Russia launches registry of restrictions for citizens who have gone abroad
The Ministry of Justice of Russia has launched an open registry of citizens against whom "temporary restrictive measures" are applied. On the evening of October 23, 12 people who went abroad, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Ekaterina Schulmann, and Yevgeny Chichvarkin, were included in the list.
Russia launches a registry of restrictions for citizens who left the country
According to DW, the registry includes former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky, political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, and entrepreneur Yevgeny Chichvarkin, alongside philanthropist Boris Zimin, opposition politician Vladimir Milov, lawyer Mark Feigin, politician Leonid Gozman, and journalist Michael Nacke.
Human rights defender Anastasia Burakova, former municipal deputy Elena Kotyonochkina, former "Open Russia" movement activists Anastasia Shevchenko and Aleksey Nesterenko have also been added to the list.
The registry displays their date and place of birth, taxpayer identification number, individual insurance account number, and the grounds for applying the restrictions.
The list of "temporary restrictive measures" includes, among others, the following:
- Refusal to provide state services inside Russia and consular services abroad, including the non-issuance of international passports or powers of attorney;
- Refusal to grant loans and debts;
- A ban on registering rights to real estate or vehicles;
- A ban on registering as an individual entrepreneur or self-employed person;
- Blocking bank accounts and restricting access to banking applications.
As noted in the report, the measures are targeted at Russian citizens who have left the country, been held administratively liable, or convicted under articles of the Criminal Code. Among them are cases related to "discrediting" the Russian army, violating legislation on "foreign agents", participating in the activities of an "undesirable organization", and public calls to violate the territorial integrity of the country.
The relevant draft laws were passed by the State Duma in the first reading in December 2025, and in the second and third readings in July 2026. They were signed by the president in August.
The human rights organization "First Department" equated these measures to effectively depriving Russians in emigration of their civil rights. Meanwhile, the publication "Meduza" assessed the consequences of being included in the registry as practical "civil death".