President Vladimir Putin used a device on Wednesday that allows for de facto martial law across Russia, but leaves it up to local authorities in most of the country.

Historian Mark Galeotti, considered one of the leading experts on Russia-related issues, explains in a series of posts on his Twitter that the Kremlin actually issued two decrees after a televised meeting between Putin and the Russian Security Council.

Galeotti also notes that in his comments during the meeting, Putin called these measures a response to the “terrorism of the Kyiv regime,” which, according to him, “refuses to recognize the will and choice of the people” in the territories annexed by him. based on the results of pseudo-referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The first decree signed by Putin on Wednesday, also announced during his televised comments, is quite short and direct: it imposes martial law, with all that entails, on the territories of 4 regions that Moscow supposedly annexed, although it is not even doing so. fully control them.

But, according to Galeotti, the second decree published by the Kremlin is about “measures taken in subjects of the Russian Federation in connection with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated October 19, 2022 No. 104.” 756″, more interesting.

What does the second decree signed by Vladimir Putin provide

The historian explains that in the Crimea, Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk and Rostov regions, a kind of “lightened” martial law is introduced, which allows the introduction of a curfew, control over the movement of the population, temporary relocation measures and the right to introduce militarized regimes for certain industries .

“It’s clear that this leaves room for massive abuse,” says Mark Galeotti.

But this decree also provides for increased security measures in all federal districts of central and southern Russia, and introduces less serious ones in all others.

“That is, certain levels of the state of emergency are currently operating throughout the territory of Russia,” the historian explains.

According to him, it is still unknown what this will mean in practice, because the decree is written in such a way that it is assumed that it is about expanding the powers of local authorities.

The Kremlin leaves martial law to local authorities

“It will be interesting to see who will use them the way Moscow wants, who will essentially try to ignore them, and who will use them to embezzle funds even more diligently,” Galeotti noted, adding that Moscow Mayor Serhii Sobyanin has already stated that does not currently intend to apply the powers provided for in the decree.

“It’s interesting because Putin asked Sobyanin, who heads the State Council’s commission on municipal bodies, to work with the Presidential Administration to oversee the implementation of the decree,” explains Mark Galeotti.

He also reminds that Sobyanin announced the end of mobilization in Moscow on Monday.

“The tasks of partial mobilization, established on the basis of the presidential decree and instructions of the Ministry of Defense, have been completed in full. Mobilized collection points will close on October 17, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. Summons sent during the mobilization at the place of residence and enterprises lose their validity,” Sobyanin said two days ago in his blog.

Returning to Putin’s decree, Galeotti emphasizes how important it is.

“This reminds me of the gradual spread of martial law by emergency measures in the last years of tsarism, so that by 1917 most of the country was under ’emergency.’ This is not a great precedent,” he concludes.

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