On the first day of the FIFA World Cup, Prime Minister of Russia Dimitry Medvedev announced that the retirement age will start a gradual rise starting next year, growing from 55 to 63 for women and from 60 to 65 for men. The pension reform proposal was officially submitted on June 16th to the State Duma’s Labor, Social Policy and Veterans’ Affairs Committee for consideration as legislation. After review, the initiative will be distributed to regional officials across the country. Lawmakers will have until fall to make a decision on whether or not to adopt the legislation. If a decision is failed to be made, that would result in a de facto reduction in pension benefits. Vladamir Putin has decidedly distanced himself from the discussion of pension reform, but Russia’s two largest labor unions have viciously criticized the government’s proposal to raise the retirement age.
See "Officials vow to raise the retirement age, the Kremlin fears protests, and labor unions are fuming. This is Russia’s pension reform.", Alexander Filimonov, Meduza, June 18, 2018