gorodets hydroelectric complex in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Russian rescue services are working at the site; no casualties or oil product leaks have been reported. The stretch is part of the Volga shipping artery and the incident may affect vessel traffic.

Command of the International Space Station will pass to Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov on Sunday. He is serving aboard the station as part of a long-duration expedition and will take charge of crew command and flight safety.

A statue of Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev was unveiled in the 'Valley of Death' near the village of Kruzlova in the Svidnik district of north-eastern Slovakia. According to the TASR news agency, those attending included Slovak agriculture and rural development minister Richard Takac, MEP Lubos Blaha and representatives of the Russian embassy in Slovakia.

Industry players interviewed by Kommersant FM estimate that the tax-code amendments submitted to the State Duma would treat marketplace pickup points like offices and business centres for property tax purposes: the base shifts from book value (which falls with depreciation) to cadastral value at up to 2%, raising the tax by 5-10 times at once. Pickup-point network owner Artyom Bobtsov gives an example: the average property where his network rents space in Moscow and the region is worth about 20 million roubles; at 2% that is an extra 400,000 roubles a year, or roughly 34,000 roubles a month, i.e. a 20-25% rent increase against the network average. About a third of pickup points in Moscow and the region break even or run at a small loss, with January-May the weakest period; rent is about 20% of costs. Yulia Sukach, co-chair for network development at the E-Commerce Market Participants Association, adds that pickup points usually occupy ground floors, the most expensive space. The combined Wildberries and Russ company called the measure "excessive and conceptually wrong". This follows the 2 October report on the 378.2 amendment and the 20% area threshold; what is new here are the quantified tax and rent estimates. The impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: last-mile and fulfilment costs may come under pressure, but whether platforms pass these costs on and whether cross-border sellers are affected has not been stated by the authorities or the platforms — applicability remains unconfirmed.

The Russian government has allowed gasoline and diesel producers to count volumes sold at fuel stations toward their mandatory exchange sales quota. The measure applies only to stations that have signed agreements with regions capping fuel prices and that report sales data; it runs until 31 December 2026. The government press service said the decision was taken to give such stations priority supply and thereby keep the domestic fuel market stable. Producers may also count volumes sold by several refineries within one company in aggregate, rather than per individual plant. The standing quota is 15% for gasoline and 16% for diesel; in July the government temporarily cut the gasoline quota to 10%. The impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: fuel is a major cost in Russian long-haul and last-mile delivery, and the looser quota plus priority supply to capped-price stations help contain prices, but whether this feeds through to platform logistics tariffs remains to be seen.

A Russian government resolution sets out requirements for marketplace operators through which state and municipal educational institutions may run public procurement: the platform must be listed in the register of intermediary digital platforms, have logistics infrastructure in at least 45 regions, and have at least two suppliers of goods from the list of educational equipment required to outfit educational organisations (furniture, equipment, devices) approved by order of the Ministry of Education under the "Education Development" state programme. The Finance Ministry will publish the document list and filing procedure in the unified information system; operators must submit documents by 2 November, verification ends late in the month, after which the ministry compiles the platform list and sends it to the government for approval. Background: amendments to law 44-FZ in force since 1 October allow schools, kindergartens and colleges to make "off-the-shelf" purchases via marketplaces of up to 5 million roubles per contract, in a pilot running to 30 September 2028. Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff Dmitry Grigorenko said the requirements ensure reliable supply and product choice. Applicability to Chinese sellers is unconfirmed: the thresholds target platform operators, the resolution does not address direct supply by foreign sellers, and whether Chinese sellers can take part through selected platforms can only be judged once the Finance Ministry publishes the list and filing procedure.

According to Banki.ru, Sergei Mironov, chairman of the A Just Russia party, has proposed launching a targeted subsidised lending programme in Russia for the self-employed and sole traders at 2-3%, or "at least 7%" if that is not feasible; he argued support matters most for key industries capable of driving growth and household incomes. He also called for the Bank of Russia key rate to be cut to at least 7% to unfreeze business activity and stimulate the economy through domestic demand. The report gives no loan limits, no programme operator and no timetable, and no bill has been drafted yet. The impact on Chinese sellers is inferential: most sellers on Russian platforms are registered as sole traders or self-employed, so if the programme materialises the cost of working capital could fall; for now it is only a lawmaker proposal with an unclear legislative path.

A presidential decree in force since 29 September restricts the export of cash roubles to Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with a 1 million rouble threshold for individuals. A lawyer explains that amounts above the threshold may only be taken out through international airports designated by the Russian government and against supporting documents: a bank statement, a cash-currency transaction document, a receipt bearing the bearer name, an ATM withdrawal slip, a microfinance loan agreement, or a credit agreement with a cash disbursement order. The key point is that documents must cover the entire amount (carrying 1.5 million roubles requires proof of 1.5 million, not just the 500,000 above the cap). Per Bank of Russia clarifications, non-cash transfers abroad are unrestricted: resident individuals may send funds to their own foreign account or to another person with no amount limit. The impact on Chinese sellers is confirmed: the channel of repatriating funds by carrying cash out is now capped, and amounts above the cap require a non-cash route or a full set of supporting documents; non-cash settlement is unaffected.

Belarusian ambassador to Russia Yuri Seliverstov said on the First Information TV channel that mutual investment between Belarus and Russia so far in 2026 is about $5bn, with contributions roughly balanced: over January-June the two sides were at parity, with Belarus even slightly ahead. He added that Belarus has invested slightly more than $5bn in assembly plants in the Russian Federation, while Russian partners invest comparable amounts in production in Belarus. Note that this figure sits awkwardly with the $5bn aggregate mutual investment estimate, and the original does not reconcile the two; both numbers are reported here as stated.

Belarusian ambassador to Russia Yuri Seliverstov said the intensity of interaction within the Union State creates the conditions for bilateral trade this year to exceed last year, without giving a specific target; he disclosed that last year trade turnover between the two countries was almost $55bn excluding services. He also noted that around thirty Russian delegations led by regional heads visited Belarus during the year, plus 42 delegations at deputy-head level.