Moratorium: How temporary restrictions affect business, politics, and life

Content:

• What is a moratorium in simple terms?
• Why are moratoriums introduced?
• Moratorium on business inspections
• Moratorium on bankruptcy
• Moratorium on the death penalty in RUSSIA
• Moratorium on attacks on energy facilities
• What is important to know about moratoriums

What is a moratorium in simple terms?

A moratorium (from the late Latin moratorius, meaning "slowing") is a temporary suspension or postponement of any obligations, actions, laws, regulations, or agreements. Simply put, it is a "pause" in the application of certain rules, allowing time for final decisions, stabilization, or negotiations.

Unlike a complete lifting of regulations, a moratorium is temporary and can be lifted when circumstances change. For example, a moratorium on business inspections means that regulatory authorities are temporarily unable to conduct scheduled inspections, but this does not mean the complete abolition of the oversight system. Moratoriums can be used not only as economic and social measures, but also as political ones, for example, to reduce international tensions.

Why are moratoriums introduced?

When a moratorium is imposed, certain rules, laws, or procedures are temporarily suspended. This measure is used by government agencies to stabilize the situation during critical periods. In Russia, moratoriums are actively used in various areas: business, bankruptcy proceedings, the death penalty, and international politics. These temporary restrictions allow society and the economy to adapt to crisis circumstances without sudden upheavals.

Moratoriums are used as a universal public policy tool for managing crises without fundamental legislative changes. This makes them a more flexible tool.

Photo: Andrey Lyubimov / RBC

The main goals of moratoriums include reducing social tensions, providing a breathing space for adaptation to new conditions, protecting economic interests during times of crisis, and de-escalating international conflict. For example, a bankruptcy moratorium allows businesses to restructure debts and find new sources of financing instead of immediately closing down.

Moratorium on business inspections

A moratorium on inspections of Russian businesses has been in effect since March 2022. It was introduced to reduce the administrative burden on companies in the face of sanctions pressure. Initially, it applied to both scheduled and unscheduled inspections, subject to exceptions established by the government. In March 2023, scheduled business inspections were cancelled until 2030. Unscheduled inspections resumed in 2025. During his 2024 address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin also proposed switching to a risk-based approach, effective January 1, 2025, instead of moratoriums on business inspections.

Photo: Evgeny Biyatov / RIA Novosti

Scheduled and unscheduled inspections

Among the forms of inspections, the following are distinguished:

• Scheduled inspections. Conducted according to a pre-approved schedule, which is published on the websites of the Prosecutor General's Office and other regulatory bodies. These inspections are aimed at systematically monitoring compliance with legal requirements;

• Unscheduled inspections. These are conducted based on specific circumstances: consumer complaints, reports of violations, emergency situations, orders from the president or government, requests from the prosecutor, and other situations;

• Preventive visits. A form of control that has always been in place, despite the moratorium. Its purpose is to prevent violations, not to detect them. As a result of such an event, the business owner will not be held liable, but inspectors can point out problems that need to be addressed.

A state fire inspector conducts a fire safety inspection at a Vietnamese market in Kazan, 2016. (Photo: Maxim Bogodvid / RIA Novosti)

Exceptions to the moratorium

The moratorium on scheduled inspections does not apply to businesses classified as high or extremely high risk. Risk is defined as the harm a business owner could cause to people and the environment if they violate mandatory requirements. Each regulatory agency has its own criteria for classifying companies by risk.

Moratorium on bankruptcy

A bankruptcy moratorium is a measure that protects companies and individuals from immediate creditor demands during times of crisis. In Russia, it has been introduced twice—during the pandemic and during the pandemic.covid-19 from April to October 2020 (extended until January 2021 for the industries most affected by the pandemic), and from April to October 2022 due to sanctions. In the latter case, the moratorium applied not only to companies but also to individuals.

A children's goods store in Moscow, closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021. (Photo: Alexey Kudenko / RIA Novosti)

The authorities have also put forward other initiatives in this area. For example, in November 2024, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko proposed considering a new moratorium on bankruptcy of small and medium-sized businesses.

During the moratorium, creditors cannot file bankruptcy petitions against the debtor; courts return them without consideration. At the same time, the accrual of interest, penalties, and fines is suspended, and enforcement proceedings are frozen. At the same time, restrictions are also imposed on debtors, such as dividend payments.

The moratorium does not prohibit debtors from filing for bankruptcy themselves ; the restrictions apply only to forced proceedings initiated by creditors. Furthermore, any debtor subject to this measure has the right to opt out of its application.

Moratorium on the death penalty in Russia

The last execution in Russia was on August 2, 1996, when serial killer Sergei Golovkin was executed. In 1996, President Boris Yeltsin issued a decree on the gradual reduction of the death penalty in connection with the country's accession to the Council of Europe. In 1997, Russia signed Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which abolishes the death penalty in peacetime. However, the Russian authorities have never ratified it.

Serial killer Tamara Ivanyutina, who poisoned 20 people with thallium, was executed in 1987 in Kyiv's Lukyanivske pretrial detention center. She became the third and last woman sentenced to death in the USSR. (Photo: Igor Kostin / RIA Novosti)

The ban on the death penalty in Russia is legally justified by decisions of the Constitutional COURT (CC). In 1999, the Court imposed a restriction on the imposition of death sentences until jury trials were formed nationwide. In 2009, the CC confirmed the impossibility of applying the death penalty under the current Constitution as of January 1, 2010, despite the introduction of jury trials throughout the country since that time. However, the termination of Russia's membership in the Council of Europe in 2022 did not lift the current moratorium.

In Russia, discussions about lifting the moratorium on the death penalty have repeatedly resurfaced. In 2022, against the backdrop of Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe, Dmitry Medvedev , chairman of United Russia and deputy chairman of the Security Council, spoke on the topic . He then declared it "a good opportunity to restore a number of important institutions for preventing particularly serious crimes in the country," which he included the death penalty.

The last time the debate about the death penalty intensified was after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in March 2024. At that time, several politicians and officials, including the HEAD of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, advocated for the return of capital punishment. However, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Valery Zorkin, and several other government officials ruled out this possibility under the current Constitution. In June 2025, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that President Vladimir Putin's position against reinstating the death penalty remained unchanged. Meanwhile, in February of that year, VTsIOM calculated that almost half of Russians (49%) favored the return of capital punishment. Thus, in the four years since the previous survey, only the number of supporters of a moratorium on the death penalty has changed significantly (by 5 percentage points) – while in 2021 this figure was 21%, in 2025 it reached 26%.

Flowers in memory of those killed in the terrorist attack against the backdrop of the burned-out Crocus City Hall concert hall, Krasnogorsk, Moscow region, March 26, 2024 (Photo: Andrey Lyubimov / RBC)

Moratorium on attacks on energy facilities

The moratorium on strikes against energy facilities between Russia and Ukraine is an example of a temporary suspension of actions in an attempt to de-escalate a conflict or create a favorable environment for interstate dialogue. It was established following negotiations between Moscow and Washington and was in effect for one month—from March 18 to April 17, 2025. The suspension of strikes was established with the possibility of extension by mutual agreement, but upon expiration, the moratorium was not extended.

The ban on strikes covered key elements of the energy infrastructure. According to the Kremlin's statement, the following were protected:

• oil refineries;

• oil and gas pipelines, including pumping stations;

• Electric power infrastructure: power plants, substations, transformers and distribution networks;

• nuclear power plants (NPPs);

• hydroelectric dams.

In Ukraine, the agreed-upon facilities included those in the “electric power and oil and gas complexes, the nuclear and coal industries, and energy—the production of energy equipment.”

Who approved the ban and why?

The ban on attacks on energy facilities took effect following a telephone conversation between Putin and US President Donald Trump on March 18, 2025. During the discussion, Moscow agreed to a 30-day moratorium. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon announced his support for this initiative . At the time, Ukraine believed the moratorium began on March 25, when it officially agreed to it.

The moratorium was aimed at reducing the humanitarian and economic consequences of the conflict, such as power outages, which could have exacerbated the situation for civilians. The agreements were also part of broader diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, including negotiations on the "Black Sea Initiative" aimed at ensuring safe navigation.

Skadovsk seaport in the Kherson region (Photo: Alexey Konovalov / TASS )

What violates the moratorium?

Since the moratorium was put into effect, Russia has claimed that Ukraine has repeatedly violated it. For example, on April 9, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Kyiv had not ceased attacks on Russian energy infrastructure facilities for a single day since the moratorium was put in place. The ministry also reported on specific strikes. For example, on March 28, in the Belgorod region, drones attacked a facility belonging to the Belgorodenergo branch of PJSC Rosseti Centre, the 110 kV Krasnaya Yaruga substation of Belgorodenergo, and the Sudzha gas metering station was also struck by HIMARS rockets. According to Putin, Ukraine has violated the moratorium on strikes "about 130 times" in total. Kyiv, for its part, denied Moscow's accusations and countered them. That same day, Ukraine's Naftogaz announced that its gas production facilities had been damaged.

The aftermath of the shelling of the Sudzha gas metering station, Kursk Oblast , March 28, 2025 (Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense /TELEGRAM )

What is important to know about moratoriums

• A moratorium is a flexible instrument that temporarily suspends the application of laws, regulations, rules, or obligations.

• The purpose of the measure is to reduce social tensions, protect the economy or de-escalate conflicts.

• When a moratorium is imposed, the rules do not cease to apply permanently, but rather temporarily. This distinguishes them from the complete repeal of regulations or laws.

• Moratoriums create temporary legal uncertainty—existing regulations formally remain in effect but are not enforced. This can create both opportunities (for example, avoiding sanctions ) and risks (accumulating debts) that will need to be settled after the measure is lifted.

• As of July 2025, several active moratoriums are in effect in Russia, including a moratorium on scheduled business inspections until 2030 and on the death penalty (in effect indefinitely).