Russian lawmakers advance bill to punish citizens abroad for acting ‘against Russia’s interests’

What would this law mean?

The bill’s authors are proposing to expand Part 3 of Article 1.8 of the Administrative Code to make it possible to prosecute Russians for any violations committed abroad that the Russian authorities deem to be directed “against the interests of the Russian Federation”. If passed by the State Duma, the law would take effect on 1 September 2026.

At the same time, lawmakers want to extend asset freezing powers beyond legal entities to include private individuals — for instance, for failure to pay fines in time. Additionally, the amendments would allow security forces to seize personal property and documents without the owner’s signature if that person is outside Russia and investigators claim that obtaining their signature is impossible.

The explanatory note accompanying the bill states that, due to Russia’s ongoing “special military operation”, there has been “an increase in instances of Russian citizens residing on the territory of foreign states engaging in public actions directed against the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation”.

The initiative fits into a broader pattern of tightening legislation targeting Russians who left the country after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In recent years, the authorities have aggressively expanded the use of trials in absentia on charges of spreading “disinformation” about the military, “discrediting” the armed forces, involvement in “undesirable” organisations (such as Novaya Gazeta Europe), and violating the country’s “foreign agents” law. Officials have also floated proposals to bar Russians convicted in absentia from accessing government services online and to prevent those who return to Russia from working at state-owned companies.

The list of administrative statutes under which authorities will be able to prosecute Russians living abroad includes:

• •“Spreading disinformation” and “abusing media freedom”

• •Distributing banned content online

• •Publicly equating the actions of the USSR with those of Nazi Germany

• •Distributing “extremist” materials

• •Participating in the activities of an “undesirable” organisation

How might this work in practice?

Lawyer Anastasia Burakova, who founded the Kovcheg project to support anti-war Russians abroad, told Novaya Gazeta Europe that the bill’s purpose is more about intimidation than any fundamental shift in how the law is applied.

“What’s new about this provision? The fact that there’s no minimum threshold at which a debt or fine in a criminal case triggers an asset freeze,” she said.

According to Burakova, a rule is already in effect whereby, if a criminal case is opened, courts will almost automatically grant requests to freeze assets, making it impossible to register a car or apartment, or to use bank accounts. As for administrative offence rulings and fines, she notes that bailiffs were already able to impose restrictions through enforcement proceedings.

“This doesn’t mean that everything will now be sold off or seized from everyone as a matter of course,” she explained. “If a criminal case is opened against you, your property and accounts will be frozen regardless. As for administrative cases, the fines under the statutes listed are already large enough that bailiffs could impose asset freezes anyway.”