With the development of the transportation network, vessels are increasingly used in the tourism business. The international cruise business requires huge investments and a clear international and domestic legal framework. Russia has unique opportunities to develop cruise tourism as a country with the world’s longest total length of coastal line (37.7 thousand kilometres). Russia intends to develop and support cruise tourism in the Arctic and increase the tourist flow to the Arctic to a certain level in order to promote socio-economic development in the region. At the same time, a rapidly evolving tourism in the Arctic brings new challenges related to the preservation of environmental safety and protection of national interests and requires comprehensive legal cover and regulation at the national level. This article deals with Russian Federation’s laws regulating sea/river cruise shipping involving an international element. It scrutinises state rules and policies on navigation in the Russian Arctic waters and relevant International Treaties of the Russian Federation, highlights the peculiarity of the cruise shipping contract in terms of Russian laws regulating the relationship arising from it, and finally, analyses the effects of Russian legislation in the field of Arctic tourism to its development. The authors attempted to summarise experts’ views on relevant Russian legislation’ shortcomings and put forward possible solutions.