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The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has begun accepting applications from IT professionals for deferral from military service for the period from January 21 to February 5, 2025

Employees of accredited IT companies who are between the ages of 18 and 30 can apply for a deferral from spring conscription for military service through Gosuslugi website from January 21 to February 5, 2025. If any employees do not have personal accounts on the Gosuslugi website, the company will be able to add them to the list on its own.

The 2025 spring conscription has new application deadlines for citizens who are registered for military service in the Far North and areas with the same status. They can apply by March 6.

Companies are responsible for checking and confirming their employees’ data, as well as sending the lists thereof to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media by February 9, and for the Far North, by March 11. A single company can send additional lists once they are formed. The Ministry will provide the information to the Ministry of Defense by February 28, or for the Far North, by March 31. The military commission will come to its decisions on deferrals by July 15.

Keep in mind that military-aged employees working in the IT sphere can apply for a deferral from military service if they:

• work for an accredited IT company under an employment contract with a regular working day;

• have completed higher education in a specialty from the established list;

• have at least 11 months of experience in the IT field during the year preceding the start date of the conscription.

A draft law has been submitted to the State Duma to toughen criminal liability for the disclosure of commercial (trade) secrets

The Government of the Russian Federation has approved and submitted to the State Duma a draft law to toughen criminal liability for illegal access to and disclosure of information constituting commercial (trade), tax or banking secrets, including data from customs authorities (Art. 183 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The draft law proposes to set a minimum penalty of two years in prison for this crime, as well as to increase the maximum fine to RUB 5 million (approx. USD 51,038; EUR 49,214).

Note that although commercial (trade) secrets create competitive advantages for a company, mistakes in dealing with them, especially those made on the part of employees, can cost the employer dearly in terms of losses and the ability to attract clients, as well as precipitating protracted lawsuits bringing a loss of market position.

ALRUD specialists are ready to provide you with comprehensive legal support and advice on how to establish regime of commercial (trade) secret, maximize the effectiveness of your commercial (trade) secret regime, structure and monitor the procedures related thereto, build a compliance risk management system, and conduct training on working with commercial (trade) secrets for your employees.