Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing the state to place assets belonging to owners of critical infrastructure under temporary management if authorities decide that protective measures are inadequate or damaged facilities are being restored too slowly.
Decree No. 604 applies to a company’s property, securities, stakes in Russian companies and property rights. Grounds for intervention include violations of security requirements, threats to the normal operation of critical infrastructure and insufficient measures to defend facilities against drone attacks.
The government may impose temporary management on the president’s instructions. Unless another manager is appointed, the assets are transferred to the Federal Property Management Agency.
The mechanism makes it possible in practice to remove an owner from control of an infrastructure asset without formally nationalizing it.