A bill on "disciplinary arrests," which would grant military commanders the right to send their subordinates to a detention facility without a court decision for 20 different offenses, has been approved by the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] in consecutive second and third readings. Read more about the bill in our previous summary. During a meeting of the Defense Committee, State Duma member Viktor Sobolev stated that this measure is not sufficient and proposed to reinstate penal battalions [units consisting of convicts].

In a second reading, the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] will consider a bill regarding the "specifics of the application and enforcement of disciplinary arrest for military personnel participating in a special military operation." It would grant the right to order disciplinary arrests to commanders of military units, military police bodies and garrisons. Until now, this measure has been reserved for military courts. The new extrajudicial application would be limited to detention facilities in Ukraine and "certain areas of the Russian Federation, where martial law is in effect" [occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions]. If passed, the bill would authorize arrests for...

Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] reports that, in support of its strategy against extremism, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has proposed to Vladimir Putin to create a database of individuals, who left Russia “to participate in extremist organizations and to undergo training offered by unfriendly states in centers for foreigners.” We do not yet know the exact criteria for inclusion in the database, but the authorities may target those who have moved to “unfriendly states.”

Tyumen malls and hypermarkets have seen the emergence of "propaganda patrols." Military representatives are stationed near cash registers to inform shoppers about the contract-based military service, including the size of sign-up bonuses, salaries and other benefits available to servicemen. It is unknown how long the propaganda patrols will operate at these locations. According to the head of the contract military service recruitment facility, the promotional campaign will continue in other places later.

Russian lawmakers have submitted a bill to the State Duma, the country’s lower house of the Federal Assembly, to upgrade penalties for offenders who deliberately destruct or damage public or private property for extremist-related reasons, including hatred towards specific social groups. The penalty for violating the bill’s provisions is proposed to be increased to five years of imprisonment. Currently, the law does not cover extremist motives, and the maximum sentence is limited to two years. The comments to the bill specifically address the escalating damage and destruction of property belonging to war supporters, including vandalization of cars decorated with war symbols Z and V.

The Federation Council [upper house of the Federal Assembly] approved a bill which would exempt employees of the Investigative Committee and prosecutor's offices from regular conscription as soon as they join these organizations after completing the relevant higher education. The State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly] approved the bill last week.

The Federal State Statistics Service no longer publishes detailed data on the number of deaths and mortality from external causes,notes demographer Alexey Rakhsa. This category comprises deaths not related to illnesses, such as traffic accidents, suicides and combat deaths. Additionally, the cause of death column has been replaced with education level in the breakdown of deaths by age. This data had been used by Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] to calculate that at least 70,000 Russians had died in the war against Ukraine in 2022 and 2023. Using the same data, Meduza [international Russian-language online media outlet] arrived independently at no less than 64,000 casualties. It is worth noting...

The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation (Rosfinmonitoring) may have many more grounds in the future to add individuals to the register of terrorists and extremists. The federal government has introduced a bill into the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] to significantly expand the list, which currently includes 26 articles of the Criminal Code related to extremist activities, such as terrorist attacks, coup attempts, calls for extremism and incitement of hatred. Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer of the Pervy Otdel [Department One] human rights project, says that, if the bill is passed, authorities will start adding suspects, defendants and individuals convicted on any charge, if the motive...

The Russian government plans to revise punishments for armed rebellion and treason. It introduced a bill into the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] to link sentences to the degree of participation in a mutiny. In case the mutiny leads to severe consequences and casualties, participants could face up to life imprisonment. At the same time, the changes would also offer immunity from criminal prosecution to individuals who promptly and voluntarily report the mutiny, helping to prevent damage. This legislative initiative aims to motivate mutiny participants to abandon illegal actions. Individuals who lead or organize a mutiny would face imprisonment for 15 to 20 years. While the sentence for participating...

Vadim Dragomiretskiy, a former Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] Major General, who had been convicted to nine and a half years in a maximum security penal colony for taking bribes, has submitted a petition to be sent to fight in Ukraine. His subordinates, who had also been convicted of bribery, have submitted similar petitions.