Information regarding bomb shelter locations will be accessible on the Government Services Portal by the end of 2025. Each citizen will be able to find their assigned shelter via a special tab in their personal account. Evacuation point information will also be available on the portal. Testing of the system has already occurred in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, with potential nationwide expansion by the end of this year.

Utility tariffs across Russia are set to increase by an average of 11.9% starting July 1, 2025. However, certain groups of citizens are eligible for a 50% discount. These include disabled individuals from groups one, two, and three, participants in the Chernobyl accident cleanup and their widows, participants in the Great Patriotic War and those who worked at military facilities during the war, and residents of besieged Leningrad, Sevastopol, and Stalingrad. Veterans of combat operations, families of deceased veterans, large families, and low-income citizens may also be eligible for utility bill benefits.

Cases of cercarial dermatitis, also known as “swimmer’s itch,” have been increasingly reported across Russia with the start of the swimming season. This skin disease is caused by parasite larvae penetrating the skin and has been observed in the Moscow, Tambov, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in Bashkiria. The disease is contracted in warm, stagnant, fresh water, particularly where algae and ducks are present. Ducks can carry the parasites responsible.

The Ministry of Digital Development is working on the technical preparation of a new national messenger. The messenger will include a digital assistant designed to inform users about the requirements for receiving specific services, to facilitate document submission, and to provide documents confirming service delivery. A bill is in progress to establish the legal framework for the phased launch of services within this national messenger.

Starting July 1, pensioners who turn 80 years old will receive a doubled fixed payment. The fixed payment, currently 8,907.70 rubles, will increase to 17,815.4 rubles for those celebrating their 80th birthday in June. They will also receive an allowance for care, which is 1314 rubles in 2025. Certain circumstances can lead to pension suspensions for up to six months. These include failure to receive the pension for six consecutive months, a child receiving a survivor’s pension reaching 18 without attending university, studying abroad without annual confirmation, an expired residence permit, moving abroad without notifying the Social Fund, or moving to a state responsible for pension payments under an international agreement. In more serious cases, pensions can be terminated indefinitely if the pensioner dies, is declared dead or missing, has their residence permit cancelled, refuses the pension, or fails to rectify the suspension conditions within six months.

The Central Bank has set the key rate at 20%. The key rate had been at 21% since October 2024. While the regulator waited for inflation to slow down and the economic situation to improve before reducing the rate, future rate increases are possible if inflation rises again, according to Central Bank Head Elvira Nabiullina. The high key rate has made banks more selective about borrowers.

Beginning in 2026, “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia” will become a compulsory subject for students in grades 5-7. History teachers will teach the course, which will be 17 hours in the 5th grade, 34 hours in the 6th grade, and 34 hours in the 7th grade. The course will focus on traditional universal human values.

Students in classical fields may be permitted to teach in schools, according to Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova. Additional professional training would be required to ensure students understand the psychology of students. This initiative aims to address staff shortages. A bill has been submitted to the State Duma proposing amendments to the law “On Education in the Russian Federation” to allow students in relevant areas with at least three years of study and a professional retraining program to engage in pedagogical activities in schools.

Several bridges have been targeted in explosions in Russia. In the Bryansk region, a road bridge exploded, with debris collapsing onto a train, resulting in seven fatalities and 119 injuries. Following that, a railway bridge explosion in the Kursk region injured the driver of a freight train. Also, a railway track in the Bryansk region was damaged by an explosion, with no casualties. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has classified all three incidents as terrorist attacks.