The State Duma adopted two laws on 22 July that impose wide-ranging restrictions on Russian citizens abroad who are deemed to be evading punishment for criminal convictions or a defined set of administrative offences. The package, passed unanimously in its second and third readings on the same day, freezes bank accounts and property, suspends driving licences, bars the use of state digital services and banking applications, and cuts off access to consular and notarial services. A public registry of targeted individuals will be maintained by the Ministry of Justice, which is to receive nominations from the FSB, the interior ministry, the bailiff service, the tax authority and the prosecutor general’s office. The legislation now moves to the Federation Council and then to President Vladimir Putin for signature, after which the measures take immediate effect.

In Moscow, senior lawmakers framed the restrictions as a response to citizens who harm the country from abroad. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin described those who left and “harm the country” not as an opposition but as “traitors and criminals,” insisting that legitimate opposition is already represented in parliament. Deputy Chairman Pyotr Tolstoy, a member of the ruling United Russia party, predicted the financial curbs would alter behaviour, writing on Telegram that “the wallet is a liberal’s most sensitive organ.” The official discourse draws a sharp line between parliamentary dissent and exiled critics, whom the authorities accuse of continuing to attack Russian interests while living in the West.

Rights advocates and international watchdogs have condemned the legislation as a form of “civic death” that effectively strips targeted individuals of the practical benefits of citizenship. Anastasia Burakova, a lawyer and founder of the emigre support group Kovcheg, said the laws place Russians abroad “in the position of stateless persons” by severing every channel of interaction with the state. Human Rights Watch earlier described the bill as a “civic death law” and called on foreign governments to provide affected Russians with travel documents, work authorisation and essential services. Viewed from European capitals, the measures extend the Russian state’s ability to punish dissent far beyond its borders and risk creating a class of people unable to renew passports, register marriages or conduct basic financial transactions without returning to Russia, where they would face arrest.

The restrictions apply to individuals convicted in absentia under any article of the criminal code or under a specific list of administrative offences: “discrediting” the armed forces, violating “foreign agent” regulations, calling for sanctions or separatism, and participating in “undesirable” organisations. In addition to freezing assets and blocking consular services, the laws allow courts to seize frozen funds to cover legal fees and court-ordered damages, with any remaining assets potentially redirected to support family members still in Russia. The package builds on earlier legislation that permitted the arrest of property belonging to emigres charged under political administrative articles. Adopted in the final days of the current Duma’s term, the bills had been under consideration since December. The Federation Council is expected to approve the package swiftly; once signed by the president, the Ministry of Justice will publish the public registry and the interdepartmental commission foreseen by the law will begin applying the restrictive measures.