RIGF 2022 — The 12th Russian Internet Governance Forum — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

1. The 12th Russian Internet Governance Forum (RIGF 2022) was held fully online on 28–29 September 2022, drawing about 500 participants from 19 countries — the first RIGF after the invasion of Ukraine, shifted from its usual April slot.
2. The UN's proposed Global Digital Compact topped the agenda, with a speaker from the UN Tech Envoy's office taking part; platform regulation, access to information and EdTech filled the socio-political, technological and youth tracks.
3. The forum documents Russia working to keep a UN-mediated dialogue channel open amid sanctions — useful comparison material on the GDC negotiations that Japan and others later joined.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on RIGF 2022 — The 12th Russian Internet Governance Forum draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

📍 Moved from the usual April slot to late September and held fully online — the first RIGF after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, amid deepening sanctions and international isolation

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. The Global Digital Compact — "A Chance for Fair Play?"

Sessions: Opening session "Global Digital Compact: A Chance for Fair Play?" (28 September, moderated by Roman Chukov)

• Built around UN Secretary-General Guterres's proposed GDC, the session discussed new international norms for ICT; Yu Ping Chan of the UN Tech Envoy's office said suggestions from the Russian internet community toward the GDC would be welcome [3][5]
• Vadim Glushchenko, head of co-organiser CGITC, stressed that the Russian community had its own views on what the GDC should look like [3][5]
• The session showed the UN process becoming Russia's main outward-facing channel amid post-invasion isolation [3][5]

2. Platform Regulation and Access to Information — "Ecosystems Drive Growth"

Sessions: Socio-political track sessions (28 September)

• Sessions tackled digital platforms' role in guaranteeing access to information and concerns over 'platform censorship' — to be read against the backdrop of Western platforms being blocked in, or withdrawing from, Russia that year [1][2]
• The official press summary of day one: "Ecosystems and platforms are becoming drivers of economic growth today" [1][2]
• Regulation of the internet and its ecosystems was framed as balancing the interests of states, business and users [1][2]

3. Online and Isolated — The September Anomaly and Claiming a Place in the IGF Family

Sessions: Overall format and external positioning

• Uniquely, the forum moved from April to late September and went fully online; international reach shrank but held at about 500 participants from 19 countries [2][4][1]
• Closing coverage stressed that 'RIGF 2022 is part of the IGF,' and a meeting report went to the UN IGF — keeping international legitimacy was an explicit goal [2][4][1]
• The partner roster centred on domestic organisations such as Kaspersky and MSK-IX, with the once-prominent international names far less visible [2][4][1]

4. EdTech, Youth and the Virtuti Interneti — The Fixtures Continue

Sessions: Technological and youth tracks; award ceremony (29 September)

• New EdTech trends and cybersecurity anchored day two, with the youth track running as usual [1][5]
• The Virtuti Interneti award went to Olga Uskova, founder of AI and autonomous-driving firm Cognitive Technologies, followed by the traditional laureate lecture [1][5]
• The programme was compiled from community input gathered in January–February 2022, preserving the bottom-up format [1][5]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. Why September, and why online?

A. No official reason was given, but this was the first RIGF after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, held amid sanctions and isolation. The forum returned to April and hybrid format in 2023.

Q. Was there any international participation?

A. About 500 people from 19 countries, including a speaker from the UN Tech Envoy's office. Western technical bodies faded from view, but the UN channel stayed open.

Q. Why should I care?

A. Its top agenda item, the Global Digital Compact, was adopted at the UN in 2024. Knowing what Russia wanted from the GDC while isolated is a key to reading UN digital diplomacy.

What Is Russia IGF? (for first-time readers)

Russia IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2022 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.

Sources & References

1. RIGF 2022 公式サイト — CGITC (accessed 2026-07-11)
2. RIGF 2022 Press Center（閉幕・セッション報告一覧） — ccTLD .RU/.РФ調整センター (accessed 2026-07-11)
3. 28-29 сентября 2022 прошел RIGF 2022（RIGF 2022開催報告・露語） — Izvestia（イズベスチヤ） (accessed 2026-07-11)
4. 2022 RIGF: Russian Internet Governance Forum — Meeting Report — UN IGF Secretariat, NRIs filedepot (accessed 2026-07-11)
5. Президент ГК Cognitive Technologies Ольга Ускова стала лауреатом ордена «За заслуги в сфере Интернета»（ウスコワ氏がVirtuti Interneti受賞・露語） — d-russia.ru (accessed 2026-07-11)

Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.

Related links

• IGF official (NRI list): https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives
• Japan IGF: https://japanigf.jp/
• Yuki Nakazawa's blog: https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/

Revision History

Rev. 1 — published 9 October 2022, 12:00 (Article published)

Rev. 2 — updated 17 July 2026, 12:32 (Fully revised into the in-depth edition: added the 3-line summary, minutes digest, short talk, source list and diagrams (all quotes verified against the listed sources))

— 中澤祐樹