In the near future, a draft law on the restriction of remote work from abroad for certain categories of Russians will be submitted to the State Duma for consideration. This was reported by RTVI, citing Andrei Klishas, co-author of the initiative, chairman of the Federation Council constitutional legislation and state building committee.
Sources in the Russian parliament familiar with the bill previously told the Verstka newspaper that the ban on remote work from abroad could affect government officials, transport industry workers and those working in the information security field.
The publication claimed that the bill would affect Russians who left the country on the backdrop of a special operation and partial mobilization.
Shortly after, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation announced that it does not support the introduction of a legal ban on remote work in IT companies for employees located abroad.
“The introduction of a full ban could slow down the development of digital platforms and solutions, which could ultimately negatively impact their competitiveness. Our task is to use all the available intellectual potential of developers to deliver new digital services. In the end, the winner will be the person who can attract, among other things, the most talented staff abroad.”
Andrey Klihas previously said that Russian legislation could be changed to make staying abroad “less comfortable” for Russians who left the country after the start of partial mobilization.
“Many have fled, but continue to work remotely at Russian companies. Can we change the law on this and limit the programs that allow people to work there? [за границей], and they get money from here and we can’t tell if they pay all the taxes? We can, ”Klihas said in an interview with the Vedomosti newspaper.
The senator pointed to the need to impose restrictions on working from abroad for those working in “sensitive areas of the economy”, including the public sector and transport safety.
Klihas added that they would not interfere with the return of the departed Russians. However, he expressed the view that during partial mobilization, “moral and ethical” separation is more likely to be condemned.
On December 5, Klihas told TASS that since the beginning of the Russian mobilization, there has been no bill on restrictive measures for those leaving the country.
On the same day, Andrei Isaev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Social Policy, told RIA Novosti that the restriction of remote work for those leaving Russia should be discussed. At the same time, according to him, those working from abroad in fields related to the security and defense of the country “pose a serious threat”.
Therefore, from my point of view, it is possible to discuss the restrictions on the possibility of remote work for people located outside the Russian Federation,” he said.
Also on December 5, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, answered a journalist’s question about the Kremlin’s stance in relation to Russians leaving the country.
It was asked which point of view the authorities adhered to – another point of view expressed by Senator Andrei Klihas, or about the need to provide motivation for their return.
“It would be better if those who participated in the discussion commented on this. “We don’t want to occupy this place,” said Putin’s spokesman. He stressed that there is no discussion on this issue in the Kremlin.
In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was necessary to give legal, not emotional, assessments of Russian departures abroad.
“Someone left because he was afraid of something, someone left because he wanted to avoid mobilization, another for some reason. In each particular case, a legal assessment is required. And act only on that basis in relation to a particular person. It is not possible otherwise,” said Putin.
On October 4, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, Marat Akhmetzhanov, said that more than 200,000 Russians have entered the republic since September 21, when partial mobilization began in the Russian Federation. On September 27, the Population Registration Office of the Ministry of Digital Development of Kyrgyzstan reported that since September 21, more than 170,000 citizens of the Russian Federation have registered in the republic.
On 13 November, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili announced that approximately 700,000 Russians have entered the country from the Russian Federation since September 21. About 600,000 people left Georgia, while about 100,000 remained.
On November 5, the FSB published statistics on the departure of Russians abroad from July to September. Almost 70% of all trips were to Abkhazia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland. A total of 9.7 million trips abroad took place from July to September. Tourist trips are taken into account in the FSB data.