Most Russian companies have adapted to the Russification law

Most small and medium-sized businesses were able to adapt to the new requirements of legislation on the protection of the Russian language without significant changes in their work. This is evidenced by the results of a survey* by VTB and the Online Patent data presented at SPIEF-2026.

From March 1, 2026, Russia has new requirements for the design of signs and information plates: they must be in Russian. The study, based on a survey of 863 companies, showed how entrepreneurs adapted to change.

More than 90% of respondents said that the law had virtually no impact on their work. Two-thirds of those affected by the changes chose one of two paths: either Russified materials or registered brands in the Latin alphabet as trademarks.

Every fifth company noted that they spent significant amounts on adaptation—more than 10% of the marketing budget. A third of entrepreneurs rated the additional costs as minimal. The main expense items were rebranding and updating websites and internal platforms.

A third of companies surveyed said they feared a decline in brand awareness from–for changing signage, but in reality most did not notice any changes in sales and interaction with customers.

In 2026, companies began to register trademarks more actively: in January-April, the total number of applications increased by 31% year-on-year. At the same time, the demand for signs in the Cyrillic alphabet increased by 23%, and for signs in the Latin alphabet or with mixed elements – by 40%.

The peak of activity occurred in February and March; in April, demand went down as companies worked out legal requirements. It is noted that the trend towards registering Cyrillic characters began in 2025, immediately after the adoption of the law.

As Alina Akinshina, CEO of Online Patent, said, if a company wants to continue to use a non-Russian-language designation in consumer information, the only legal mechanism is to register such a designation with Rospatent as a trademark. Over 1 million trademarks have already been registered in Russia, so the risk for businesses of unintentionally using a designation similar to an already protected brand is growing.

*The survey was conducted by VTB in May 2026 among 863 small and medium-sized businesses.