July 10, 2024

Baikal, not Bali


Baikal, not Bali
Final sitting of spring session, Seventh Convocation of State Duma. duma.gov.ru, Wikimedia Commons.

The State Duma of the Russian Federation has banned deputies and senators from traveling abroad without permission, adopting a law that allows for the early termination of their powers if they do so. The law was passed "in the first reading and in general," according to the Russian parliament's website.

The law takes effect upon publication and requires senators and deputies to obtain approval from an internal authority before traveling outside Russia. This rule does not apply to business trips.

"We will have to justify where the person is going, but if he goes to Baikal, we will all support him; to the Volga, we will be happy. But if the islands are the Maldives or Bali, colleagues, nothing personal," said State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin. Volodin also directed the Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption to consider extending the travel ban for deputies and senators for several years after their terms end.

Vasily Piskarev, head of the Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption and a co-author of the law, said the measure was motivated by security concerns for both the state and those traveling abroad, likely in the wake of Russia's War on Ukraine.

Before the law's adoption, the Federation Council's Committee issued a warning in September 2023 to Senator Lyudmila Narusova against unauthorized trips to NATO countries. Vyacheslav Timchenko, head of the Upper House's Rules Committee, noted that Narusova traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, and Nice, France, in July 2023.

Additionally, in January 2023, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that regional authorities had recommended officials and deputies avoid foreign travel. For instance, Oleg Kuvshinnikov, governor of the Vologda Oblast, said, "In such a difficult time for the country, spending vacations at luxury resorts and publicly posting provocative photographs on social networks is unacceptable for officials." On January 11, Ulyanovsk Oblast Governor Alexey Russkikh signed a decree advising regional and municipal officials to refrain from traveling abroad during holidays amid the war in Ukraine. This came after several scandals involving regional politicians posting vacation photos from Mexico and Dubai on social media.

You Might Also Like

Small-Town Russia and the War
  • July 02, 2024

Small-Town Russia and the War

Sociologists spent a month living in small-town Russia to understand how Russians feel about the war in Ukraine.
Russia Readies for More War
  • July 07, 2024

Russia Readies for More War

Russian president Vladimir Putin says that the armed forces need to shore up in case of some explosive international developments.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955