On Foreign Intelligence
Russian Federation Federal Law No. 5
Adopted by the State Duma on 8 December 1995
Signed by Russian Federation President B. Yeltsin on 10 January 1996
This federal law defines the
status of Russian Federation foreign intelligence, the
fundamentals of its organization and functions, and the
procedures for monitoring and overseeing its activity.
Chapter I. General Provisions
Article 1. Russian Federation foreign intelligence
The Russian Federation foreign intelligence as the
aggregate of organs especially created by the state --
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs -- is a
component of the forces ensuring the Russian Federation's
security, and its purpose is to protect the security of
individuals, society, and the state against external threats
using the methods and means defined by this federal law.
Article 2. Intelligence gathering activity
Intelligence gathering activity is performed by
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs by means of:
1) acquiring and processing information on actual and
projected potential, actions, plans, and intentions of
foreign states, organizations, and individuals affecting
vitally important interests of the Russian Federation
(hereinafter -- intelligence information);
2) collaborating in the implementation of measures
taken by the state in the interests of ensuring the Russian
Federation's security.
The need to perform intelligence gathering activity is
defined by the Russian Federation president and Federal
Assembly within the limits of their powers, whenever it is
impossible or inexpedient to ensure the Russian Federation's
security by any other methods.
Article 3. Legal basis of intelligence gathering
activity
The legal basis of intelligence gathering activity is
provided by the Russian Federation Constitution, this
federal law, other federal laws, and other normative legal
acts of federal organs of state power concerning the
Russian Federation foreign intelligence.
The Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs,
within the limits of their powers and in compliance with the
Russian Federation legislation, promulgate normative legal
acts regulating their activity.
Article 4. Principles of intelligence gathering
activity
Intelligence gathering activity is performed on the
basis of the principles of:
1) separation of the powers of federal organs of
executive power which are components of the forces ensuring
the Russian Federation's security;
2) legality;
3) respect for human and civil rights and freedoms;
4) accountability to the Russian Federation president
and Federal Assembly;
5) combination of overt and covert methods and means.
Article 5. Objectives of intelligence gathering
activity
The objectives of intelligence gathering activity are:
1) to provide the Russian Federation president and
Federal Assembly and the Russian Federation Government with
the intelligence information they need for decisionmaking
in the political, economic, defense, scientific, technical,
and ecological spheres;
2) to ensure conditions promoting the successful
implementation of Russian Federation policy in the security
sphere;
3) to assist the country's economic development and
scientific and technical progress and the ensuring of the
Russian Federation's military-technical security.
Intelligence gathering activity cannot be performed in
pursuit of antihumanitarian objectives or in the pursuit of
objectives not provided for by this federal law.
Article 6. Powers of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs
In order to attain the objectives of intelligence
gathering activity, the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs are granted the following powers:
1) to establish on a confidential basis relations of
cooperation with individuals who have voluntarily consented
to this;
2) to implement measures to conceal the identity of
its staffers and to organize their activity using different
departmental affiliation for this purpose;
3) to use for conspiratorial purposes documents
concealing the identity of its staffers and the departmental
affiliation of Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs' subunits, organizations, premises, and
transportation facilities;
4) to collaborate with federal organs of executive
power engaged in counterintelligence activity and with
Russian Federation federal organs of state protection;
5) to conclude with federal organs of executive power
and with Russian Federation enterprises, institutions, and
organizations any contracts necessary for the performance of
intelligence gathering activity;
6) to organize and ensure within the limits of its
powers the protection of state secrets in Russian Federation
institutions located outside Russian Federation territory,
including the definition of procedures for effecting
physical, engineering, and technical protection of the
aforementioned institutions and of measures to prevent
leaks of information constituting state secrets through
technical channel.
7) to ensure the security of staffers of Russian
Federation institutions located outside Russian Federation
territory and of members of their families in the state
where they are stationed;
8) to ensure the security of Russian Federation
citizens who are posted outside Russian Federation territory
and, by virtue of the nature of their work, have access to
information constituting state secrets, as well as the
security of members of their families who are accompanying
them;
9) to collaborate with intelligence gathering and
counterintelligence services of foreign states according to
the procedure prescribed by this federal law;
10) to set up specialized training establishments,
further training institutions, scientific research
organizations and archives, and the publication of
specialized literature;
11) to ensure its own security, in other words to
protect its manpower, facilities, and information against
illegal actions and threats;
12) to set up the organizational structures (subunits
and organizations) necessary for the functioning of the
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs.
In order to perform its activity, the Russian
Federation Foreign Intelligence Service can issue its own
licenses and certificates to acquire, develop (with the
exception of cryptographic protection systems), create, and
utilize information systems, communications systems, data
transmission systems, and systems to prevent information
leaks through technical channels.
Article 7. Financing and material and technical backup
for Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs
The Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs are
financed from federal budget funds. Estimates of expenditure
for the upkeep of Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs are examined at closed sessions of the appropriate
committees (subcommittees) of the Federal Assembly chambers
and are approved at closed sessions of the State Duma and
the Federation Council.
Material and technical backup for Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs is provided from the Russian
Federation's centralized resources and through the
acquisition of necessary material and technical means from
enterprises, institutions, and organizations.
The Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs can
own their own official housing stock, acquired according to
procedures to be prescribed by the Russian Federation
Government.
Article 8. Protection of information about the Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs
Any person to be given access to information about the
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs undergoes the
procedure for permitting access to information constituting
state secrets, unless a different procedure is prescribed
by federal laws. This procedure includes the signing of a
written pledge not to disseminate this information. Any
breach of the aforementioned pledge results in liability as
prescribed by federal law.
Documents from the archives of Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs, which are of historical and
scientific value and are declassified according to the
federal law, are transferred for permanent storage at
Russia's State Archive Service.
Documents of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs which contain information about their
staff members, about individuals who are (have been)
rendering confidential assistance to Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs, or about the methods and means
used by these organs are stored in the archives of the
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs.
Article 9. Contacts between Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs and the Russian Federation public
In order to inform the public about their activity,
the Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs and their
staffers establish contacts with public associations, mass
media, and Russian Federation citizens through the
appropriate services to be set up for this purpose within
the structure of the aforementioned organs.
Material supplied to mass media about the activity of
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs must not
contain information constituting state secrets.
There must be no dissemination of any information
affecting the personal life, honor, and dignity of citizens
which has been acquired by Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs in the process of performing their
activity, except in cases envisaged by federal law.
With a view to preventing any possible use of mass
media to publicize information about Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs constituting state secrets, the
authors of material about the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence prepared for publication, or the editorial
offices of mass media which have received such material, are
entitled to request an expert opinion from the appropriate
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ which, in any
such case, should determine the presence of absence of any
of the aforementioned information in the material in
question and notify the author or the mass medium's
editorial office of its opinion.
Any publication by the mass media of material about
the Russian Federation foreign intelligence containing
information constituting state secrets and resulting in the
dissemination of such information, or of information which
does not correspond with reality and inflicts moral or
material damage to Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs and their staffers, results in liability as
prescribed by federal law.
Chapter II. Organization of the Activity of Russian
Federation Foreign Intelligence Organs
Article 10. Creation of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs
Intelligence gathering activity is performed by
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs which are
either autonomous or parts of the structure of other
federal organs of executive power.
The creation, reorganization, or abolition of an
autonomous Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ
takes effect according to the procedure to be prescribed by
the federal law regulating the formation of federal organs
of executive power.
Decisions on the creation, reorganization, or
abolition of a Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ
as part of a federal organ of executive power are made by
the Russian Federation president on submission by the
leader of the relevant federal organ of executive power.
Statutes on Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs are approved by the Russian Federation president.
Article 11. Spheres of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs' activity
Intelligence gathering activity is performed, within
the limits of their powers, by:
1) the Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Service
-- in the political, economic, military-strategic,
scientific, technical, and ecological spheres, as well as in
the sphere of ensuring the security of Russian Federation
institutions located outside Russian Federation territory
and of Russian Federation citizens posted outside Russian
Federation territory who, by virtue of the nature of their
activity, have access to information constituting state
secrets;
2) the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense foreign
intelligence organ -- in the military, military-political,
military-technical, military-economic, and ecological
spheres;
3) the foreign intelligence organ of the Federal
Government Communications and Information Agency under the
Russian Federation president -- in the political, economic,
military, scientific, and technical spheres through the use
of radio-electronic means;
4) the foreign intelligence organ of the Russian
Federation Federal Border Service -- in the sphere of
protecting the Russian Federation state border, the Russian
Federation's exclusive economic zone, and the Russian
Federation's continental shelf.
Intelligence gathering activity by Federal Security
Service organs is performed in collaboration with Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs and in compliance
with the Federal Law "On Federal Security Service Organs in
the Russian Federation."
Article 12. Leadership of the Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs
Overall leadership of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs is exercised by the Russian Federation
president.
The Russian Federation president:
1) sets the tasks of intelligence gathering activity;
2) monitors and coordinates the activity of Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs;
3) makes, within the limits of powers set by federal
laws, decisions on questions concerning the Russian
Federation foreign intelligence, including questions on the
expediency of concluding interdepartmental contracts between
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs and the
intelligence gathering and counterintelligence services of
foreign states;
4) appoints the leaders of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs.
Article 13. Methods and means of intelligence
gathering activity
In the process of intelligence gathering activity, the
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs can use overt
and covert methods and means, whose special nature is
determined by the conditions of this activity.
The methods and means used in intelligence gathering
activity must not harm people's lives or health or damage
the environment.
The use of methods and means for intelligence
gathering activity against Russian Federation citizens on
the territory of the Russian Federation is not permitted.
For the purpose of attaining the objectives of
intelligence gathering activity, the Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs are empowered to use
information systems, video and audio recordings, moving and
still photography, the downloading of information from
technical communications channels, and other methods and
means in line with the requirements posed by Paragraph 2 of
this Article.
The procedure for the use of covert methods and means
for intelligence gathering activity is prescribed by
federal laws and normative legal acts of the Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs.
The contents of normative legal acts on questions
concerning the use of covert methods and means for
intelligence gathering activity constitute a state secret.
The ensuring of their own security is effected by
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs in accordance
with the Federal Law "On Operational Investigative
Activity."
Article 14. Supply of intelligence information
Intelligence information is supplied to the Russian
Federation president, the Federal Assembly chambers, the
Russian Federation Government, and to federal organs of
executive and judicial power, enterprises, institutions,
and organizations defined by the Russian Federation
president. Intelligence information can also be supplied to
federal organs of executive power which are part of the
forces ensuring the Russian Federation's security.
The leaders of Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs are personally responsible to the Russian Federation
president for the veracity and objectivity of intelligence
information and the promptness of its delivery.
The leaders and other officials of federal organs of
legislative, executive, and judicial power and of
enterprises, institutions, and organizations, the Federation
Council members, and the State Duma deputies who are
supplied with intelligence information are liable, as
prescribed by federal law, for any dissemination of its
contents which constitute state secrets or expose the
sources of the information in question.
Article 15. Principles and forms of collaboration
among Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs, and
between Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs and
federal organs of executive power engaged in
counterintelligence activity, federal organs of the Russian
Federation state protection, and intelligence gathering and
counterintelligence services of foreign states
The principles and forms of collaboration among
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs, and with
federal organs of executive power engaged in
counterintelligence activity and federal organs of the
Russian Federation state protection are defined by Russian
Federation legislation and the agreements concluded on its
basis.
Mutual relations between Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs and the intelligence gathering and
counterintelligence services of foreign states are
established on the basis of the Russian Federation's
international treaties, including treaties of an
interdepartmental nature.
Within the framework of established mutual relations,
official representatives of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs can travel to foreign states according
to a procedure prescribed by the Russian Federation
president.
Article 16. Mutual relations between Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs and federal organs of
executive power, enterprises, institutions, and
organizations in the Russian Federation
The federal organs of executive power render
assistance to Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs
in the performance of their intelligence gathering activity
provided such assistance does not involve any deviation
from the basic guidelines for the activity of the
aforementioned federal organs of executive power. Any
reimbursement of expenses incurred on the provision of such
assistance is effected from federal budget funds.
The procedure for collaboration between Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs and federal organs of
executive power on questions concerning the provision of
assistance to Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs
in the performance of intelligence gathering activity is
prescribed by the Russian Federation president.
The conditions governing mutual relations between
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs and federal
organs of executive power, enterprises, institutions, and
organizations in the Russian Federation are determined by
appropriate contracts.
Chapter III. Legal Status of and Social Protection for
Staffers of Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Organs
and Persons Rendering Assistance to These Organs
Article 17.
Military servicemen and staff employees
, as well as nonstaff military servicemen,
employees, and workers who have volunteered for military
service or work in these organs respectively are staffers
of the Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs.
Citizens of the Russian Federation who, by virtue of
their professional skills, age, education, and state of
health, can perform the duties assigned to them can be
staffers of the Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs.
Military servicemen in the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs come under the effect of federal laws
governing the performance of military service with due
consideration for the specific provisions prescribed by this
federal law and other federal laws and conditioned by the
specific nature of the functions performed by the military
servicemen in question.
The performance of military service in Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs takes effect by
conscription or by contract. The conclusion of contracts
with military servicemen performing military service on
Russian Federation territory is effected according to the
procedure prescribed by the Russian Federation Law "On
Military Duty and Military Service." The procedure for
conclusion of contracts with students at the Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs' higher educational
establishments or with military servicemen being posted
outside the Russian Federation's territory, and for the
performance of these contracts is prescribed by
departmental normative legal acts. Provision may be made
for the parties' material liability for nonperformance of
the contract's conditions.
The upper age limit for performance of military
service by a military serviceman on the staff of the Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs is set by the leader
of the autonomous Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organ or the leader of the federal organ of executive power
whose structure incorporates the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organ, according to the procedure prescribed
by the Russian Federation president, but any such limit
cannot be below the upper age limit prescribed by federal
law.
The rights, obligations, and benefits envisaged by
Russian Federation labor legislation extend to employees and
workers of Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs.
Staff employees of and military servicemen with the
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs cannot belong
to public associations pursuing political goals.
Nonstaff employees of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs and workers of Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs cannot set up public
associations pursuing political goals.
Article 18. Staff of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs
The staff of Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs includes military servicemen appointed to
appropriate duties and employees of the Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs whose functional duties are
directly associated with the performance of intelligence
gathering activity. The staff organizational table is
defined by the statute on the relevant Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organ.
Information about specific individuals being on the
staff of Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs,
including former staffers of these organs, constitutes a
state secret and can be disseminated only with permission
from the leader of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organ and, in cases not involving any official
necessity, subject to mandatory written consent by the
individuals in question.
In order to perform their functional duties, staffers
on the Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs'
staff can, in compliance with the demands of this law and
without disclosing their affiliation with Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs, hold office in federal organs
of executive power, enterprises, institutions, and
organizations. Officials in the aforementioned federal
organs of executive power, enterprises, institutions, and
organizations are liable, in accordance with federal laws,
for any dissemination of information about these staffers'
affiliation with Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs.
Staffers on the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs' staff are not permitted to participate
covertly in the activity of organs of legislative
(representative) or judicial power or of public associations
and religious organizations in the Russian Federation for
the purpose of influencing the nature of their activity.
Staffers on the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs' staff are not allowed, unless required
to do so by official necessity, to take on another paid job
except to engage in teaching, scientific, or other creative
activity with the consent of the leader of the appropriate
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ.
Article 19. Persons rendering confidential assistance
to Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs
In order to attain the objectives of intelligence
gathering activity, Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs can establish relations of cooperation on an unpaid
or paid basis with capable adults who have voluntarily
consented to render confidential assistance to Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs. The procedure for
mutual relations with such persons is prescribed by
normative legal acts of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs.
The Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs are
not empowered to request confidential assistance from
Federation Council members, State duma deputies, deputies of
legislative (representative) organs of Russian Federation
components, justices of Russian Federation courts and
prosecutors at all levels in the Russian Federation, or
clerics or plenipotentiary representatives of religious
organizations officially registered in the Russian
Federation.
Information about persons who
render confidential assistance to Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs constitutes a state secret and
is not subject to declassification following the expiry of
the maximum permitted time period for classification of
information constituting a state secret. Access to such
information is available only to the leader and to duly
authorized staffers of the appropriate Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organ.
Measures can be taken to ensure the security of
persons who render confidential
assistance to Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs and members of their families, provided such
measures do not infringe the rights and legitimate
interests of other persons.
The procedure for implementing such measures is
prescribed by the Russian Federation president.
Article 20. Legal status of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs' staffers
Staffers of Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs bear the responsibility and enjoy the rights
envisaged by Russian Federation legislation for Russian
Federation citizens, except for the limitations imposed by
federal laws.
Military servicemen, employees, and workers with
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs enjoy the
protection of the state. Nobody, except organs and officials
directly authorized to do so by federal laws, has the right
to interfere with the service activity of staffers of
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs.
Protection of the life, health, honor, dignity, and
property of staffers of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs and members of their families against
illegal encroachments and threats in connection with the
performance of intelligence gathering activity is ensured
by Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs according
to the procedure prescribed by federal laws.
The status of staffer of a Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organ cannot be utilized for purposes that are
incompatible with his functional duties.
Article 21. Liability of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs' staffers for breaches of the law
Staffers of Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organs are liable for any breaches of the law they have
committed, in accordance with federal laws.
Affiliation with a Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organ and involvement in the performance of
intelligence gathering activity do not relieve a staffer of
a Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ of
liability under the federal laws.
Article 22. Social protection for staffers of Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs and members of their
families
The social protection of staffers of Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs and members of their
families is guaranteed by federal laws.
All staffers on the staff of these organs enjoy
mandatory state personal insurance, paid from federal budget
funds, to a sum equal to 15-years' earnings.
Any damage caused to the health of a staffer on the
staff of a Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ or
members of his family in connection with the performance of
intelligence gathering activity is compensated in full from
federal budget funds. These same funds are used to pay the
aforementioned persons a one-shot payment, being the
equivalent of between one year's and seven years' earnings,
determined on the day the payment is made and depending on
the degree of disability suffered.
In the event of the death of a staffer on the staff of
a Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ or a member
of his family in connection with the performance of
intelligence gathering activity, the state pays the costs
of the preparation to transport and the transportation of
the remains to a place of burial either specified in a will
or designated by the next of kin (in the absence of next of
kin, by the leadership of the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organ), as well as the costs of burying the
remains of the Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organ's staffer. The family of the deceased is paid a one-
shot payment equivalent to 15-years' earnings calculated on
the day the payment is made. In addition to this, the family
of the deceased enjoys preferential treatment in the
solution of any questions concerning social and everyday
life provisions according to the procedure prescribed by
federal laws.
The state is bound to take all possible steps to
assist in the unconditional release of any staffer on the
staff of a Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ
and members of his family detained, arrested, or sentenced
outside Russian Federation territory in connection with the
performance of intelligence gathering activity.
If a staffer on the staff of a Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organ loses all or part of his
professional suitability as a result of being exposed or
for other reasons beyond his control, the Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organ is obliged to find a
job for the staffer in question or create conditions for his
professional retraining, including compensation for any
expenditure incurred in this connection.
Any property damage suffered by a staffer on the staff
of a Russian Federation foreign intelligence organ and
members of his family in connection with the performance of
intelligence gathering activity is reimbursed by the state
from federal budget funds in accordance with Russian
Federation civil legislation.
In the event of nonstaff staffers of Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs being involved in a one-time performance of intelligence gathering tasks, and
such staffers suffering the consequences listed in
Paragraphs 3-7 of this Article, the staffers in question
enjoy the rights, benefits, and privileges provided for
staffers on the staff of Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs.
Article 23. Social protection for persons render confidential assistance to a Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organ
Any person who renders confidential
assistance to a Russian Federation foreign intelligence
organ and is not a citizen of the Russian Federation can be
granted citizenship of the Russian Federation if he applies
for it according to the procedure prescribed by federal
laws.
The period of cooperation with a Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organ by a person who has been granted
citizenship of the Russian Federation is included in his
length of service record. Social protection for such a
person is provided in accordance with Paragraphs 3-7 of
Article 22 of this federal law.
Social protection for a person who
renders confidential assistance to a Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organ and who is not a citizen of the
Russian Federation is provided in accordance with a
procedure to be prescribed by the Russian Federation
president.
Chapter IV. Monitoring and Oversight of the Activity of
Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Organs
Article 24. Parliamentary monitoring of the activity
of Russian Federation foreign intelligence activity
Parliamentary monitoring of the activity of Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs is exercised
according to the procedure prescribed by federal laws and
by means of audits by the Russian Federation Comptroller's
Office of the implementation of expenditure estimates
approved by the State Duma and Federation Council for the
upkeep of Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs.
The Russian Federation Comptroller's Office is to create a
special group from among its members for this purpose.
The aforementioned group is empowered to request from
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs documents on
questions concerning the implementation of expenditure
estimates and to hear reports by leaders of Russian
Federation foreign intelligence organs on these questions
at its closed sessions.
Mutual relations between the Federal Assembly chambers
and Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs are
effected through the appropriate committees (subcommittees)
to be set up by each chamber.
The members of the aforementioned committees
(subcommittees) and of the Russian Federation Comptroller's
Office special group and staffers of their apparatuses are
empowered to embark on the performance of their duties to
exercise the functions envisaged by this Article only after
they have determined access to information constituting
state secrets according to the procedure prescribed by the
Russian Federation Law "On State Secrets."
Federation Council members and State Duma deputies
receive information about the Russian Federation foreign
intelligence organs exclusively through the appropriate
committees (subcommittees) of the Federal Assembly chambers.
The activities of Federation Council members, State
Duma deputies, and staffers of the Federal Assembly
chambers' apparatuses must not pose any threat of
disseminating information about persons who are (have been)
rendering confidential assistance to Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs, about the affiliation of
specific individuals to the staff of Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs, and about the methods and
means used by these organs.
Article 25. Prosecutor's oversight
Oversight regarding compliance with federal laws by
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs is exercised
by the Russian Federation general prosecutor and by
prosecutors authorized by him.
Information about persons who
render confidential assistance to Russian Federation
foreign intelligence organs or about the organization of
Russian Federation foreign intelligence organs and the
methods and means used by them in their activity are not
subject to prosecutor's oversight.
Chapter V. Final Provisions
Article 26. Entry into force of this federal law
This federal law enters into force on the day of its
official publication.
The following Russian Federation legislative acts are
deemed to have lapsed from the moment this federal law comes
into force:
1) Russian Federation Law "On Foreign Intelligence"
(VEDOMOSTI SYEZDA NARODNYKH DEPUTATOV ROSSIYSKOY FEDERATSII
I VERKHOVNOGO SOVETA ROSSIYSKOY FEDERATSII, 1992, No. 32, p
1869);
2) Russian Federation Supreme Soviet decree of 8 July
1992 "On Bringing Into Force the Russian Federation Law `On
Foreign Intelligence'" (VEDOMOSTI SYEZDA NARODNYKH DEPUTATOV
ROSSIYSKOY FEDERATSII I VERKHOVNOGO SOVETA ROSSIYSKOY
FEDERATSII, 1992, No. 32, p 1870).
The Russian Federation president is to be asked, and
the Russian Federation Government is to be instructed, to
bring their normative legal acts in line with this federal
law.
[signed] Russian Federation President B. Yeltsin
[dated] Moscow, The Kremlin, 10 January 1996
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