Russian Court Abbreviations Decoded

Russian court papers are full of short letter codes. AS means an arbitrazh (commercial) court, VS RF is the Supreme Court, KS RF is the Constitutional Court, and FSSP is the bailiff service that enforces judgments. Below each abbreviation is spelled out in Russian and explained in plain English.

Attorney Elena Petrova compiled this list for clients abroad who receive Russian rulings, writs and case cards and need to know which body sent them and where a case sits in the system.

Commercial Courts: AS, AAS, AS Okruga

Business disputes between companies and entrepreneurs go to arbitrazh courts. They have their own ladder of instances.

AS (арбитражный суд) is the first-instance commercial court of a region, for example AS of Moscow.
AAS (арбитражный апелляционный суд) is the appellate commercial court. There are twenty-one of them, each covering several regions.
AS okruga (арбитражный суд округа) is the cassation commercial court of a federal circuit.
SIP (Суд по интеллектуальным правам) is the Intellectual Property Court, part of the arbitrazh system.

General Jurisdiction: MS, RS, OS, KSOYu

Family, housing, labour, consumer and criminal cases go to courts of general jurisdiction.

MS (мировой судья) is a justice of the peace who hears small claims, uncontested divorces and minor offences.
RS (районный суд) is a district court, the main first instance for civil and criminal cases.
OS (областной суд) is a regional court. It hears appeals and some serious cases at first instance.
KSOYu (кассационный суд общей юрисдикции) is a cassation court of general jurisdiction.
ASOYu (апелляционный суд общей юрисдикции) is an appellate court of general jurisdiction.

Top Courts: VS RF and KS RF

Abbreviation	Full name	What it does
VS RF	Верховный суд РФ	Final cassation and guidance to lower courts
KS RF	Конституционный суд РФ	Checks whether laws comply with the Constitution
Plenum VS RF	Пленум Верховного суда	Issues explanations binding in practice
SK VS RF	Судебная коллегия ВС РФ	A chamber of the Supreme Court for one type of case

A Plenum resolution is often quoted in Russian pleadings. It is not a statute, but lower courts follow it closely.

Enforcement and Agencies: FSSP, FNS, MVD

FSSP (Федеральная служба судебных приставов) is the Federal Bailiff Service. It opens enforcement proceedings on a writ.
IP (исполнительное производство) is an enforcement proceeding with its own number.
IL (исполнительный лист) is a writ of execution issued by the court.
FNS (Федеральная налоговая служба) is the tax service.
MVD (Министерство внутренних дел) is the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which includes the police.
SK RF (Следственный комитет) is the Investigative Committee. Do not confuse it with SK VS RF.

Online Systems: GAS Pravosudie, KAD, Moy Arbitr

GAS Pravosudie (ГАС «Правосудие») is the state automated system of general courts. Through it you can file documents online and check case cards on sudrf.ru.
KAD (Картотека арбитражных дел) is the public card index of commercial cases at kad.arbitr.ru.
Moy Arbitr (Мой арбитр) is the filing portal for arbitrazh courts.

Procedure Codes and Case Numbers

GPK (Гражданский процессуальный кодекс) governs civil cases in general courts.
APK (Арбитражный процессуальный кодекс) governs commercial courts.
KAS (Кодекс административного судопроизводства) covers disputes with state bodies.
UPK (Уголовно-процессуальный кодекс) covers criminal procedure.

A case number such as A40-12345/2026 means an arbitrazh case in Moscow (code A40) filed in 2026. General courts use numbers like 2-1234/2026, where 2 marks a civil case.

Reading a Russian Court Document Correctly

The header of a ruling shows the court, the case number and the judge. Deadlines run from the date of the reasoned decision, not from the day it reaches you abroad.

If you hold a paper with unfamiliar abbreviations, attorney Elena Petrova can identify the court, the stage of the case and the next deadline, and explain it in English.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.