A new culture of refunds is taking shape in Russia: for shoddy goods and services, including events and concerts, Russians increasingly claim their money back through the bank rather than the aggregator

A new culture of refunds is taking shape in Russia: for shoddy goods and services, including events and concerts, Russians increasingly claim their money back through the bank rather than the aggregator. In December 2025 and January 2026, T-Bank registered twice as many ticket refund requests as a year earlier.

A recent example is the cancellation of the Muse orchestra's concerts in 50 Russian cities, which audiences learnt of on the eve of the New Year. The organiser of the events has still not returned the money to buyers, citing the processing of applications. So people began turning to T-Bank, quite literally as to a financial guardian angel. The company reports that it has already registered 200 requests from those who never got to hear chamber music by candlelight; the total refund will come to around 1 million roubles, at an average receipt of 5,000. Analysts forecast that the growth in requests for refunds through the bank will continue.

This, it seems, is how new trends are born.

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A new culture of refunds is taking shape in Russia: for shoddy goods and services, including events and concerts, Russians increasingly claim their money back through the bank rather than the aggregator

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

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