Authorities will step up surveillance of Russians’ travel within the country and abroad across all modes of transport

Authorities will step up surveillance of Russians’ travel within the country and abroad across all modes of transport

Russian authorities will tighten control over Russians’ movements on all types of long-distance transport within the country and abroad, as noted by “Vyorstka” in the corresponding draft order by the Ministry of Transport project.

Since 2024, Russia has already had a Ministry of Transport order in force under which automated centralized databases of personal data on passengers and transport crews are maintained in the country. Carriers and ticket-booking companies submit information there.

The new draft order separately spells out that both scheduled and actual data will have to be submitted, for both regular and charter flights.

Also, in the case of air travel, carriers will additionally submit data on connections and baggage parameters. In addition, each trip across all modes of transport will get its own unique code.

Lawyer Anastasia Burakova, founder of the “Kovcheg” project, believes the updated order will be used by the security services for operational-search activities, as well as within the framework of the FSB’s anti-terrorism measures, including when requests are made to search for specific people. Obtaining information about citizens’ movements will become easier and less costly, Burakova told “Vyorstka”.

Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer with “First Department,” believes the new draft is primarily aimed at people who are under surveillance by the Russian security services. These are defendants in criminal cases, convicted persons, and those who are the subject of operational-search activities.

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