An initiative led by Andrey Kutepov, chair of the Committee on Economic Policy in the Federation Council, proposes adding participants and veterans of the special military operation in Ukraine to the socially vulnerable categories of citizens, including volunteers. The draft bill has been forwarded to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin for final refinement. Source: TASS.

The draft law would place individuals who served in the armed forces in a special region, whose work with a small or medium-sized enterprise enables social entrepreneurship, and those who participated in military operations and are war veterans, into the category of socially vulnerable citizens. The explanatory note highlights that this framework aligns with the goals of social entrepreneurship, which focuses on delivering socially useful outcomes and addressing public issues. The note is in the possession of the agency for review (attributed to sources such as TASS).

According to the explanatory note, mechanisms to ease the transition of special operation participants back into civilian life would include creating post-service job opportunities, enabling a change in occupation, and supporting retraining when returning from the NVO region.

Under the current policy, the criteria for recognizing a small or medium-sized business as a social entrepreneur revolve around employing certain categories of citizens. These include single parents or grandparents raising minor children, people with disabilities, pensioners and those approaching retirement, graduates from orphanages under the age of 23, refugees, economically disadvantaged individuals, persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty, those serving prison terms, ex-convicts, and homeless individuals.

Tatyana Moskalkova, a former Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, proposed revisiting the laws governing benefits for participants in the special military operation and their families to ensure broader support.