The decree was published on the official legal information portal. Owners of private data processing centres are required to reserve the capacity within 10 days of publication.
The document states it was signed "in connection with the need to take urgent measures in response to unfriendly actions by certain foreign states." The stated aim is to ensure the operation of information resources used by Russians.
An owner may continue to use the reserve, but once the government subcommission rules, the capacity must be handed over within 24 hours to support resources located on Russian territory. The services will be paid, with the subcommission setting a maximum tariff; the data centre owner does not decide to whom, or at what price, the reserved infrastructure is provided.
The decree also permits the temporary use of foreign computing capacity to support Russian information resources. The subcommission takes such decisions in coordination with the Federal Security Service (FSB).
The government is to form the commission, while the Digital Development Ministry is to inventory free data centre space and capacity and approve requirements for owners to ensure uninterrupted operation.
In October, data centres belonging to Yandex, Sberbank and the VK holding were targets of Ukrainian drone attacks. The Digital Development Ministry at the time approved recommendations on protecting data processing centres from drones and other aerial threats. Rostelecom plans to build underground data centres, and Yandex is moving three supercomputers to new sites.