During the plenary session focused on Artificial Intelligence Day at the international exhibition and forum known as “Russia,” Maksut Shadayev, who oversees the Ministry of Digital Development in the Russian Federation, articulated a clear stance on international collaboration in AI. He underscored that the government does not impede access to foreign resources that specialize in artificial intelligence technologies and that it supports open channels for cooperation with global partners. The message, relayed by TASS, emphasized a willingness to engage with foreign innovations while maintaining national considerations about security, data governance, and strategic autonomy.
According to the minister, there is no policy that blocks foreign websites dedicated to artificial intelligence. This remark was framed within a broader objective of fostering dialogue with international tech communities, universities, and industry players to advance AI research and practical deployments. The statement was designed to reassure international developers and researchers that Russia seeks constructive exchange rather than isolation, within the boundaries of its regulatory framework and cyber resilience requirements.
Nonetheless, several popular AI-powered chatbots and services with built-in artificial intelligence—such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Google’s Gemini (formerly Bard)—are not operational within Russia due to access restrictions. In each case, the limitations are not merely a matter of opt-in choices by the service developers; they reflect a combination of regulatory decisions, licensing considerations, and, in some instances, corporate policy decisions made by the companies themselves. This creates a landscape where end users in Russia encounter blocked access to certain international AI tools, while other services may offer limited functionality or delayed availability depending on regional policies and compliance requirements.
When a user attempts to open Google’s AI service, a notification typically appears indicating that Gemini is not yet supported in the country. The message often includes a promise that users will be informed if and when access changes. Google’s Gemini was introduced for a broad audience in May 2023, but official support for Russia has not been established to date. Despite the absence of formal support, the chatbot can still recognize Russian language input and generate responses in Russian, illustrating how certain AI models exhibit multilingual capabilities even when full service availability lags behind. In addition to Gemini, a range of other well-known AI services either refuse to operate in Russia or restrict certain features, creating a nuanced and uneven accessibility map for AI tools across the country.
Ultimately, the evolving policy climate around AI in Russia reflects a balance between openness to global collaboration and the need to safeguard national interests. Industry observers note that the government’s position seeks to align international partnerships with domestic digital development goals, including the expansion of data infrastructure, the promotion of AI ethics and accountability, and the cultivation of domestic AI expertise. The result is a marketplace and regulatory environment where international dialogue continues, certain foreign tools remain inaccessible, and local developers are encouraged to pursue parallel research and local solutions that comply with national standards. This dynamic is likely to shape future rounds of policy refinement, procurement practices for state and private-sector AI projects, and opportunities for cross-border research collaborations that respect Russia’s regulatory contours, privacy protections, and cybersecurity priorities.