putin Is Enlarging the Powers of the fsb and Turning the Country into a Military Dictatorship

putin has signed a decree restricting foreign vessels’ access to russian ports. From now on, foreign vessels will be allowed to enter russian ports only with the approval of the fsb. The formal basis for this was article 8 of the federal law “On martial law”, which allows for a number of restrictions to be imposed by the president.

Strengthening the role of the fsb in regulating foreign economic relations and isolating port infrastructure from the outside world will have both economic and geopolitical consequences. For international partners, this is a confirmation of the unpredictability and closed nature of the russian regime.

The law has also enlarged the powers of the special service to control russian scientific organizations’ cooperation with foreigners. At this, the wording of the law remains extremely vague, which creates preconditions for a new wave of persecution in the scientific community.

To control dissidents, russia is building a new network of prisons and detention centers within the fsb system, not within the federal penitentiary service. Special railcars, the authority to escort prisoners, and the right to try in prisons indicate preparations for large-scale repression.

Control over sea routes, nationalization of property, restrictions on access to information, criminal prosecutions, and interference in financial and tax policy are signs that the rf is turning into a military dictatorship. The kremlin is preparing for a protracted confrontation with the West and is mobilizing the country’s resources without declaring full-scale martial law.