Vladimir Putin signed a bill allowing him to strike Russians abroad if they were convicted in absentia or did not execute certain administrative penalties. The frozen accounts, the ban on the sale of assets and the refusal of part of consular services are intended to extend the scope of the Russian repression apparatus beyond national borders.
The country goes abroad
Vladimir Putin signed on 4 August the Act on temporary restrictions against Russian citizens residing abroad and withdrawing from the execution of the penalty. The paper was signed by independent Russian service Medusa, and the earlier scope of the regulations was besides described by Euronews and Amnesty International.
The law includes persons convicted in criminal matters. It may besides affect people who have been punished administratively, who have not paid fines for acts qualified by the Russian authorities as, inter alia, a violation of the provisions on ‘foreign agents’, participation in the activities of an organisation deemed to be ‘unwanted’, calling for sanctions or ‘discredit’ of the army. In Russian realities these are regulations widely applied against Kremlin critics and the war in Ukraine.
Accounts, assets and papers under control
The directory of restrictions is extensive. Authorities will be able to frost bank accounts, block access to online banking and prevent the sale of real property and vehicles. The Act besides provides for the suspension of licences, permits and accreditation. The gross of a individual entered in a peculiar registry is to be transferred to a separate account from which the costs of proceedings may be deducted.
The anticipation of refusing state and consular services is peculiarly acute. This includes obtaining a abroad passport and certifying wills, power of attorneys and transactions. A man who is outside Russia can so lose applicable ability to manage his own assets and settle basic legal matters. It formally retains its nationality, but the state limits the rights it should consequence from.
Repression dressed in procedure
The president of the State Duma Viacheslaw Wolodin pointed out clearly before the vote that the recipients of the regulation were people presented by the authorities as damaging to Russia and avoiding responsibility. Amnesty global assessed the task as an effort to punish people who left the country but proceed to criticize the Russian authorities. The organisation pointed out that the deficiency of access to accounts, assets and consular services allows Moscow exerts force besides outside its own territory.
This bill did not appear in vacuum. Following the launch of a full-scale aggression against Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin extended regulations penalizing an independent assessment of the army's actions. It besides expanded the strategy of "foreign agents" and "unwanted" organisations. The fresh regulations combine these mechanisms with a tool of financial and administrative pressure. The departure from Russia no longer ends contact with the state apparatus if the emigrant has left an account, apartment, car or matters requiring assistance from the consulate.
Lesson for Poland
For Poland the rate is clear. The Russian state treats the law as an instrument of political struggle, and citizenship as a tool of human discipline besides abroad. Warsaw should take this into account erstwhile assessing the activities of Russian institutions, protecting persons legally residing in our country and combating force and intimidation conducted by a abroad state.
This does not mean granting to anyone an automatic right of residence or giving up safety checks. Poland is obliged to conduct its own sovereign migration and counter-intelligence policy. However, it must separate between the real threat and the man pursued for criticism of war. Tough realism requires both things at once: tight procedures and awareness that the Kremlin is increasingly utilizing laws to prosecute opponents outside Russia.
Sources: [Media](https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/22/russia-s-state-duma-passes-law-barring-russians-convicted-in-absentia-from-consular-services-and-real-estate-sales), [Eurnews](https://www.euronews.com/2026/07/23/russia-strips-rights-of-dissidents-abroad-in-sweeping-new-traitor-law), [Amnesty International](https://www.amnesty-to-silence-dissent/).
Source: Defence24
