The Russian Government has approved the list of wild animals included in the Russian Red Data Book and protected by international treaties, the catching and trading of which is a criminal offence. The official website of the Russian Government features the corresponding resolution.

Federal Law No 150-FZ dated 2 July 2013 On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation introduces new article No 2581 that establishes criminal liability for illegal catching (harvesting), keeping, acquiring, transporting, sending and selling of valuable wild animals and aquatic biological resources listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and/or those protected by Russia’s international treaties, their parts and derivatives.

The list includes species of mammals, birds and fish listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (hereinafter CITES), signed by Russia.

In practice, criminal offences such as illegal catching and trafficking are typically committed against the red-listed wild animals (the Altai argali, the Amur tiger, the leopard, the snow leopard and the polar bear) and large species of birds of prey (the saker falcon, the golden eagle, the gyrfalcon and the peregrine falcon), in addition to various species of sturgeon, listed in the Russian Red Data Book and protected by the CITES.