User agreement (public offer)

1. Definitions

1.1.The following terms are used in this User Agreement (hereinafter the “Agreement”):

• Operator (Contractor) — Istoki Limited Liability Company (Istoki LLC), INN 3666002895, OGRN 1033600016372, address: 394026, Russian Federation, Voronezh, ul. Solnechnaya, 33, office 155.
• Service — the combination of the websites central-archive.ru (including the “Account” section at central-archive.ru/lk) and relic-chat.ru, the Aggregator software and hardware system (client account, pro workspace) and the Relic Chat messenger, owned by the Operator.
• User — a legally capable individual who has reached the age of 18 and has accepted this Agreement.
• Account — the set of data about the User identified by an email address, access to which is granted by a one-time code sent to that address (for the Operator's employees — by password).
• Content — any information and materials posted by the User in the Service: information about relatives, family tree, questionnaire, documents, photographs, audio and video recordings, texts of family websites and memory pages, messages.
• Free services — functionality available without payment: family tree, document archive, family website builder, memory pages, Relic Chat, service catalog.
• Paid services — genealogical research, production of ancestry books, tree prints, memorial plaques, digitization and other services whose price is stated in the Service catalog or in a separate contract.
• Balance — the User's account of funds in the Service, topped up through the payment service and used to pay for Paid services.

2. Subject matter and conclusion procedure

2.1.This Agreement is a public offer (Article 437(2) of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) — the Operator's proposal to conclude a contract on the terms set out below with any legally capable individual who has reached the age of 18.

2.2.Subject matter of the Agreement: the Operator grants the User, under a simple (non-exclusive) license, the right to use the Service to the extent of the Free services (Articles 1235 and 1286 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), as well as the ability to order Paid services; the User undertakes to use the Service in accordance with the Agreement and the legislation of the Russian Federation.

2.3.The offer is accepted (Article 438(3) of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) when the User performs any of the following actions: checks the box confirming agreement to the Agreement and requests a sign-in code for the account (registration); submits a request form on the website; registers in Relic Chat; pays for a Paid service. From the moment of acceptance, the Agreement is deemed concluded in writing (Article 434(3) of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

2.4.The provision of Paid services is governed by this Agreement, the description of the service in the Service catalog and, in the case of genealogical research, by a separate contract for the provision of services for a fee (Chapter 39 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) concluded with the User; in the event of a conflict, the terms of the separate contract prevail.

3. Registration and account

3.1.The Account is created upon first sign-in to the account using a one-time code sent to the email address provided by the User. The email address serves as the User's login and as the primary channel for legally significant communications.

3.2.The User is responsible for keeping access to their email and devices secure. All actions performed in the Service after entering a code sent to the User's address are deemed to have been performed by the User, unless the User notified the Operator that access had been compromised before such actions were performed. The User may end all sessions in the “Security” section.

3.3.One person may have one client account. The Operator may merge or block duplicate accounts, notifying the User.

3.4.The User may invite relatives to a project: the invited person creates their own account and receives access to the project to the extent set by the Service (research progress, documents, team), without access to financial information. The User may revoke an invitation at any time.

3.5.The account is deleted at the User's request (including via the “Withdraw consent and delete data” function) within 30 days; before deletion, the Operator provides the ability to export the Content.

4. Rights and obligations of the parties

4.1.The User may:

• use the Service in accordance with its intended purpose and this Agreement;
• invite other persons to their projects and family groups and to view their Content, defining the scope of their access using the Service's tools;
• modify, hide and delete their Content and unpublish memory pages and family websites at any time;
• receive information on the progress of Paid services in their account and via Relic Chat;
• stop using the Service and request deletion of their account.

4.2.The User undertakes to:

• provide accurate information about themselves and keep it up to date;
• not share access to their account with third parties and promptly notify the Operator of any unauthorized access;
• post Content only if the User holds the necessary rights, including the consent of the persons depicted or mentioned (Articles 152.1 and 152.2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation; Articles 9 and 10.1 of Law 152-FZ);
• not post information whose dissemination is prohibited or restricted by the legislation of the Russian Federation (Article 10(6) of Federal Law No. 149-FZ of July 27, 2006), materials that infringe the rights of third parties or contain malicious code, or materials unrelated to the purposes of the Service;
• not take actions aimed at disrupting the operation of the Service, circumventing security measures, or gaining unauthorized access to the data of other Users;
• pay for Paid services on time.

4.3.The Operator undertakes to:

• keep the Service operational, except during maintenance and recovery work, giving at least 24 hours' notice in the Service of scheduled work lasting more than 4 hours;
• ensure the confidentiality of the User's Content and personal data in accordance with the Policy and Article 7 of Law 152-FZ;
• provide Paid services in the manner and within the time frames set by the contract, invoice or service description;
• consider the User's requests within the time frames set by Section 10.

4.4.The Operator may:

• restrict access to Content that violates paragraph 4.2 and suspend access to the account if the User breaches the Agreement, notifying the User by email;
• change the functionality of the Service, including discontinuing support for individual features, while preserving the ability to export Content (tree export in GEDCOM format, document download) for 30 days;
• engage third parties to perform its obligations (contract genealogists, archives, print shops, payment services), remaining liable to the User;
• send the User service messages necessary for the performance of the Agreement.

5. User content and intellectual property

5.1.Exclusive rights to the Content remain with the User or other rights holders. By posting Content, the User grants the Operator a royalty-free simple (non-exclusive) license to store, reproduce and adapt it (change of format or size) and to make it available to the persons to whom the User has granted access, worldwide, for the period the Content is hosted in the Service — solely for the purpose of operating the Service and providing services to the User (inclusion in a report, book or family website at the User's order).

5.2.The User warrants that they hold the rights necessary to post the Content and that posting it does not infringe the rights of third parties, including the right to one's image (Article 152.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), privacy (Article 152.2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and intellectual property rights. The User independently settles any claims by third parties and reimburses the Operator for documented losses caused by such claims.

5.3.Exclusive rights to the Service, its program code, design, databases, the trademarks and designations “Aggregator”, “Family Relic” and “Relic Chat”, and the templates of family websites and memory pages belong to the Operator. The User is not granted the right to copy, decompile or modify the Service or to use it to create competing products.

5.4.Exclusive rights to the results of Paid services (the genealogical research report, the ancestry book layout, the tree design) pass to the User upon full payment to the extent set by the contract; the Operator retains the right to use depersonalized methodologies and report structures.

5.5.A memory page or family website is published solely by the User's “Publish” action, which constitutes the granting to the Operator of consent to the dissemination of the personal data included in the page (Article 10.1 of Law 152-FZ). A published page is accessible via link and QR code; the User independently decides to whom they give the link and may unpublish the page at any time.

6. Paid services, payment and refunds

6.1.The price of Paid services is stated in Russian rubles in the Service catalog, invoice or contract. The Operator applies the simplified taxation system; no VAT is charged (or VAT is stated in the invoice if the taxation regime changes).

6.2.Payment is made by topping up the Balance through the Robokassa payment service (Robokassa LLC) with subsequent deduction of the service price from the Balance, or by invoice to the Operator's bank account. The payment service fee is displayed before the payment is made. Funds on the Balance are not a deposit and do not accrue interest; any unused balance is refunded at the User's request in accordance with paragraph 6.6.

6.3.Genealogical research is paid for in stages: the price of each stage is agreed with the User before it begins and is shown in the account; the deduction from the Balance is made after the User's confirmation. Advance payment for the entire research is not required unless otherwise agreed in the contract.

6.4.The Operator does not guarantee that specific archival documents or information will be found: the preservation of archival holdings and the completeness and availability of sources are beyond the Operator's control. The service is deemed duly provided when the agreed scope of search actions has been carried out in good faith and a report on the results, including negative results, has been delivered to the User. The User is notified of the results of each stage in the account.

6.5.The result of a stage is deemed accepted if the User has not submitted reasoned objections within 10 calendar days of its posting in the account.

6.6.The User may cancel a Paid service at any time before it is fully provided by reimbursing the Operator for the expenses actually incurred (Article 782 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation; Article 32 of Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300-1 of February 7, 1992 “On Protection of Consumer Rights”). Refunds, including of any unused Balance, are made upon the User's written request within 10 days of its receipt (Article 31 of Law No. 2300-1) by the same method by which the payment was made, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

6.7.Ancestry books, tree prints and other products made to the User's individual specifications are produced after the layout is approved; once the layout has been sent to production, cancellation is possible subject to reimbursement of the expenses actually incurred.

7. Personal data and confidentiality

7.1.The Operator processes the User's personal data in accordance with the Personal Data Processing Policy and on the basis of consent, as well as for the performance of this Agreement (Article 6(1), item 5, of Law 152-FZ).

7.2.The User's Content, information about projects and payments, and correspondence are confidential information. The Operator grants access to them only to the User, to persons invited by the User, and to the Operator's employees within the scope of their duties, and does not disclose them to third parties except in cases provided for by the Policy and by law.

7.3.The Operator notifies the User of any detected incidents involving the User's personal data in the manner set out in Article 21 of Law 152-FZ.

8. Liability

8.1.The parties are liable for non-performance or improper performance of their obligations under the Agreement in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

8.2.Free services are provided “as is.” The Operator takes reasonable measures to keep the Service operational and to safeguard data (backups, security), but does not guarantee uninterrupted operation of the Service or its conformity to the User's expectations, and is not liable for losses arising from the actions of third parties, communication network failures, the User's loss of access to their email, or the User's breach of the Agreement. Users are advised to periodically export copies of their Content (GEDCOM export, document download).

8.3.The User is solely responsible for the accuracy, lawfulness of publication, and content of their Content, including toward the persons whose personal data and images they have published.

8.4.The Operator’s liability to the User is limited to the amount paid by the User for the service in connection with which the claims arose; lost profits are not subject to compensation. These limitations do not apply where consumer protection legislation does not permit their application.

8.5.The Operator is not a party to the relationship between the User and the persons they have invited and bears no responsibility for their actions.

9. Force majeure

9.1.The parties are released from liability for non-performance of their obligations if it is caused by force majeure circumstances (Article 401(3) of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation): natural disasters, military actions, acts of public authorities, large-scale failures of communication networks and power supply, or actions of third parties aimed at disrupting the operation of the Service that the party could not have prevented. The party for which performance has become impossible shall notify the other party within 5 business days; the deadline for performance is extended in proportion to the duration of such circumstances.

10. Claims procedure and dispute resolution

10.1.All disputes are resolved through negotiations, with mandatory compliance with the pre-trial claim procedure. A claim is sent in writing to the email address support@central-archive.ru or to the Operator’s postal address and is reviewed within 10 days of receipt (Article 31 of Law No. 2300-1, for consumer refund claims; in all other cases, 30 days). Requests submitted by the User through the “Support” section of their account have the force of a claim if they contain a demand and its justification.

10.2.If no agreement is reached, the dispute is referred to a court in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation: disputes involving consumers, under the rules of Article 17 of Law No. 2300-1 (at the consumer’s choice); other disputes, at the Operator’s location.

10.3.The substantive and procedural law of the Russian Federation applies to the relationship between the parties.

11. Term, amendment and termination

11.1.The Agreement enters into force upon acceptance and remains in effect indefinitely until terminated.

11.2.The Operator may unilaterally amend the Agreement by publishing a new version at https://central-archive.ru/polzovatelskoe-soglashenie, indicating the version date, at least 7 days before the amendments take effect; the User is notified of material changes in their account. Continued use of the Service after the amendments take effect constitutes the User’s acceptance of the new version; if the User does not agree, they may terminate the Agreement in accordance with clause 11.3.

11.3.The User may terminate the Agreement at any time by ceasing to use the Service and requesting deletion of their account. The Operator may terminate the Agreement unilaterally in the event of a material breach of clause 4.2 by the User, with notice sent to the User’s email address; in this case, the User is given 30 days to export their Content, unless the breach involves the publication of prohibited information.

11.4.Termination of the Agreement does not release the parties from obligations that arose before termination (payment for services rendered, refunds, retention of documents for the periods established by law).

12. Final provisions

12.1.Legally significant communications (notices, claims, statements) are sent to the parties’ email addresses: for the User, the address of their account; for the Operator, support@central-archive.ru. They are deemed received on the day they are sent if sent before 18:00 Moscow time on a business day, and otherwise on the next business day.

12.2.The invalidity of individual provisions of the Agreement does not render the Agreement as a whole invalid.

12.3.The current version of the Agreement is available at https://central-archive.ru/polzovatelskoe-soglashenie. The version dated 08.09.2026 was approved by the General Director of Istoki LLC.