The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] passed a bill that allows private security companies guarding critical infrastructure to temporarily obtain military-grade small arms to defend against drones. The legislation grants this right to private security firms established by fuel and energy companies, strategic enterprises, state corporations, natural monopolies and organizations protecting critical facilities. Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] will issue the weapons, which the security contractors must return within two weeks after their protection agreements expire or at the agency's request. The bill also expands the arsenal available to private security forces. In addition to less-lethal and civilian...
The Russian Ministry of Defense drafted a bill that would allow the president to send military personnel abroad to "protect Russian citizens" in the event of their arrest. The proposal would amend citizenship and defense laws. The Interfax news agency reports that the government legislative commission has already endorsed the bill. Officials developed the measure to protect the rights of Russians facing arrest, criminal prosecution or other forms of legal action under the rulings of foreign or international courts that do not stem from a treaty with Russia or a United Nations Security Council resolution. In late 2025, Putin banned the enforcement of such court decisions in Russia. This category of courts includes the International...
Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting the extradition of foreign nationals and stateless individuals to other countries for criminal prosecution or to serve a sentence if they have signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, completed contract military service or participated in combat.
Vladimir Putin signed a decree setting the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces at 2,391,770 personnel, of which 1,502,604 are service members. This represents an increase of 2,604 military personnel. The previous decree, signed in September 2024, set the authorized strength at 2,389,130 personnel, including 1,500,000 service members. In December 2023, the size of the armed forces was increased to 2,209,130 personnel, including 1,320,000 service members. One month before the start of mobilization in August 2022, Putin increased the size of the RuAF by 137,000 personnel, bringing the total to 2,390,000, including 1,150,000 service members.
In 2025, Russian banks granted 244,000 payment holidays to participants in the war against Ukraine and their family members, according to Central Bank data analyzed by Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet]. The peak came in the third quarter, when 69,000 such benefits were issued. In the fourth quarter, the figure declined to 62,500. Since the program was launched following the announcement of mobilization in September 2022, more than 720,000 payment holidays have been granted, covering loans worth over 342 billion rubles [$4 billion]. Under the law, payment holidays cannot be issued for loans taken out after a serviceman has been deployed to the frontline. As a result, the statistics indirectly reflect the number of new contract...
Russia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Protection plans to expand the list of professions for alternative civilian service by adding 363 new roles, such as concertmaster, forester, educational psychologist, meteorologist, disability rehabilitation specialist and mail carrier. The Federal Service for Labor and Employment reports that more than 2,000 people perform alternative service annually, with participation reaching 2,439 in the first half of 2025 and 2,722 as of Aug. 1.
In a single session, the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved the second and third readings of a bill that would prohibiting authorities from extraditing to other countries, for criminal prosecution or sentence execution, foreign citizens and stateless persons who have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense. The bill adds a new clause to an article of the Criminal Procedure Code titled "Refusal to Extradite a Person." This legislation explicitly prohibits Russia from handing over any foreigner or stateless individual who is currently serving or has previously served on a contract basis in the Russian Armed Forces and other military formations, or who participated in combat operations within their...
Russia’s Ministry of Defense proposes amending the Military Conscription and Military Service Act to raise the maximum age limit for admission into military academies. The current system caps the entry age at 22 for applicants without military experience and at 24 for those who have previously served in the military. The new amendments would increase these age limits to 24 and 30, respectively, to "guarantee the fulfillment of the personnel order in the interests of staffing the Russian Armed Forces with officers."
Recruiters continue aggressively pressuring students to sign contracts with Russia’s Ministry of Defense, ostensibly for service in the Unmanned Systems Forces.
The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] unanimously approved the first reading of a bill to expand the scope of crime prevention activities. Legislators propose adding two new clauses to Article Six of the law "On the Basics of the Crime Prevention System" that aim to "prevent and suppress evasion of the duty to defend the Fatherland" and "counter the distortion of historical truth." The initiative would allow authorities to establish preventive supervision over people convicted of rehabilitating Nazism, insulting veterans, and evading military service. Law enforcement officers would gain the ability to conduct "preventive conversations" with these individuals, deliver warnings against breaking the law, place them...