Osegi
Business·2 min read

Russia to Require Commercial Data Centers to Reserve 10% of Capacity

A presidential decree would force Russian commercial data centers to set aside 10% of space and power, to be freed within 24 hours on request, sources say.

Rows of server racks inside a commercial data center hall.
Image: vc.ru
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Russia's Ministry of Digital Development is preparing rules under a presidential decree that would oblige owners of private data centers to reserve 10% of their space and capacity, according to industry sources. Under the decree, the reserve must be made available within one day to support the operation of information resources in Russia.

Who is covered

The requirement would apply to commercial data centers regardless of ownership or the owner's affiliation, including those of state corporations if they serve customers under contracts. Facilities that a business uses only for its own needs, such as banks' data centers, would not have to reserve capacity. If a site serves both internal systems and outside clients, the 10% would be calculated from its total resources.

Data centers damaged in attacks would be exempt. In October 2026, drones struck three Yandex data centers, as well as facilities belonging to VK and Sber.

How the reserve would work

Operators could form the reserve across all their sites or a holding's sites combined and choose where to provide it. Once a request arrives, they would have 24 hours to free up rack space. The ministry reportedly advised against signing new contracts for spare space that might be needed, or adding a clause requiring release within 24 hours. Operators with full capacity were reportedly told to identify priority clients in advance so they know whom to disconnect.

The fee has not been set. According to the sources, only the capacity actually requested would be paid for, at tariffs set by a subcommission. The measure was described as temporary, with no timeframe given. The ministry is reportedly drafting a document classing the release of resources as force majeure, while non-compliance could become grounds for temporary management. The reserve could be used for services on so-called whitelists.

The ministry said implementation measures are still being worked out. It plans to create a special subcommission soon and to shape all requirements together with experts and market participants.

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Tags:russiadata centersministry of digital developmentyandexregulation

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