# Russian Advertising Law and Cold Email
Under Russia’s Federal Law on Advertising, an email that promotes a product or service is generally treated as advertising and requires the recipient’s prior consent. A company name in a database, a businesslike tone, or personalisation does not replace that consent. Before launch, distinguish a message within an existing business relationship from an advertising mailing and be ready to document the basis for every recipient.
## Why a service offer in the first email changes the legal position
The assessment turns on what the email says, not on what the campaign is called. “We saw you are opening a warehouse in Tula; we can arrange freight” offers a service and encourages a commercial response. That can be advertising even when the message goes to one director and was written manually.
| Situation | What the email contains | Practical action |
|---|---|---|
| There is an enquiry or subscription | A product offer | Keep the source and date of consent |
| There is an active business relationship | A question about a contract or project | Write within the scope of that relationship |
| The contact came from a public directory | A new commercial offer | Do not treat publication of the address as consent |
Personal data is a separate consideration. A work phone number, personal email address, or named individual requires careful handling under personal-data rules; see the guide to 152-FZ and personal data in B2B outreach. Keep a clear record of where each contact came from and apply your privacy policy accordingly.
## How consent should withstand scrutiny, not just sit in a spreadsheet
“We found the contact on the website” does not prove consent to receive advertising. A useful consent record identifies the address, date, method of collection, form wording or recorded event, and the company on whose behalf the mailing will be sent. When a recipient asks not to be contacted, exclude them from every future sequence, not only the current export.
1. Confirm who is named as the sender and whose offer the recipient receives.
2. Check for recorded prior consent specifically covering advertising messages.
3. Apply one shared suppression list before contacts enter any sending system.
4. Provide a simple opt-out route and send the request to the reply-handling process.
> You cannot obtain consent through the first promotional email itself. A request for consent that also sells the service does not remove the original risk.
## A common mistake: personalisation does not make cold contact permitted
Consider a sender who gathers manufacturing-company websites and adds: “We noticed your new workshop.” The rest of the email offers an implementation service. The reference shows attention, but it does not answer the central question: why was the company entitled to send a commercial offer to that recipient?
The appropriate next step is not a second follow-up. Stop the contact, record the opt-out, and review the source of the list. Personalisation makes a conversation more specific; it does not create a legal basis. If you need to review contact sources and first-touch scenarios before launch, use a cold outreach and deliverability audit.
## When cold email is not the right acquisition channel
Cold email is not suitable when your only available audience is unfamiliar recipients and the task requires an immediate commercial offer without documented consent. It is also a poor fit when the offer cannot be explained without a mass catalogue, price list, and a series of promotional messages. In that case, first build a lawful source of permitted contacts or choose another first-touch route.
Do not disguise advertising as a survey, business query, or “not a sales email.” Recipients can recognise the mismatch and respond with a refusal. Technical work on email deliverability does not solve the consent question, and lead list building does not automatically grant a right to advertise to a discovered address.
- The sender has a documented source of consent.
- The email content matches what the recipient agreed to receive.
- An opt-out immediately reaches the shared suppression list.
- The company’s legal counsel has confirmed the model for the specific campaign.
## Frequently asked questions
**Can you email a corporate address published on a website?**
Publishing an address makes it available for communication, but does not by itself equal consent to advertising emails. Assess the purpose of the contact and your basis for sending before adding the address to a campaign.
**Does an unsubscribe link make a cold promotional email compliant?**
An unsubscribe route is important because it lets you honour a recipient’s refusal quickly. It does not replace prior consent to receive advertising.
**Can you send one email without consent just to ask for permission?**
If that email also promotes a service, the risk remains. Agree the wording and method for obtaining consent with qualified legal counsel before making contact.
**What should you do when a recipient asks not to be contacted?**
Confirm that contact will stop, add the address to the shared suppression list, and remove it from every active sequence. Do not answer with another promotional message inviting the recipient to subscribe again.
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Source: https://ot9.ru/en/glossary/russian-advertising-law-cold-email/ · OT9 (KAP Group) · updated 2026-08-10