Putin signs law abolishing public declaration of officials' incomes

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law abolishing the annual public declaration of officials' incomes starting in 2026.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council on its Telegram channel.

Instead of open reporting, “permanent anti-corruption control” will be introduced, which will be closed and fully controlled by the state.

In practice, this means the dismantling of even formal transparency. Regular declarations were the only tool that allowed society to track the enrichment of the elites. However, such publicity has now become politically perilous for the Kremlin.

The abolition of open declarations is a way to protect the “regime's wallets” from public scrutiny. At the same time, there is no question of weakening control over the elites — it will simply become selective.

The Kremlin is finally abandoning the game of “openness.” In the context of a protracted war, the regime is betting on a closed deal with the elites: the state protects their wealth from publicity in exchange for loyalty and participation in financing the war, the CCD notes.

As reported by Ukrinform, Putin is convinced that Russian citizens will allegedly “understand” the tax increase if the funds go to the war effort.