Overview
- The government published Resolution No. 936 on July 31, 2026, and the ban takes effect on August 15, 2026 and runs through December 31, 2032.
- The prohibition covers Moscow city, the entire Moscow Region and nine Kursk territories including the city of Lgov and the Belovsky, Bolshesoldatsky, Glushkovsky, Korenevsky, Lgovsky, Rylsky, Sudzhansky and Khomutovsky districts.
- Officials justified the move with regional grid figures, saying mining draws about one gigawatt from the Moscow system while the capital region now hosts roughly 65 data centers with 734 megawatts of capacity and a projection to reach 3.6 gigawatts by 2032.
- Operators in the banned areas must stop local mining, sell equipment or move it to regions where mining remains legal, and analysts say the step will reshape Russia’s mining geography without necessarily causing a major global hash‑rate drop.
- Separately, a State Duma bill under parliamentary review would criminalize large‑scale or unregistered mining and propose fines up to 2.5 million rubles and prison terms up to five years if it becomes law.