Neither friend nor foe attacks
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As Kommersant has learned, bills banning the publication of information about the location and work of the Russian military, as well as any “arrivals” on the territory of the Russian Federation, prepared by members of the Federation Council (SF) Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building in August 2023, are most likely , will not be submitted to the State Duma. According to Kommersant, the presidential administration (AP) considered it important to maintain a balance between the protection of information and its freedom and, in particular, not to harm military correspondents whose activities could be banned.
A source familiar with the preparation of the document told Kommersant that last year’s package of bills prohibiting the publication of almost any information of a military nature still remains motionless. According to him, the projects are unlikely to be submitted to the State Duma, since the idea did not find understanding in the Administration.
Let us recall that after a series of drone attacks on Moscow City last summer and widespread resonance in the media, senators developed three bills (see Kommersant, August 17, 2023). The first was to expand the list of prohibitions on the abuse of freedom of media and the list of data subject to blocking at the request of the Prosecutor General (contained in the federal laws on the media and on the protection of information). According to the preliminary version of the document, any information, including photos and videos, that reveals the location of Russian troops, the consequences of “arrivals”, as well as the places of “departures” – even the trajectory of missiles – would be prohibited. An exception would be information disseminated by government agencies or the military.
In the second bill, senators proposed introducing administrative liability for violating the ban: a fine of 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. for individuals and from 300 thousand to 500 thousand rubles. for legal entities. Finally, the third bill provided for criminal liability for persons who had already received an “administrative notice” and who again violated the ban within a year—up to three years in prison.
It was announced that the package of amendments could be considered by the Duma during the autumn session. The documents were being approved, but were not submitted until the end of the year. A Kommersant source close to the Federation Council explained the refusal of the initiative briefly: “Politics.” And according to Kommersant’s source in the AP, the Kremlin was concerned with “the issue of the balance between the protection of information and its freedom,” for example, how to ensure the rights of military officers. It is quite difficult to formalize this balance, Kommersant’s interlocutor added.
Interestingly, on March 4, the operational headquarters of the Leningrad region, which has recently been subjected to regular attacks by Ukrainian UAVs, prohibited “the publication and dissemination of any information, including photos and video materials” that would help reveal the locations and combat use of the Ministry of Defense forces in the region, as well as information “on the consequences of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.” The ban is indefinite. The Legal Support Committee has been instructed to develop a draft normative legal act establishing administrative liability for non-execution of a decision by March 15.
It is not yet known what standards Leningrad officials were guided by when establishing the ban, and what punishment violators could face. “Kommersant” sent a request to the vice-governor of the Leningrad region, Mikhail Ilyin, who signed the minutes of the meeting of the operational headquarters. At the time of publication, Mr. Ilyin did not respond.
This is not the first attempt to introduce responsibility for the publication of air defense work and the consequences of “arrivals”. In the State Council (parliament) of Crimea, a similar idea began to be worked out at the beginning of 2023. Deputies proposed introducing into the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation a punishment for the disclosure of military installations in a territory with a special legal regime (including the average level of response that operates on the peninsula): a fine of up to 30 thousand rubles. for individuals and up to 500 thousand rubles. for legal entities. The document was supported by the head of Crimea Sergei Aksenov, approved by the commission of the Council of Legislators on the integration of new regions and was planned for consideration in the autumn session, but in the end it was also left without movement. Chairman of the State Council Committee on Legislation Sergei Trofimov told Kommersant that work on the project was stopped due to the fact that the State Duma Committee on Defense and Security prepared a bill with similar content, which will be submitted to the spring session. The committee did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
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