Meteorite law in Russia
No law written for meteorites. Pieces of falls such as Chelyabinsk have been collected and sold, but smuggling large specimens abroad has led to criminal cases.
Private ownership, export controlled
Who owns a find? Russian law has no rule written for meteorites. After the Chelyabinsk fall in 2013, residents collected and sold fragments, and police said that a genuine meteorite was simply a find; selling ordinary rock as a meteorite, however, is fraud. A proposal in parliament that year to ban the export of Chelyabinsk fragments drew attention to the gap in the law.
Export: the customs authorities treat valuable meteorites as goods that must be declared truthfully, and cultural valuables need export permission. In February 2026 customs stopped a fragment of an iron meteorite weighing about 2.5 tonnes that was being shipped abroad declared as a garden ornament, and a smuggling case was opened.
What to do: large or scientifically important finds should be reported to the Committee on Meteorites of the Russian Academy of Sciences or a regional museum.
This is general information to help you ask the right questions, not legal advice. Laws change and their details matter, and this summary was last reviewed in 2026. Before you search, buy, sell or export a meteorite, check the current law with the authorities of the country concerned or a qualified lawyer. See meteorite law by country.
Related pages
Glossary: Meteorite ownership, Export rules, Landowner permission, Provenance