According to the Russian Interior Ministry, nearly 14 million people have passed through border control since the start of the experiment to collect biometric data from foreign citizens. As a result of the checks, approximately 70,000 individuals who were prohibited from entering Russia have been identified.
This system allows for the identification of foreigners during border control through photographs and fingerprints. The system not only collects data but also helps identify citizens who attempt to re-enter by changing their personal information after being banned from entry.
The experiment was launched on December 1, 2024, at the Moscow aviation hub (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Zhukovsky) and the "Mashtakovo" automobile checkpoint in the Orenburg region. Starting May 1, 2025, Vnukovo International Airport also joined the process.
In June 2026, 11 more border checkpoints, including those in Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, as well as locations in the Altai Territory, and the Irkutsk, Kurgan, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Orenburg, and Omsk regions, were equipped with modern biometric systems.
