russian Businesses Are Replacing English Signs en Masse, Spending a Month’s Worth of Revenue

New rules regarding the use of foreign words in commercial activities have been in effect in russia since March. From now on, all signs, advertising materials, and product descriptions on websites and marketplaces must be exclusively in russian. The Latin alphabet and “insufficiently russian” words in Cyrillic are banned.

For entrepreneurs, this is a real blow to their budgets. Small businesses are forced to urgently update signs, menus, packaging, and websites, spending tens of thousands of rubles just on design and printing. Large chains are facing costs in millions, as they have to redesign hundreds of shops and advertising materials.

Owners of small businesses are already complaining that changing signs and branding is “eating up” their profits for several months. For example, studios and cafes are forced to completely overhaul their branding and even change their names, as the old terms do not comply with the new rules. Attempts to protect familiar names through trademark registration often fail, so the costs are even higher.

In addition to financial pressure, the law creates legal uncertainty. Business owners cannot know for sure which words are permissible and which are “non-standard”.  Fines for violations can reach hundreds of thousands of rubles for companies.

For small businesses, this is the new reality: the high cost of rebranding, red tape, and the constant fear of authorities who monitor every move. A new government initiative effectively turns every shopfront sign into a potential financial trap.