Russia already fines people who ignore a governor’s orders — but only in regions under martial law. A new bill would make that punishable nationwide, even in peacetime.
The Russian government has submitted a bill to the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, that would impose fines for failure to comply with decisions by regional heads and regional task forces.
The bill would add a new article, 19.5.5, to the Administrative Offenses Code. It would set fines of 3,000 to 5,000 rubles ($36 to $60) for individuals; 30,000 to 50,000 rubles ($360 to $600) for officials, who could instead be barred from holding certain positions for one to three years; and 300,000 to 1 million rubles ($3,600 to $11,950) for legal entities, which could instead face a suspension of operations for up to 90 days.
According to the bill’s explanatory note, the Administrative Offenses Code already punishes noncompliance with those decisions in areas under martial law. Elsewhere, the note says there is no penalty at the federal level, though some regions have introduced their own.
The bill’s authors say a “significant number” of such offenses have been recorded recently.
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