Another “Day of Bans” in the State Duma

The Russian State Duma has once again held what many are calling a “Day of Bans.” Lawmakers have proposed prohibiting individuals who support organizations recognized as extremist—even before such organizations are officially banned—from running for any public office. These amendments to bill No. 1165649-7 were introduced by Deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov and Senator Andrey Klishas.

According to the proposed changes, anyone found by a court to be involved with extremist or terrorist organizations would be barred from participating in elections at any level. Initially, the bill only restricted participation in State Duma elections. If the amendments are adopted, a person could be deemed involved with an extremist or terrorist organization simply by supporting it online, or by providing financial, material, consultative, or other forms of assistance.

These amendments have already been dubbed the “law against FBK” (the Anti-Corruption Foundation), sparking a wave of criticism not only from members of that organization—which was added to the list of “foreign agents” in October 2019—but also from many others. Critics see this as a complete cleansing of the political field, and even as a form of lustration.

“Importantly, support for an extremist organization can be expressed through statements, including online, not just by providing money, property, organizational, consultative, or other assistance. So, it’s enough to say on the Internet that ‘Navalny is great’—you don’t even have to donate to FBK,” emphasized Kirill Shulika, deputy chairman of the Democratic Choice party and blogger.

“By the way, from a counterintelligence perspective, this law is pure lustration,” commented Alexander Plyushchev, a journalist from Echo of Moscow.

“Yesterday, during the State Duma session discussing the bill to ban those involved with extremist organizations from running for office, Deputy Sergey Ivanov [LDPR] said: ‘A crook and a thief can become a State Duma deputy, but someone who published information about him, which the court deemed extremist, cannot.’ Incidentally, yesterday one United Russia member, Nikolai Gonchar from Moscow, voted against the bill in the first reading. But in the end, 293 voted in favor, 45 against,” recalled Dmitry Kolezev, editor-in-chief of It’s My City. Many also noted that Klishas initially spoke out against the bill, but the outcome of his dissent was clear today.

New Restrictions on Publishing Weapon-Making Instructions

Likely motivated by good intentions, lawmakers also submitted another document to the State Duma with amendments to Russian legislation that will clearly not add to internet freedom. Bill No. 1177082-7, “On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in Connection with Improving State Control in the Field of Weapons Circulation,” introduces administrative liability for publishing instructions in the media or online on how to make weapons or restore their combat capabilities.

The authors include Alexander Khinshtein, Nikolai Ryzhak, Vasily Piskaryov, and other deputies and senators. The amendments are proposed for Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which currently establishes liability for publishing instructions on making explosive devices and explosives. The new proposal extends this to include advice on making weapons, independently manufacturing or modifying main parts of firearms, and restoring the combat properties of decommissioned weapons.

The bill also proposes increasing fines under this article. For individuals, fines would range from 10,000 to 50,000 rubles (currently 4,000 to 5,000 rubles); for sole proprietors, from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles (currently 40,000 to 50,000 rubles); and the maximum fine for officials would be 80,000 rubles (currently 50,000 rubles). Fines for legal entities would remain unchanged at 800,000 to 1 million rubles.

Restrictions on distributing instructions for making weapons have long been a global practice. For example, Facebook began removing posts about 3D-printed weapons back in 2018. However, given the consequences of law enforcement practices in Russia—ostensibly aimed at increasing public safety—this new initiative is also being met with caution.

With the introduction of a bill requiring foreign IT platforms to register in Russia, this day can also be described as yet another “Day of Bans in the State Duma.” In fact, as the outlet Mediazona noted, the entire week could be characterized this way.