All Russian petrol stations have been ordered to adapt their facilities to provide chargers for the country 's electric vehicles , despite the fact that there are only about 500 such vehicles in the whole of Russia . Prime Minister Dmitry Putin signed a decree on August 27 requiring the owners of petrol stations to upgrade their facilities with chargers for electric cars by November 1 , 2016 , according to a copy of the document published on the official government website last week . In the first half of the year, fewer than 50 electric cars were sold in Russia, down 25 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Autostat. The measure is aimed at boosting the production and use of more environmentally friendly cars , which have so far been highly unpopular among Russians . However , experts warn it will only result in additional costs for companies running petrol stations and say the government has failed to offer incentives for motorists to choose more eco - friendly cars .
All Russian petrol stations have been ordered to adapt their facilities to provide chargers for the country 's electric vehicles , despite the fact that there are only about 500 such vehicles in the whole of Russia . Prime Minister Dmitry Putin signed a decree on August 27 requiring the owners of petrol stations to upgrade their facilities with chargers for electric cars by November 1 , 2016 , according to a copy of the document published on the official government website last week . The measure is aimed at boosting the production and use of more environmentally friendly cars , which have so far been highly unpopular among Russians . However , experts warn it will only result in additional costs for companies running petrol stations and say the government has failed to offer incentives for motorists to choose more eco - friendly cars .