The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma amendments to the federal constitutional laws on the admission of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Luhansk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation. The acts governing the integration of the Donbas and Novorossiya regions came into force in autumn 2022, with a transition period set to run until January 1, 2026. Since then, many deadlines for their full integration into the country’s legal system have been postponed. Further extensions are now being proposed, while the mandate of Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin’s special working group is being extended until January 1, 2030. The process of reintegrating the historical territories is slowing for subjective and objective reasons, apparently including the realities of the war
The government bill, ‘On Amendments to Certain Federal Constitutional Laws’, was submitted to the State Duma with a notification that it should be considered and approved as quickly as possible. The amendments concern the laws on the admission of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Luhansk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions into Russia. The document will apparently be among the priorities for the new parliamentary session’s first stage of work, alongside the 2027 budget bill
The explanatory note states: ‘The implementation of the provisions envisaged by the bill requires its immediate entry into force due to the large volume of amendments that will need to be made to Russian legislation and other regulatory legal acts, including in connection with the shortened autumn session of 2026.’ The package of official documents accompanying the bill contains lists of laws and subordinate regulations that will need to be updated. Three laws and at least eight subordinate regulations have been preliminarily identified. Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Almaz Khusainov has been tasked with presenting the Cabinet’s proposals in the State Duma.
Following the September 2022 referendums on the regions of Donbas and Novorossiya joining Russia, four special constitutional laws were subsequently adopted. They specified the names of the new Russian regions, the territories on which they are located and to which Russian jurisdiction is ultimately intended to extend, as well as more than 30 areas of integration. It was established that, as a general rule, the transition period would run until January 1, 2026, with some limited extensions for certain issues. However, experience with a similar 2018 law on the incorporation of Crimea made it clear from the outset that many deadlines would inevitably be postponed. That is what happened, and the latest large-scale changes to various deadlines were also introduced by a special constitutional law in the final days of 2025.
Further extensions are now expected, with the government proposing different deadlines for different areas of law rather than a single date. At the same time, it can be assumed, although this is not stated explicitly, that January 1, 2030 is now regarded as an approximate end date for the transition period. That is the deadline set for the work of the Russian government’s working group ‘on the implementation of a special infrastructure project’, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin. Its official mandate is described as ‘managing the integration of the reunified regions and ensuring the livelihoods of their residents’. Thus, alongside the Ministry of Construction, the main stakeholders in the government’s amendments apparently include the economic sectors under its supervision and, naturally, the operators tasked with carrying out this reunification work
As for extending exceptions to nationwide legal norms, which in broad terms is the essence of each of the four constitutional laws, the explanatory note provides a particularly convenient summary. Without it, identifying and comparing the amendments set out across 20 pages of the bill would be difficult. The explanations, however, make the changes clear. For example, special provisions in labour, pension and social legislation will remain in force until January 1, 2028, as will special rules in corporate law related to the transition from Ukrainian legislation to Russian law. Federal budget support for the four regions will also continue under special arrangements until that date. Exceptions will remain in place for the operation of facilities, including protection against attacks on energy-sector facilities, while environmental charges will generally continue not to be collected.
Until January 1, 2029, residents and businesses in the historical territories will not be subject to the nationwide rules on urban planning regulation or state safety supervision for various energy facilities, including nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. The use and protection of wildlife and plant resources, as well as subsoil legislation, will also continue to operate under rules built around exceptions. Each of the constitutional laws concerning Donbas and Novorossiya also contains a special article entitled ‘Specific features of regulating certain relations’. Its substance is that the Russian government has the power, when necessary, to modify both its own subordinate regulations and those issued by ministries in the area of integrating the new Russian regions. Now, apparently, as many provisions as possible on this matter are to be written directly into the laws in precise terms. This is all the more necessary because the reunification process appears likely to continue for a long time. In addition to the group of special provisions that will remain in force until 2030, some have much later deadlines, such as January 1, 2036. One example concerns ‘the application of provisions of Russian legislation in the electricity sector, including Russian legislation on state regulation of prices (tariffs)’.
ORIGINAL: NG/Integration of Donbas and Novorossiya Slows amid Realities
