News

State Duma drafts law to prevent domestic violence

State Duma lawmakers are drafting a law to prevent domestic violence. Nearly 40% of women in Russia have suffered from verbal abuse and 20% from domestic violence, but only 12% have complained to the police, doctors or lawyers. The Statistics Service provided the data at a forum on Tuesday on the reproductive health of Russians.

14:49 28.05.2013

Government commission backs harsher punishments for extremism

A government commission has approved a Justice Ministry sponsored bill increasing punishment for extremist activity and religious organizations, reads a statement on the Governments website.

12:11 28.05.2013

Russia may allow women to serve in the military - report

Russian legislators have proposed to allow all women aged between 18 and 27 to do military service. State Duma lawmakers have drafted amendments to the military service law and have sent their proposals to the Defense Ministry for review.

11:39 28.05.2013

Russian officials may face mandatory polygraph testing

The State Duma is working on legislation which would require officials to pass an "anti-corruption" test using a lie detector.

11:43 27.05.2013

Prominent Russian lawyer advocates broad amnesty for all minor crimes

Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, head of the Public Chamber Commission for Law Enforcement Reform, supports the idea of an amnesty not only for businessmen, but also for all those who are guilty of minor- and medium-gravity crimes.

16:49 24.05.2013

State Duma proposes mandatory risk warning for tattoo shop clients

A group of State Duma lawmakers from the Liberal-Democratic Party have proposed legislation which will require tattoo shops to warn their clients of associated health risks.

16:18 24.05.2013

Parliament mitigates travel restrictions for debtors

The State Duma adopted a bill allowing debtors to travel abroad if their unsettled fines, taxes and other obligatory payments do not aggregately exceed 10,000 rubles ($320, or €248).

10:11 23.05.2013

US Senate committee approves bill aimed at supporting Syrian opposition

The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved by a vote of 15 to three Tuesday the Syria Transition Support Act, a bill that would authorize the US government to provide lethal assistance and training to Syrian rebel forces, impose sanctions for the sale of weapons and petroleum to President Bashar al Assad’s regime, deliver humanitarian resources, and plan for a “Post-Assad Syria.”

19:09 22.05.2013

Lower house mitigates punishment for religious offense

The State Duma has adopted during the second reading a bill on criminal responsibility for actions that cause religious offence, mitigating the maximum punishment from five to three years in prison.

10:07 22.05.2013

Russian upper house speaker proposes unified IP system

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko has proposed setting up a federal agency responsible for Intellectual Property issues under the Government’s authority.

17:44 20.05.2013

Top news

Russian courts allowed not to implement rulings of Europe's human rights court

Russia's Supreme Court proposed not to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).

12:53 09.12.2025

Redomiciliation stalls: How sanctions are shaping new practices for Russian companies

The mechanism for redomiciliating foreign companies to Russian jurisdiction, in effect since 2018, has recently encountered serious obstacles. Taking into account the background of sanctions-related restrictions introduced in 2022 through 2025, it has become extremely difficult to achieve the goal. The situation gave rise to the phenomenon of dual domicile and led to a rise in the number of new litigations, both in Russia and abroad.

12:32 09.12.2025

Soldiers jailed for killing US journalist Russell Bentley

A military court in Donetsk sentenced three soldiers to up to 12 years in prison for torturing and killing Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old U.S. national who collaborated with Sputnik news agency.

14:05 08.12.2025