State Duma deputies adopted in the first reading a bill allowing for absentee administrative liability for violations committed abroad if they are directed "against the interests" of Russia. The document also proposes arresting the property of people against whom administrative proceedings are conducted.
On Sunday, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, announcing the consideration of the bill, reported that the tightening will affect "all types of administrative articles," but highlighted "propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi attributes or symbols," "discrediting" the army, "abuse of freedom of speech" and "non-compliance with obligations" of a social network owner.
According to Volodin, the arrest of property is necessary so that violators cannot evade the execution of the court decision.
The bill was submitted to the State Duma in October 2024 by the State Council of Tatarstan and Deputy Ayrat Farrakhov. In April 2025, it was supported by the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation.
The explanatory note to the bill states that since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been "increasing cases of public actions directed against the foundations of the constitutional order, state and public security" of Russia among Russians abroad. The authors of the document also called it a "problem" that it is possible to include people abroad in the register of "foreign agents" for "illegal activities against the interests" of Russia, but it is not possible to hold them administratively accountable for the same thing.
As the publication "We Can Explain"* writes, this bill was criticized by Duma legal experts, noting that there is no exact list of either "interests of the Russian Federation" or violations of these interests. The vagueness of the terms opens the way to arbitrariness, according to the conclusion of the legal department.
In addition, the legal department noted the absurdity of the enforcement mechanisms: administrative arrest and mandatory work cannot be applied to persons abroad, and deportation is meaningless for citizens who have already left.
Therefore, it was proposed to refine the law before bringing it to a State Duma meeting. Most likely, if the recommendation of the legal department is taken into account, it will be implemented on the go.
* Recognized in Russia as a "foreign agent."