Lawmakers greenlight governors’ establishment of regional militias

Legislators in Russia’s State Duma have signed a bill that will allow regional leaders to establish armed structures that are to protect against “extraordinary situations.”

Behind the bill stands Andrei Kartapolov, the hardline Chair of the State Duma Defence Committee. Kartapolov, himself an Army lieutenant general, wants the governors to have the power to establish the militias. They are to help strengthen public law and order and be authorized to carry weapons.

A law on the establishment of armed militias in border regions and occupied territories of Ukraine was adopted in 2023. The new amendments include all of the Russian Federation, newspaper Kommersant reports. 

Among the members of the new regional militias could ultimately be many veterans from the war against Ukraine. A local group in Murmansk that calls itself the Voluntary People’s Militia, is already actively recruiting men that have returned from Ukraine. In an advertisement on social media VK, the group reaches out to war veterans and employees in law enforcement authorities. New members will be offered rewards for participation in raids, the group says. They will also take part in street patrolling and provide protection in connection with rallies and events

“The list [of tasks] will ultimately be expanded,” the group adds.

Before 2021, Andrei Kartapolov was in charge of the Russian Armed Forces’ so-called Military-Political Department. The 60-year old military man was born in Weimar, former East Germany, where his father served in the occupying Soviet forces.