Russia Wants to Tighten Controls on Citizens' Travel
The Russian Ministry of Transport is proposing to collect even more data on Russians’ travel across all major modes of transportation. Information about where a person actually traveled should be entered into the government database within 15–30 minutes after the trip ends. Russian law enforcement agencies, among others, have access to this system.
Centralized automated databases on passengers and crew have been in operation in Russia since 2024. Transportation providers and booking services submit information to these databases regarding travel by air, rail, intercity buses, as well as sea and river transport. The system already records many ticket-related transactions. For example, it stores information about ticket purchases and refunds, ticket reissuance, refunds, and passenger boarding and disembarkation.
Personal data is also included in the database. This includes passport information, email addresses, usernames, hashed passwords for carrier accounts, the IP address used to purchase the ticket, and payment details. According to “Versтка,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB of Russia, among others, have access to these databases.
What They Want to Change
A new draft order from the Ministry of Transport stipulates that carriers must provide the government not only with planned trip data but also with information on how the trip actually took place. For flights and trains, this information must be submitted to the database no later than 15 minutes after the passenger arrives at the final destination.
For road, sea, and river transport, the deadline will be set at 30 minutes after the trip’s completion. In other words, the government system will be able to receive information not only about whether a person purchased a ticket but also about their actual travel.
Each trip is planned to be assigned a unique identifier. This will allow all of a passenger’s transactions to be linked together—from booking and purchasing a ticket to boarding and disembarking. For air travel, the system will also receive information about layovers and baggage. The new rules are expected to apply to both scheduled and charter flights.
Why Do Russian Law Enforcement Agencies Need This?
Experts interviewed by “Verstka” believe that the new rules could primarily be used for operational and investigative work. Specifically, this refers to the ability to more quickly track the movements of individuals involved in criminal cases, as well as convicts, suspects, and witnesses.
According to experts, information about the movements of such individuals could be transmitted to law enforcement agencies “literally in real time and with minimal delays.” In effect, this means that once a trip is completed, the data regarding it will appear in the government system almost immediately.
The new system is not needed for mobilization
At the same time, experts do not believe that the main purpose of the new measure is to monitor those subject to military conscription. According to them, the Russian authorities already have other mechanisms to restrict the movement of this category of citizens. These include an automatic ban on leaving the country and the revocation of driver’s licenses.
Therefore, the new rules may primarily serve as a tool to strengthen real-time monitoring of people’s movements. For now, this refers specifically to a draft order from the Ministry of Transport. If approved, Russian carriers will face new data reporting obligations, and the state will gain significantly more up-to-date information on citizens’ actual travel. This is reported by Russian media.
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