The State Duma committee responsible for state construction and legislation moved a bill forward in its first reading as part of the broader push to introduce the digital ruble. The proposed amendments would modify provisions of the Civil Code to accommodate a new form of money issued by the central bank and used in daily transactions. Earlier stages of scrutiny saw a separate committee for financial markets backing the project, indicating a cross committee interest in how digital money would interact with bank instruments and financial markets. The plan was scheduled for consideration by the chamber on March 16, reflecting a carefully staged parliamentary process that spans multiple committees before a final vote.
A draft law outlining the issuance and use of the digital ruble was first presented to the State Duma in December 2022. The legislation envisions a state regulated digital currency that citizens, businesses, and government bodies can transact with in a secure, verifiable, and efficient manner. The group of deputies guiding the initiative was led by Anatoly Aksakov, who also chairs the State Duma committee on financial markets. The bill frames the digital ruble as a complement to existing payment tools, intended to streamline public services and commercial activities while reinforcing the integrity and resilience of the monetary system. The approach reflects a broader strategy to modernize economic infrastructure and expand choice for participants in the Russian financial ecosystem. [Source: RIA Novosti summary of parliamentary actions]
During the previous year, the central bank conducted pilot payments using digital rubles as part of a controlled testing program. In light of ongoing sanctions pressure, the regulator accelerated its timetable for demonstrations and experiments, initiating test transactions on April 23, 2022. Central Bank leadership has repeatedly signaled that the digital ruble would move from laboratory experiments to real world use, with Governor Elvira Nabiullina indicating that real customer testing could begin in 2023 and that subsequent phases would broaden participation and real-world use cases. The testing program has shared milestones with the broader objective of validating technical readiness, user experience, and interoperability with existing payment rails, while also examining regulatory, privacy, and security considerations that would shape eventual policy decisions. [Source: Bank of Russia communications]