Putin Sets New Record for Classified Executive Orders in 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71, who has been in power since 2000, made around half of his executive orders in 2023 classified, setting a new annual record since he first assumed the presidency over two decades ago. According to recent analysis, about 49.5 percent of Putin's decrees in 2023 were kept secret from the public, as reported by independent Russian news outlet Mediazona. This marked an increase from 45 percent in 2022 and surpassed the previous annual record of 47 percent in 2001. The reasons behind classifying presidential executive orders include rewarding military units and pardoning convicts recruited into Putin's army for his war in Ukraine, Mediazona revealed. In December 2023, Putin announced his . Under constitutional changes orchestrated by the Russian leader prior to the conflict in Ukraine, he may have also