Russia moves to fine defiance of governors' orders nationwide, even in peacetime

Russia's government has submitted a bill to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, that would introduce administrative fines for failing to comply with decisions issued by regional governors and regional task forces. The new rule would apply nationwide rather than being limited to territories currently under martial law.

The bill proposes adding a new article, 19.5.5, to the Administrative Offenses Code. Under it, individuals would face fines ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles (roughly $36 to $60). Officials would face fines of 30,000 to 50,000 rubles ($360 to $600), or could instead be barred from holding certain positions for one to three years. Legal entities would face fines of 300,000 rubles to 1 million rubles ($3,600 to $11,950), or could instead have their operations suspended for up to 90 days.

According to the bill's explanatory note, the Administrative Offenses Code already penalizes noncompliance with such decisions in regions under martial law. Elsewhere in the country, no such penalty currently exists at the federal level, though some regions have adopted their own local rules.

The bill's authors state that a "significant number" of such violations have recently been recorded, which they cite as the rationale behind the proposed nationwide measure.