In Russia, search engines will prioritize websites that support women
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to prepare proposals that will change the order in which search results are displayed for queries related to abortion. Under the plan, search engines would first display websites offering information on social support for women, followed by other resources. The government must submit its proposals by December 15, 2026.
The new directive is included in the list of tasks Putin has assigned to the Russian government. The document stipulates that search engines must prioritize websites that offer social support to women deciding whether to terminate a pregnancy. The document uses the term “priority indexing” for resources that assist women facing reproductive choices. This refers to searches for information regarding services for the termination of pregnancy.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been appointed to oversee the implementation of this directive. He is to submit relevant proposals by December 15. For now, these are not finalized rules for search engines, but rather a mandate to develop a mechanism for implementing these changes. The document does not specify which search engines are required to implement the new procedure or how the websites that will receive priority will be determined.
The idea was previously proposed by Valentina Matvienko
A similar initiative was announced back in May 2026 by Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia. She called for changing search engine algorithms so that people searching for clinics offering abortion services would first see information about centers providing assistance to families and women in difficult life circumstances.
“So that when someone types a search query for clinics where an abortion can be performed, information about family support centers would appear first, and only then would the websites of these clinics appear,” Matvienko explained. She also proposed that medical facilities’ websites include information about the potential health risks and consequences of abortion. Matvienko then reached out to IT companies, asking them to support her proposal.
Russia Is Tightening Restrictions on Abortions
The initiative involving search engines emerged amid a broader campaign by Russian authorities aimed at reducing the number of abortions. Restrictions are being introduced in various regions of the country, and private clinics are gradually ceasing to perform such procedures. According to Meduza, private medical facilities in 19 regions of Russia have completely stopped providing abortion services. This further limits women’s access to such services, especially in areas where there are few medical facilities to choose from.
Changes to search results could affect what information people see first when conducting a search. At the same time, it is currently unknown exactly how the new mechanism will work or whether search engines will be required to modify their algorithms in a specific way. At this stage, the focus is specifically on drafting proposals, not on a change that has already been implemented or a ban on searching for information about abortions. This is reported by Russian media.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has proposed a legislative ban on women in registered marriages having abortions without their husbands’ consent.
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church who is subject to sanctions, stated that an “entirely new era of Orthodoxy” began in 1943. He called Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and his successor Vladimir Putin “a miracle of God.”
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, stated that modern Russia is living in “very prosperous times” thanks to Vladimir Putin, whom he called “the first Orthodox president since the days of the tsars.”
