The protracted war in Ukraine has accelerated the adoption and spread of technology in the lives of citizens and throughout the country, while also introducing new elements. A particularly significant example of the rapid introduction of digital technologies into everyday life in Russia is the Gosuslugi (State Services) portal, launched in December 2009. Initially, it served primarily as an information hub, bringing together information on state and municipal services in a single space; however, by the early 2010s, the transition to the direct provision of services in electronic format had begun. Gradually, the Gosuslugi account has evolved into a sort of unified digital identity for citizens: the profile links to their key personal data and documents—passport, SNILS (individual insurance number), tax ID, driver’s license, vehicle information, mandatory health insurance policy, etc.—which, as a result, do not need to be re-entered each time one of the many available services is requested.
The development of the electronic system for interministerial interaction has also enabled various public administrations to exchange the necessary information independently. Access via Gosuslugi (ESIA, Unified Identification and Authentication System) is also used to authenticate users on the portals of other public institutions and related services: with the same credentials, it is possible, for example, to use certain online services offered by the Russian Post and other organizations, without having to create a separate digital identity for each public portal. Through Gosuslugi, it has gradually become possible to submit applications, track their progress, and pay taxes, administrative fees, debts, and traffic fines; since 2012, online scheduling of medical appointments has also begun to spread on a large scale, while as early as 2013, the most frequently used functions included checking and paying traffic fines, applying for a passport for travel abroad, checking tax debts and pension status, and filing tax returns.
While there were approximately 3.6 million registered users in 2012, that number had reached 65 million by the end of 2017, and the number of services requested through the portal had risen from 7.1 million in 2012 to 1.3 billion in 2017. In less than a decade, Gosuslugi has thus transformed from a simple information portal into a full-fledged digital infrastructure for interaction between citizens and the government, in which unified identification, profile-associated data, the exchange of information between government agencies, and access to various public services make it possible to carry out a significant portion of administrative procedures directly from a computer or smartphone, often reducing the need to visit government offices in person to only those steps where it is actually necessary.
MAX, All-in-One Messaging
Further evidence of the spread of digital technologies in everyday life in Russia is provided by MAX, a digital platform developed by VK, whose first version was released in late March 2025. Initially, MAX was primarily a messaging system equipped with the usual features for exchanging text and voice messages, making audio and video calls, sending files, transferring money, using chatbots, and running mini-apps; However, as early as the summer of that same year, its functions began to expand considerably: in June 2025, the law on the national information exchange service was passed, and on July 12, the government designated Kommunikacionnaja platforma, a subsidiary of VK, as the organization responsible for its operation and development. MAX thus began to transform from a simple messaging system into a multifunctional digital environment designed to integrate communication with public, educational, financial, and commercial services.
A key milestone in this evolution was its integration with the state digital identification system. The Digital ID appeared in MAX, created based on information verified through Gosuslugi: using a dynamic QR code, users can confirm, for example, that they are of legal age or their status as a student, retiree, parent of a large family, or person with a disability, as well as access information regarding some of their key personal documents, from passports to driver’s licenses. At the same time, MAX has also become an infrastructure for official communications: Sferum and school chats have been integrated into it, university chats have appeared, along with services from the MFCs (Multifunctional Centers for the provision of state and municipal services—that is, one-stop shops through which citizens can carry out numerous administrative procedures), official channels of public institutions, and condominium chats. The platform’s adoption has been extremely rapid: while MAX had approximately one million users at the end of June 2025, that number had reached 75 million by December of the same year. Within a few months, the platform thus evolved from being a new Russian messaging system to becoming one of the components of a unified digital environment in which communication, personal identification, and access to public and commercial services are progressively becoming integrated.
MAX should be viewed not so much as a replacement for Gosuslugi, but rather as a functional complement to it and as an additional interface through which citizens interact daily with the state’s digital infrastructure. Gosuslugi, in fact, retains its role as the primary system for identification and administrative interaction: it is through this platform that citizens’ data is managed, numerous applications are submitted, certificates and documents are requested, appointments with government agencies are made, and most digitized public services are accessed. MAX, on the other hand, increasingly serves a communicative and application-based function linked to this system. By linking the two accounts, citizens can receive notifications in MAX regarding the status of requests initiated on Gosuslugi; through the official Gosuslugi bot, they can receive communications and, among other things, pay traffic fines; through the MFC bots, they can book an appointment at one of the physical service counters, while the Digital ID—generated based on information verified through Gosuslugi—allows them to confirm their identity, age, and certain social statuses directly from their smartphone.
Integration has also advanced significantly in the areas of education and condominium management: school communications via Sferum have been transferred to MAX, and the platform is also used for official chats between condominium management and residents. This does not mean, however, that public services have been transferred from Gosuslugi to MAX: the issuance of certificates and extracts, numerous registration procedures, appointments with public agencies, and most administrative requests continue to be handled directly through the Gosuslugi portal or app, while MAX can serve as an additional channel through which to receive notifications, communicate with institutions, or use certain related functions. A division of functions has thus gradually emerged between the two platforms: Gosuslugi serves as the administrative foundation for digital interactions between citizens and the state and the primary repository for officially verified personal information, while MAX is becoming the environment through which this digital identity is used in daily life—for example, in dealings with schools, condominium management, and MFCs, in receiving public communications, and in using digital documents.
Biometric Data for Riding the Metro
More generally, alongside the development of Gosuslugi, MAX, and digital payment systems, forms of biometric identification linked to personal digital profiles are gradually gaining ground, even though they are not necessarily part of the same technological infrastructure. A particularly significant example is Moscow’s public transportation system, where facial recognition can be used directly to access the metro: through the Metro Moskvy app, passengers link the necessary data and a payment method to their profile in advance; afterward, at the turnstile, they simply need to look at the camera for the system to recognize them and authorize passage in about one second, without needing to physically use a card or a smartphone. As of September 2026, the service had approximately one million users and was available at all turnstiles in the metro and the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), as well as on some suburban rail lines (MCD), theAeroexpress, and river transport. These systems are therefore distinct from Gosuslugi and MAX but reflect the same general trend: the gradual linking of an individual’s physical identity to their digital identity, which can be used to gain immediate access to a growing number of services.
“Pay with a Smile”: Biometrics and Electronic Wallets
Another example of the widespread application of digital technologies to daily life is the Fast Payment System (SBP, Sistema bystrych platežej), developed by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in collaboration with the National Payment Card System and operational since 2019. It allows for instant money transfers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, between accounts held at different banks: to make a transfer, it is not necessary to know either the recipient’s card number or bank details; it is sufficient to provide their phone number and the bank to which the funds are to be credited. More generally, the mobile apps of major Russian banks, such as Sberbank and VTB, allow customers to transfer money by choosing—depending on the transaction—between the recipient’s phone number, card number, or bank account details, making it possible in practice to carry out almost any transfer directly from a smartphone.
The key feature of the SBP is its immediacy: funds are typically credited within seconds, even when the sender and recipient use different banks. The system sets a general maximum limit of one million rubles [approximately 11,000 euros—Ed.] for a single transaction to a third party, while banks are permitted to apply their own limits, provided that the daily limit is not less than 150,000 rubles, which, at the official exchange rate as of October 2026, corresponds to approximately 1,570 euros. Actual limits may therefore vary: at VTB, for example, the standard limit for Multikarta holders is 500,000 rubles per transaction and per day, while it rises to one million for Privilegija and Prime+ customers, with an overall monthly cap of 10 million rubles. The restrictions are thus primarily based on the amount transferred rather than on a fixed number of permitted transfers: customers can make multiple consecutive transfers as long as they remain within the limits set by their bank. Also particularly noteworthy is the legally mandated option to transfer up to 30 million rubles per month free of charge between one’s own accounts at different banks.
Finally, the SBP is not limited to transfers between individuals: through the same infrastructure, it is possible to pay for goods and services using a QR code, NFC, an internet connection, or a previously linked account, thus turning the smartphone into a tool that can be used both to transfer money and to make everyday purchases directly. A further evolution of this system is its integration with biometric payments: facial recognition can be used to identify the user and authorize the transaction, while the money transfer takes place through the SBP infrastructure. At the same time, Sber has developed its own large-scale network of biometric terminals through the Oplata ulybkoj (“Payment with a Smile”) service, which allows users to make purchases simply by looking at the terminal’s camera, without physically using either a bank card or a smartphone (this system is available in all types of stores, not just in major cities).
Utopia Cast in the Shadow of the digital divide
For Russia’s major banks—and Sber in particular—their activities are not limited to the financial management of the present but also include a systematic exploration of possible future scenarios. In Sber’s reports and forecast projects—including the Buduščee 2035 (“Report on the Future”)—horizons are envisioned that are characterized by the progressive merging of the physical and digital worlds: digital and biometric identities, metropolises governed through vast amounts of data, artificial intelligence present in every aspect of daily life, the transformation of work and competition between humans and machines, new forms of education and medicine, modification of the human body, and the growing technological personalization of existence. At the same time, the possible social consequences of these transformations are considered—from rising inequalities between groups capable or incapable of adapting to new technologies to the emergence of new forms of social stratification (digital divide). In this sense, major Russian banks also function as centers for forecasting and designing the future, seeking to outline worlds that may seem hard to imagine today, but for which strategies and investments are already being developed with a view to their possible realization.
Western observers may be struck by the relative absence of public debate regarding this direction taken by Russian society. However, for various historical and cultural reasons, public debates and social apprehension regarding the dangers arising from the introduction of technology are virtually nonexistent in the Russian Federation and usually concern only biometric access to the metro—as is already the case at some Moscow stations—and its future application for access to schools, workplaces, etc. This can be explained by referring to the post-Soviet character of Russian institutions and society. Unlike in Western European countries, Russian society is post-atheist: in other words, while in the former case what is considered secular still originates from the religious sphere, in the latter it draws on Soviet atheism. The continuity between the USSR and Russia and the affinity between Soviet socialism and the neopositivist liberalism of the newly formed Russian Federation have direct implications regarding the issue of technology, which translate into the primacy of efficiency, optimization, and automation—and, consequently, the absence of limits on the application of new technologies to every sphere of individual and collective life for practical purposes: Soviet technological and scientific optimism after 1991 was joined by neopositivist optimism.
[Original photo CC 4.0 Mos.ru, modified with AI]
