Sources and methodology

Primary-source priority

For claims about legal status, deadlines, and obligations, RURChain first looks for the officially published legal text and its record in government legislative systems.

An agency announcement, transcript, guidance note, or news release can add context but does not replace the enacted text. Media reports and expert opinions are secondary material and are identified as such.

Core official resources

Evidence hierarchy

• Published legal act — for final wording, official-publication date, and effective date.
• Draft-bill record and chamber decisions — for the legislative stage.
• Official regulator guidance — for application guidance within the author's remit.
• Secondary material — for context, not as the sole evidence for a legally significant claim.

Links and archiving

An article links to the most specific available page or document, rather than only an institution's home page. The verification date records when editorial staff last checked the status.

RURChain's own document archive is still being developed. Until it launches, the project does not promise that external pages will remain unchanged and recommends checking the current version in the official system.

1. Define a verifiable claim

Before publication, we separate the event from its interpretation: what happened, which document is involved, its stage, and who may be affected.

2. Check the legal stage

• an introduced bill is not called a law;
• State Duma passage is distinguished from Federation Council approval;
• signature is distinguished from official publication;
• publication is distinguished from the rule's effective date.

3. Test applicability

We record the rule's audience, thresholds, exemptions, transition periods, and dependence on secondary legislation. When evidence is incomplete, the article describes the uncertainty instead of giving a categorical conclusion.

4. Separate fact from analysis

A factual claim is linked to a primary source. Editorial explanation states its assumptions and is not presented as the view of a public authority. Checklists are general and must be assessed for the specific organisation.

5. Update and correct

When a document changes stage or an official text appears, the article receives a new verification date. A material error receives a visible correction note under the separate corrections policy.

Editorial independence

RURChain is an independent information and analysis project. It is not a Bank of Russia website, a public authority, or a government information system. Mentioning or linking to an institution does not mean that it endorses the article.