A proposed Russian anti-piracy bill passed its first hurdle in the Duma today and could become law by July. The law is similar to the US SOPA bill that sparked protests last year. If it passes web hosts who have been marketing Russia as an "offshore" location will need to change their marketing.plans..
The Russian internet community has blasted as ‘unbalanced’ a bill that, if passed, would allow out-of-court closure of websites over suspicions of copyright infringement.
The bill’s current draft reads that the copyright holder can file a lawsuit against the hosting company that owns the servers with pirated content, or even links to such.
If the provider does not remove the questionable materials within three days after receiving a warrant, the whole website will be blocked until the court passes a ruling on the matter. If the court finds the copyright holder’s claims unfounded, the blockage must be lifted.
http://rt.com/politics/copyright-bill-russian-internet-688/
in-depth article (in Russian): http://rublacklist.net/5631/#more-5631
full text of the bill (in Russian): http://asozd2c.duma.gov.ru/addwork/scans.nsf/ID/E941D88D0DD8B80443257B820050937D/$FILE/292521-6.PDF?OpenElement