Federal law establishes the legal status of the Russian Red Cross.

On 15 December 2025, the President of the Russian Federation signed the Federal Law No. 457-FZ "On the All-Russian Public Organization "Russian Red Cross" (the "Law"). The Law came into force on 1 February 2026. For the first time, the Russian Red Cross (the "RRC") is expressly regulated by a federal law defining its legal status, structure, objectives and forms of its state support. This alert addresses what the Law provides, how the RRC's status differs from that of the International Committee of the Red Cross (the "ICRC"), and what the practical implications for organizations working with RRC are. 

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 Historically, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the "Movement") is not a single unified organization. It consists of three separate and legally distinct parts:

(a) ICRC which is an independent international organization with a mandate under international humanitarian law, based in Geneva;

(b) The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the "IFRC") which is an international federation of national societies; and

(c) National Societies which are represented by independent domestic organizations and RRC is one of them.

1.2 ICRC and IFRC are international organizations operating under public international law. RRC is a Russian legal entity registered and operating under domestic Russian law. Their legal statuses in the Russian Federation are therefore different.

2. STATUS OF ICRC AND IFRC IN RUSSIA

2.1 ICRC has a special legal status in the Russian Federation under the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and ICRC on the Status of ICRC and its Delegation in the Territory of the Russian Federation, concluded on 24 June 1992 (the "Agreement"). By the Government Resolution No. 358 of 28 May 1992, IFRC has been granted a status similar to the ICRC's status under the Agreement.

2.2 According to the Agreement, ICRC is treated as an intergovernmental organization. In practice, this means that the ICRC's status in the Russian Federation has the following characteristics:

(a) it has its legal personality and has the right to enter into contracts, initiate legal proceedings, and hold property;

(b) it enjoys immunity from judicial and administrative interference; its premises are inviolable and its assets may not be searched, requisitioned or confiscated;

(c) the ICRC's archives are inviolable;

(d) it is exempt from all direct taxes (except utility charges) and from indirect taxes on goods purchased for official and humanitarian purposes;

(e) it is exempt from customs duties on items intended for official and programme activities; and

(f) the ICRC staff (those who are not Russian citizens) and their families enjoy immunities which are equivalent to those of employees of intergovernmental organizations.

2.3 Under Russian law, immunity of an international organization does not arise automatically. Under Article 401 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and Article 251 of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, immunity must be expressly provided for by an international treaty or a federal statute. The Agreement provides that basis for ICRC and IFRC.

2.4 RRC, as a Russian legal entity, has no such privileges and immunities. It operates as a domestic public organization, and its legal status does not entitle it to the protections that the international organizations have under the Agreement.

3. KEY PROVISIONS OF THE LAW

3.1 The Law establishes that RRC is an all-Russian public organization registered as a legal entity under Russian law, operating across the entire territory of the Russian Federation through its regional and local units. The Law expressly states that RRC is the sole national Red Cross society operating in the Russian Federation and that it is a member of IFRC. It acts in accordance with inter alia the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Additional Protocols of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions, and the Statutes of the Movement and IFRC.

3.2 The RRC's core objectives are providing charitable, humanitarian, medical, social, and medico-social assistance; and improving the quality and length of life of population. The seven fundamental principles of the Movement include humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. The principles are codified in the Law as the guiding principles of the RRC's work.

3.3 The Law sets out a three-tier governance structure:

(a) the RRC's Congress is the supreme governing body;

(b) the RRC's Board is the permanent collegial management body, elected by the Congress; and

(c) the RRC's Chairperson is the sole executive body, also elected by the Congress. 

Oversight is exercised by the Central Audit Commission, likewise, elected by the Congress. The detailed rules on the powers and functioning of each body are supposed to be specified in the RRC's Charter.

3.4 The Law provides for various forms of support from the state and municipal authorities, including grants, subsidies, preferential use of state and municipal property, and informational assistance. Russia's membership fee to IFRC is paid from the federal budget on behalf of RRC. This formally establishes the RRC's international membership as being in line with the state policy.

3.5 Membership in RRC is open to any Russian citizen, as well as to foreign nationals and stateless persons lawfully residing in the Russian Federation who participate in the RRC's activities, subject to any restrictions under federal law.

3.6 The Law restricts the use of the names "Red Cross", "Red Crescent", and "Russian Red Cross", as well as the corresponding emblems, in accordance with obligations under the Geneva Conventions and Russian law.

4. PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

4.1 Prior to the Law, RRC operated under the general framework applicable to all Russian public organizations, without a dedicated statutory foundation. The Law changes this by providing RRC with a clear and stable legal basis, making explicit its position within the international Movement, and formalizing the state's commitment to support its activities.

4.2  For organizations that partner with, donate to, or engage RRC in humanitarian, medical, or social programmes, the Law provides legal certainty. The RRC's role, governance structure, and grounds for state support are now set out in a dedicated federal law rather than inferred from general non-profit organizations laws.

4.3 However, despite its membership in the international Movement, RRC remains a domestic legal entity and does not benefit from the privileges and immunities enjoyed by ICRC and IFRC in the Russian Federation under the Agreement. In addition, this is for the first time in the Russian Federation that the activities of the RRC are regulated by a specific federal law and as always a lot will depend on how the Law is interpreted and its provisions are implemented by authorities.