Myshustin forbade government officials to leave the Russian Federation

The Prime Minister of Russia, Mikhail Myshustin, has forbidden all government officials to leave the country without special permission. They can travel abroad only on official business. This is reported by The Bell with reference to two informed sources.

According to the publication, travel permits for the entire government leadership – including ministers, heads of staff, their deputies and heads of departments – must be agreed upon and signed personally by Myshustin. The Bell also points out that no such restrictions were introduced for employees of the President’s Administration. One of the sources explained this by “special zeal” of Myshustin.

In March, “Nastoyastchee vremya” wrote that the majority of Kremlin employees “don’t even ask” to leave somewhere. Although some employees of the Presidential Administration traveled abroad during the past year, the permission for such a trip could be signed personally by the head of the administration, Anton Vaino.

The Financial Times reported last week that special services are beginning to confiscate passports from mid-level officials and employees of state-owned companies who do not have access to classified information. Journalists called these measures “paranoia about escapes and fleeing abroad.”

The press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov confirmed the restriction of trips to other countries for employees of sensitive industries: “In some they are formalized, and in some they depend on specific decisions regarding specific employees.”