Russia's New Treason Statute, Anti-NGO and Other Repressive Laws: "Sovereign Democracy" or Renewed Autocracy?

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW A. International Factors B. Domestic Factors II. DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN TREASON LAW A. Treason Laws in the Russian Empire B. Treason Laws in the USSR C. Treason Laws in Post-Soviet Russia D. New Version of the Treason Statute III. OTHER LAWS AGAINST CIVIL SOCIETY AND FREEDOMS A. NGO, i.e., 'Foreign Agents" Law B. Part of a Global Anti-NGO Trend C. The "Dima Yakovlev Law" D. Other Recent Restrictions on Political Freedoms IV. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Treason is the only crime referenced in the Constitutions of most countries. Treason statutes aim to protect the security of the people and preserve the integrity of the state. Invoked especially in times of war or other crises, treason laws can be both a powerful mechanism to punish betrayal, and a dangerous path to penalize political dissent. In 2012 the Russian Duma (the lower house of Parliament) amended the treason statute with several significant revisions that can seriously impede civil society and complicate the lives of ordinary citizens. (1) Both international and domestic developments preceded the revision. The international community witnessed a global wave of political uprisings, including the Color Revolutions in the former Soviet republics, and worldwide opposition movements manifested in the "Occupy" movements and the so-called "Arab Spring." In addition, the post-9/11 world has seen a drastic weakening of the Rule of Law through the actions of the major democracies, including the United States of America, as new laws such as the USA Patriot Act (2) and analogous security laws around the world (3) have resulted in enhanced state surveillance, (4) indefinite detention, (5) and even extrajudicial killing without due process (6) of allegedly treasonous citizens as well as foreigners, while the scope for legitimate dissent has been diminished. (7) Within Russia's domestic polity, however, the Russian middle class has become more active--stepping up protest activity. (8) It has thus shown itself somewhat more able and interested in mobilizing against the deeply rooted and widely acknowledged paternalistic and authoritarian traditions of Russia. (9) Meanwhile, President Putin has reinforced his regime through the illiberal means of "managed" or "Sovereign Democracy," which favors the sovereign state over self-government by an empowered people. (10) This less authentic approach to democracy had been slightly interrupted by the liberal policy of Putin's temporarily designated successor Dmitry Medvedev, but with Putin back at the helm, it now appears to have returned in full force. This article aims to demonstrate that there has been a degradation of democracy, civil rights, and the Rule of Law from the beginning of Putin's third term. We will give particular attention to the new treason law as an illustrative exemplification of the other regressive trends also mentioned. Overall, the human rights situation in Russia not only parallels the continued global trends by governments to take restrictive steps against potential political protest and revolt following the so-called "Arab Spring" and Color Revolutions, but goes further--evidencing what appears to be President Putin's agenda to return Russia to an authoritarian state. Parts II and III address the most extreme recently passed laws infringing on political freedoms: the treason law, foreign-agents law, and the "Dima Yakovlev Law." They demonstrate steps taken by the government to punish political dissent and restrict contact with foreigners on personal, organizational, and national levels. In the course of describing these laws, we also note the existence and elaborate on the likely impact of other recently passed laws that violate the freedoms of speech, assembly, association, and expression in Russia. A. International Factors The Color Revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, along with the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, and NATO expansion eastward in seeming violation of earlier promises made to Russia, (11) contributed to Russian paranoia that the West supported regime change and the division of Russia into small ethnic republics. …