Duma speaker suggests confiscating property of ‘scoundrels’ who went abroad and criticize war

Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel that Russians who have left the country, criticize the war, and criticize the Russian government, should have their property confiscated.

According to him, some Russians “consider it possible to insult Russia, its residents, soldiers, and officers, and openly support villains, Nazis, and murderers.” The goal of such people, according to Volodin, is “to serve themselves and try to maintain their welfare abroad.”

“Such statements can be seen as calls for extremism, rehabilitation of Nazism, or discrediting the armed forces. It is the task of the investigation to establish the nature of the crime. As practice has shown, existing response measures are not enough,” Volodin noted.

According to Volodin, among Russians abroad, there are some who “live comfortably thanks to our country,” “renting out real estate, continuing to receive royalties at the expense of Russian citizens.”

“In this situation, it would be right to supplement the relevant articles of the Criminal Code with a clause on the confiscation of the scoundrels’ property in the Russian Federation, of which they have enough, to compensate for the damage caused,” Volodin summarized.

Andrei Klishas, head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Law and State Building, whom TASS asked to comment on Volodin’s proposal, said that the confiscation of property for insulting the Russian Armed Forces is possible, but that it requires amendments to the Criminal Code.

Vyacheslav Volodin has repeatedly put forward initiatives concerning Russians who disagree with the war. In September 2022, he proposed giving participants in the war the cars of people who fled mobilization and were forced to abandon their cars at the border. And in December he announced the preparation of amendments to increase taxes for Russians who left after the war began. So far, none of Volodin’s initiatives have been implemented.

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