May 22, 2026

Disney to Let Russia Go


Disney to Let Russia Go
Disney Plus Day at D23 Expo 2022. Anthony Quintano, Wikimedia Commons.

On May 14, Kommersant reported that, at the end of 2026, Russian streaming platforms will lose their broadcasting licenses for the last available Disney movies. According to the paper, the American conglomerate, which has pulled multiple movies from Russia, won't renew licensing contracts in the country. Kommersant broke the news based on an explanatory note in the 2025 financial statements of Walt Disney Company's Russian LLC. Disney will also not open any new contracts.

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Disney suspended licenses on its content and stopped shipping projects to Russia. The activities of its subsidiaries, including Disney Cruise Line and National Geographic, were also stopped. However, movies and TV shows continued to be available on Russian streaming platforms.

In 2023, it was revealed that Disney's licensing contracts with Russian streaming platforms would soon expire. The American company's most popular movies in Russia, such as "Frozen," "The Lion King," "Zootopia," "Encanto," "Cruella," "Soul," and "Raya and the Last Dragon," became unavailable on local streaming platforms.

The animated "oldies" remained on Russian streaming platforms. "The Lady and the Tramp" is available on Kion and Ivi. "Peter Pan," "Cinderella," and "Dumbo" can be watched on Kinopoisk. However, these movies already can't be shown on Okko because their broadcasting license has expired, and Disney refused to renew it. A representative of the streaming service said this occurred due to the "rightholder's policies." 

In 2023, while Hollywood boycotted Russia, the State Duma attempted to pass a bill allowing online streaming services to showcase foreign content without authorization. The proposal garnered a negative reaction from local companies, who said the bill would risk "legalizing and popularizing pirated resources, which will negatively impact domestic producers and holders of exclusive rights to the content."

According to a lawyer interviewed by Kommersant, movie streaming websites will likely not infringe on Disney's licensing rights. The publication also noted that losing the last remaining movies from Disney will likely not affect viewership numbers, since the most popular movies have already been removed.

 

 

 

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