On 21 April 2020, the Russian Supreme Court issued clarifications addressing various issues related to COVID-19 (“Clarifications”).

Terms of performance of obligations

According to the Clarifications, the period from 30 March to 30 April 2020, which was declared to be non-working by the Decree of the Russian President, does not extend the terms of performance of obligations, including payment terms.

Limitation period

The Russian Federation continues to take measures aimed at reducing the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on businesses. On 1 April 2020, Article 9.1 (“Moratorium on Initiation of Bankruptcy Proceedings”) was incorporated into the Federal Law “On Insolvency (Bankruptcy)” (the “Bankruptcy Law”), and on 3 April 2020 the Government of the Russian Federation introduced a moratorium on the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings against certain categories of debtors on the basis of the aforementioned Article.

The confirmed number of persons in Russia infected with SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 (Corona) exceeds 6,000. Many people and enterprises are affected by non-working days, lock down measures and the resulting direct and indirect impact on work, business and finances. This summary highlights some recent legal issues in connection with the Corona crisis in Russia.

Quarantine and lock down measures