Russia passes law stripping dissidents abroad of rights in sweeping 'traitor' legislation
Russia's parliament passed a law on Wednesday that strips property rights, bank accounts, and consular services from Russians abroad facing political prosecution, which lawyers say amounts to de facto revocation of citizenship.
The Russian State Duma on Wednesday, July 23, 2026, approved in its second and third readings a law that significantly expands repression against dissidents abroad. The legislation targets Russian citizens living overseas who are evading criminal prosecution at home on political grounds, imposing a broad set of restrictions on their rights and access to state services.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin made clear the law's intent before the vote, stating it is aimed at "extremists, traitors to our homeland" who have tried to destroy the country. Under the new law, those affected will have their bank accounts frozen, property and vehicles rendered unsaleable, licenses and accreditations suspended, banking app access blocked, and state and consular services—including the issuance of international passports and certification of documents such as wills and powers of attorney—refused.
The legislation also applies to Russians who have already been administratively sanctioned for violations of Russia's foreign agents law, for calling for sanctions against Russia, for calls to violate Russian territorial integrity, for discrediting the armed forces, or for involvement in organizations that Russia has designated as undesirable. The law takes effect immediately upon official publication with no transition period.
This law is the latest in a sustained expansion of Russia's legal toolkit for suppressing dissent that began before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine but has dramatically accelerated since February 2022. In the first week of the invasion, the State Duma passed two key laws: one criminalizing the spread of "knowingly false information" about the armed forces (punishable by up to 15 years in prison), and another making "discrediting" the army a criminal offense (up to five years for first-time offenders). Russia's communications regulator simultaneously ordered media to stop using the words "war," "invasion," or "assault," prompting the closure or suspension of most remaining independent media.
Russia's foreign agents law, originally passed in 2012, has been repeatedly amended since 2022 to allow authorities to designate individuals—not just organizations—as foreign agents, carrying wide-ranging restrictions. By mid-2025, Russian authorities had blocked more than 25,000 websites. Estimates of the number of Russians who left the country in the first year after the invasion range from 500,000 to over 1 million. Wednesday's law is designed to extend the state's reach into that population.
Lawyers from the First Department, an open community of Russian legal professionals and human rights defenders, said the cumulative effect amounts to "de facto deprivation of citizenship." They described those affected as acquiring the status of an internally "cancelled citizen," where everything connected with the Russian Federation—property, accounts, business, consular services—can be used against them, while they are practically deprived of any opportunity to use these in their own interests.
Independent human rights media project OVD-Info identified those at greatest risk: people on Russia's foreign agents register, defendants in criminal or politically motivated administrative cases, political activists, journalists, lawyers, and participants in projects or organizations that the Kremlin has labeled as "extremist," "undesirable," or "terrorist." From the full-scale invasion in 2022 to September 2025, at least 692 people faced criminal prosecution under the "false information" and "discreditation" laws alone. In total, at least 1,299 people had faced criminal prosecution for opposing the war by late 2025, with 373 still imprisoned.
