The decree adds details of foreign policy, international trade, economic policy, scientific developments and preparations for possible military mobilization to the list of state secrets. Authorities may now deem any disclosed information in these categories as harmful to national security and subject it to classification.

Expert Warnings of Repression

“This is the destruction of expertise on the Russian economy based on facts and statistics and will lead to more repression,” said Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russia’s security services. Observers note the move follows Ukrainian drone attacks, with mobilization details now protected as underground relocation plans rather than troop drafts.

Enforcement and Penalties

Under the revised law, anyone receiving classified material without authorization faces up to eight years in prison. The Kremlin has already criminalized “fake news” about the military and halted publication of budget figures and oil output data since the war began.

Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has intensified its crackdown on dissent, passing a law criminalizing so-called “fake news” about the army and classifying military casualties as secret. The state secrecy regime has steadily narrowed public access to economic and statistical information, consolidating wartime control over information flow.