Russia Considers Death Penalty for Defense-Related Corruption

Russia Bill Seeks Death Penalty for Corruption

06:57 27-06-2026

Russian lawmakers proposed the death penalty for corrupt officials whose actions damage national defense and public security, RTVI reports.

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A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that provides for the possible use of the death penalty to punish corrupt officials whose actions damage citizens' security and Russia’s defense capability. The initiative was introduced by deputies from the A Just Russia faction, RTVI reports.

The authors of the initiative propose adding a new offense to the Criminal Code: corrupt activity that causes damage to the country’s defense capability and citizens' security. This provision is included in the bill.

Faction leader Sergey Mironov explained that current legislation separates everyday corruption from high treason, but does not cover situations in which an official, acting out of selfish motives, directly undermines public safety and the state’s defense capability. According to him, such crimes should be equated with espionage and high treason because they constitute a betrayal of national interests.

Under the proposed amendments, such acts could be punishable by the highest measure of punishment, the death penalty. Mironov described this as a demand of the times and a response to the harsh realities the country is facing.

According to the leader of A Just Russia, theft during the construction of defensive structures and military facilities, the production of weapons and ammunition, and supplies to the army cannot be treated as ordinary embezzlement. He believes that in such cases it amounts to high treason, since the consequences of such actions can lead to the deaths of Russian servicemen and civilians. Mironov said that those responsible for such crimes should not merely be punished, but punished mercilessly.

The accompanying materials to the bill state that such a measure is consistent with international practice. The authors of the document refer to the experience of China, Vietnam, and Thailand, where the highest measure of punishment is applied for large-scale corruption.

The explanatory note to the amendments to the Criminal Code also says that, as China’s experience shows, the public execution of such sentences serves as a powerful deterrent.