The families of foreign nationals killed in the war against Ukraine can now apply for Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure. A decree from Vladimir Putin extends this right to the spouses, children and parents of fighters who served under contract with the Russian Armed Forces. Under existing regulations, this simplified path to citizenship waives the requirement to reside continuously in the Russian Federation for five years after receiving a residency permit.
Authorities in Chita will offer a reward to individuals who help recruit contract soldiers for the war. The authorities did not specify the amount, but the independent media outlet Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] reported the amount as 50,000 rubles [$620] per recruit. According to an official from the draft office, to receive the payment an individual must personally bring a candidate to the recruitment center and be present when they sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. The reward applies to contracts signed between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. Administrations in the city of Krasnokamensk and the Uletovsky and Borzinsky municipal districts have posted similar resolutions on their websites.
Over the past two years, Russian authorities have identified through raids more than 90,000 naturalized citizens who failed to register for military service, according to Alexander Bastrykin, head of the country’s Investigative Committee. Of them, 7,600 have become conscripts, while another 30,000 have signed military contracts. In mid-May, Bastrykin had stated that authorities had identified 80,000 new citizens who had not registered for military service, with 20,000 of them reportedly sent to the war.
Vladimir Putin signed several bills into law (1, 2, 3), including: A bill equating extremist communities with extremist organizations, which allows authorities to designate a group as extremist upon the conviction of at least one of its members.
Individuals could face fines of up to 5,000 rubles [$64] for searching the internet for what the state calls "knowingly extremist materials," with or without a VPN. The penalty is part of a bill that lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly, approved in its final reading. The legislation would also impose steep fines for advertising VPNs, setting penalties at up to 80,000 rubles [$1,020] for individuals and as much as 500,000 rubles [$6,390] for legal entities. The independent Russian media outlet Mediazona described what might change once the bill is signed into law.
The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] Defense Committee approved amendments to grant benefits to common-law wives of soldiers killed in the "special military operation" only if the couple had a child together.
Naturalized citizens may lose their Russian citizenship for evading military registration "without a valid reason," under a bill introduced in the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] by lawmakers from United Russia [Putin’s ruling party]. Under the proposal, a draft office could classify any naturalized citizen as a draft dodger for failing to register or respond to a draft notice, thereby establishing evasion as a standalone basis for stripping citizenship. The office would then issue its finding and send the document to the Interior Ministry within five days. However, the decision could be reversed if the man reports to the draft office within 30 days. The bill would also allow for terminating citizenship for past...
Individuals accused of desecrating military graves and other sites memorializing those who died "in the defense of the Russian Federation or its interests" may face tougher penalties, after the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved a corresponding bill in its second and third readings. Until now, the maximum penalty was three years in prison or a fine of up to three million rubles [$38,400], while the aforementioned bill raises the maximum prison sentence to five years and increases the fine to five million rubles [$63,900].
Amid reports about the launch of Russia’s Unified Military Register [digital system to identify citizens subject to military service and serve draft notices], the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel argues that it is premature to speak of the system’s full launch. Any notifications received likely indicate only that personnel at draft offices are digitizing the personal files of individuals liable for service, and these alerts do not equate to an official draft notice, carry no legal consequences if ignored and merely confirm that an individual’s information has been entered into the database. Since May 2025, the official "Draft Register" website no longer displays a message indicating the system is being tested...
Service members taking part in the "special military operation" can now confirm their participation in seconds, streamlining access to benefits. Defense Minister Andrey Belousov announced the technical capability, adding it was in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. According to the Ministry of Defense, individuals have already generated more than 110,000 such certificates using the Gosuslugi public services portal. The new system automates the verification process, so participants in the war and their families no longer need to submit paper certificates and documents. The ministry also reported that more than 8,000 people have used the online benefit for war participants and their...