Less than three months after granting asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, Russia is preparing to implement the kind of electronic surveillance that he uncovered in the US.

The Russian communications ministry and the KGB's successor, the Federal Security Service (FSB), have drafted a regulation requiring internet providers and mobile operators to install equipment allowing spy services to record and store for no less than 12 hours any data passing through their networks.

Ironic: Russia granted asylum to Edward Snowden, and now it is making use of his revelations on US spying. Credit:AP

According to a report in the business daily Kommersant, the draft directive also orders providers to store identifying information about participants in all data exchanges. This would include email addresses, internet addresses, web chat IDs and the physical locations of people using Skype or Google Hangouts.

The equipment is to be installed by July 1, 2014.