Andrei Soldatov
The new amendments to the Criminal Code, although they concern such crimes against the state as treason, the disclosure of state secrets, and espionage, are more aimed at protecting the interests of state corporations than the state. And even the most ardent supporters of Russian state capitalism can hardly claim that they are one and the same thing.
In any long-running process (and secure classification began in our country long before Putin) it is desirable to understand what grouping benefits from each of its specific phases. During Mr Primakov's premiership, for example, it benefited the lobbyists committed to ensuring that the decision-making process in the Cabinet of Ministers should be as closed as possible -- it was then that there was first talk about penalties for "leaks." Then came the time of beneficiaries from the counterintelligence services, and, thanks to proceedings against academics, the group that fought its way to high office via espionage processes received cherished official positions and shoulder boards. Then came the turn of the grouping connected with foreign policy, and once more the archives were classified, including those on Katyn. Now a new wave has arrived. Despite the stipulation in the explanatory notes to the draft law that the articles of the Criminal Code "in their current form complicate the work of the investigation in the FSB (Federal Security Service) system," it is not very likely that it was initiated by the "espionage department" of the FSB Investigations Directorate. Though the amendments do contain things that will indeed find favor with investigators in Lefortovo: For example, in the event of their adoption, it will no longer be necessary to prove that damage was inflicted precisely on the country's external security. (Although the same definition operates in Germany, and it is all right, German counterintelligence somehow manages.)
In addition, despite the appearance in the definition of state treason of a supplementary clause like "assisting... a foreign state or an international or foreign organization or representatives thereof in activity directed against... the constitutional order, sovereignty, or territorial and state integrity," the draft law is hardly aimed against oppositionists and human rights defenders. Rather, this definition was taken from the article on armed rebellion, and evidently concerns terrorist and extremist organizations.
The amendments contain far more ominous paragraphs. Judging by the text of the draft, in Article 275 ("State Treason") it is proposed to regard as treason the handing over of information constituting a state secret not only to "a foreign state, foreign organization, or representatives thereof," but also to an "international" organization. At the same time it is proposed to add to Article 283 ("Disclosure of A State Secret") a Paragraph 283.1, which penalizes illegal acquisition of state secrets. With the appearance of this article, the range of persons bearing liability for the declassification of state secrets will be expanded. And so that everything should be entirely clear: The concept of state treason in the draft is formulated not only as espionage, but also as providing "consultation assistance."
Thus the sphere of persons charged with state crimes will be expanded at the expense of citizens who themselves have not been admitted to a state secret but seek to obtain it and, having obtained it, consult international organizations.
These citizens will hardly be scientists -- they have been a target for a long time already, since their scientific institutions have access to secrets. It is also unlikely that the amendments will affect blabber-mouthed functionaries -- there is not a word about official secrecy in the amendments. The draft law is aimed against those for whom obtaining information is a profession -- that is to say investigative journalists and independent analysts. This rare breed of specialists still exists in Russia. However, because of the absence of a normal community of experts (which does not exist, because there is no external expert evaluation of draft laws, just as there is no parliamentary oversight) and the almost complete disappearance of investigative publications, there is nowhere for them to sell the products of their labor apart from the West (in the form of articles or analytical reports). Meanwhile, however much patriots would like the opposite, the market for Russian information of a military character necessary to "spies" does not in fact exist. If such operations are indeed carried out by Western intelligence services, they have clearly not come on stream. But what money really is allocated for is the collection of information on the activity of Russian corporations like Gazprom, Rosneft, and so forth. Many international investigative journalistic organizations have special joint programs on the aforesaid Gazprom, in which reporters from various countries participate. Their interest in this corporation is understandable -- especially after the cutting off of gas to Europe and the numerous attempts to buy up something in that same Europe. However, this interest in no way pleases Gazprom itself. However, thanks to Russian legislation, some of that corporation's information already comes under state secrecy, and if it is so wished, the list of information of this kind can be expanded. But until now there was no mechanism for prosecuting excessively active "diggers" of compromising information on state corporations. Now there will be one.
Back in the fall of last year, Vladimir Putin, then still president, introducing Mikhail Fradkov as director of foreign intelligence, formulated new tasks for the special services. "It is necessary to be more active in the defense of the economic interests of our companies abroad." Dmitriy Medvedev, by appointing as FSB director Economic Security Service Chief Bortnikov and authorizing the FSB's operation in TNK-BP, confirmed the new trend -- now the entire might of the state's repressive apparatus is to be channeled into protecting the interests of selected Russian corporations. Including, to judge by the amendments, protecting their secrets.
Yezhednevnyy Zhurnal
http://www.agentura.ru/english/dosie/amendments/
