Russia's pirate video services market is on the rise, according to a recent study. Four years after the exit of Hollywood majors following the invasion of Ukraine, Russians are still interested in watching the latest Hollywood blockbusters, and local video services have not yet managed to replace them with homemade content. 

Revenue from online piracy rose by 4.2% to $17.3mn in January-June 2026, year-on-year, revealed a recent study by the cybersecurity firm F6. The authors of the research explained the fact that the illegitimate segment continues to operate and even show growth by users' strong interest in foreign, mainly US films that are not available on legitimate platforms.

According to the study, search traffic leading to pirate sites rose by 5.7% in the first six months of the year. Meanwhile, advertising was the main revenue source for pirate video services, with the average cost per thousand ad impressions (CPM) at $3.1.

Operating in the grey area

Russian pirate video services are murky. They often change names and URLs, and it's next to impossible to determine who exactly owns the pirate platforms.

Still, earlier this year, J’son & Partners Consulting conducted a market study of pirate streaming services and revealed the main players, based on audiences in cities with populations of 100,000 or more.

LordFilm emerged as the top pirate video platform, with a share of 42.8%. It was followed by LostFilm (40.2%) and Zona (26.7%). Meanwhile, J’son & Partners Consulting also discovered that the share of top-three players declined over the last couple of years, as new, smaller players entered the segment. In 2023, the top three accounted for 106% of the market (the number is above 100%, as many viewers use more than one platform), 111% in 2024 and just 50.8% in 2025.

In 2026, however, the trend reversed, and in the first half of this year, the top three pirate video services accounted for 114% of total demand. In addition, researchers discovered a new trend: digital copies of popular content now often appear on pirate sites before their legitimate premieres.

"Audience demand for Russian-produced content is growing, and pirate services are adding it to their sites," J’son & Partners Consulting said in a research note. "However, the main driver of pirate internet services remains foreign films and TV series, translated copies of which come, for example, from Kazakhstan."

Times when pirate video services offered users poor-quality movie versions filmed with a video camera during a theatrical screening are long over, and users of pirate services now enjoy about the same video and sound quality as those opting for legitimate services.

Hollywood content: most pirated

It comes as little surprise that Russian pirate video services have been largely focusing on content from Hollywood majors, which left Russia in 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Disney was the first. On February 28, 2022, it announced that it was pausing theatrical releases in Russia, starting with Pixar's Turning Red, which had been scheduled for March 10. Warner Bros. followed the same day, pulling The Batman just days before its planned Russian opening. Sony Pictures then announced that it was pausing its planned releases, including Morbius.

On March 1, Paramount and Universal followed suit. Paramount suspended upcoming releases including The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, while Universal paused all planned theatrical releases in Russia.

Since then, foreign films and series from other countries, as well as independent US releases, have been available in Russia, while Russian studios have ramped up production of movies and series.

Russian pirate video platform audiences have mainly been interested in foreign content. According to F6, approximately 57% of foreign theatrical releases were recently leaked online, compared to just 10% of Russian premieres.

The main reason for the growth in revenue for pirate sites remains the audience's continued interest in foreign films, Stanislav Goncharov, head of F6's Digital Risk Protection department, said in a research note quoted by the Russian daily Kommersant.

"In 2026, Russian content is actively protected by online movie theatres and rights holders, so it is less likely to be available illegally," he said. "The situation is different with foreign films and TV series, as a significant portion of that type of content remains unavailable on legitimate Russian platforms. As a result, demand for new foreign releases remains high, and along with it, the audience for pirate sites is growing."

Harsher punishments

In 2026, Russian legislation tightened penalties for the illegal distribution of content. The maximum amount of compensation for copyright and related rights infringements was increased from RUB5mn ($60,000) to RUB10mn ($120,000). Liability and risks extend not only to the owners of pirate online platforms but also to IT infrastructure companies that knowingly facilitate the distribution of illegal content.

However, in the current situation, only Russian rights owners could expect to be protected by the new copyright regulations.

Anton Volodkin, CEO of the online video service Wink, was quoted by Kommersant as saying that his company has been able to successfully fight pirates. However, he admitted, the illegal distribution of content from rights holders who have left the Russian market continues to thrive. "This, of course, has a negative impact on the legitimate services, as well," he noted. "The problem remains the inability to file a complaint regarding the illegal distribution of content on behalf of a third party if the rights holder itself does not operate in Russia."

Technical solutions prove ineffective

Russian authorities have been trying to use technical solutions, such as blocking specific online platforms deemed to operate illegitimately. Certainly, they couldn't care less about rights holders who left Russia, trying to protect local online video services whose business has also been affected by pirates.

Still, pirate websites continue to actively adapt to blocking measures and improve their IT infrastructure. One of their new tactics has been the introduction of "pirate movie screenings." As of early 2026, F6 discovered a scheme on illegal anime websites whereby content becomes available only after 6:00 pm and on weekends – when discovery of pirated content by officials in charge of blockages is less likely.

In addition, pirates are increasingly using other brands as a cover. In April 2026, F6 analysts recorded a surge in websites whose domain names included the names of major online movie theatres. In June, F6 discovered websites masquerading as well-known legitimate Russian video hosting services.

Legitimate video services stagnate

Meanwhile, as pirate video services are on the rise, Russia's legitimate online video services have been stagnating.

In the second quarter of 2026, audience growth for Russian online movie theatres slowed, with the total number of subscribers increasing by only 7.8% year-over-year, while the number of paying subscribers increased by a mere 2.6%, Kommersant reported in early August. Market participants quoted in the report noted that the slowdown in growth appears logical given that the total number of subscriptions already covers 50% of the population, but they add that competition to retain audiences will only intensify.

The top five companies by number of subscribers remained virtually unchanged over the past year: Kinopoisk (owned by the online giant Yandex), Okko, Ivi, Wink (owned by major telecoms operator Rostelecom), and Kion (a subsidiary of mobile phone operator MTS). These services account for more than 87% of the total number of online movie theatre subscribers in the Russian market. Among paying users, their combined share is 87.7%. Kinopoisk remains the market leader with a 26.9% share of total subscribers, followed by Okko (18.7%), Ivi (16.8%), Wink (13.3%) and Kion (11.4%).

With the illegitimate video services segment growing, these services are likely to find it difficult to show significant growth, especially in a situation of overall economic slowdown.