Bill that would punish Russians abroad for ‘offenses against Russia’s interests’ advances to second reading
A committee of Russia’s State Duma has recommended advancing a bill that would make Russian citizens liable for “committing offenses against Russia’s interests abroad.”
The bill was introduced in the State Duma by the State Council of Tatarstan and State Duma deputy Ayrat Farrakhov in October 2024 and passed its first reading in May 2025.
In its original form, the bill would have allowed authorities to punish Russians living abroad for any administrative offense deemed to be directed “against the interests of the country.” According to the business daily Kommersant, ahead of the second reading, the bill was revised to include a specific list of violations, among them: violations of the rules governing the activities of a “foreign agent,” abuse of freedom of information in the media, incitements to terrorist or extremist activity, and publicly equating the actions and decisions of the Soviet leadership with those of Nazi Germany.
The bill also provides for asset freezes as a precautionary measure. The second-reading version specifies that any such freeze would require a court order.
Lawmakers are expected to take up the bill for a second reading on May 26.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.