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On 12 February 2003, the Government Regulation "About providing access to information on the activity of federal executive bodies" was adopted. With a view towards protecting the rights of citizens and organizations in accessing information, the Regulation approves the "List of data on the activity of the Government of the Russian Federation and of federal executive bodies to be published on information systems of general use". It excludes data considered as state secrets or limited access information . Access to information (among this are details of bills of federal laws, public service vacancies...

The Federal Statute on counteraction of extremist activity was adopted during the spring session of the Federal Assembly and signed by President Vladimir Putin on 25 July 2002. Its passing by the Parliament has attracted much public attention because of the long discussion on the nature and sources of extremism and the role of the mass media in fighting it. The Statute prohibits mass media outlets from carrying out extremist activities and disseminating extremist materials. Article 1 of the Statute defines such kinds of activity as: - Exciting racial, national, religious or social hatred connected...

The Federal Statute "On basic guarantees of electoral rights and the right to participate in a referendum of the citizens of the Russian Federation" entered into force on 22 July 2002 (see also IRIS 1999-6: 10). This Act serves as the basis for the whole system of election law in Russia. The act distinguishes between two kinds of information. The first one is election propaganda, which can be disseminated only by candidates and parties. The second one is information on the course of campaigns, which the mass media can disseminate. The Act introduced a list of actions considered as election propaganda...

After lengthy consultation, the new Code on Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation has now been adopted by the Federal Assembly and signed by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. The Code will enter into force on 1 July 2002. The code deals extensively with administrative offences related to the right to seek, receive, and impart information. There are two types of administrative offences outlined in the Code: those which were in the Soviet Code of 1984 on administrative offences and those which are being included in the Code for the first time. In contrast to the Soviet Code on administrative...

On 2 February 2002, the Federal Constitutional Statute on Martial Law entered into force in Russia. The necessity for the federal law was stated in the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation. In the case of a proclamation of martial law, human rights and freedoms may be restricted. According to the Statute, the rule of martial law has territorial limits. The rule of martial law may spread over the whole territory of the Russian Federation or be confined to certain parts. Within these geographical limits, some measures, that concern inter alia the mass media and the dissemination of information,...