"Show of unity": Kremlin tacitly forbids officials to resign

Kremlin officials at various levels have been informally forbidden to resign because it is necessary to "demonstrate unity". Resignation is regarded as treason, and those considering it are being threatened with prosecution.

Source: Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories or iStories), citing sources

Details: An unnamed former Russian security service (FSB) official has said that he knows of at least two cases where governors attempted to resign. Not only were they prohibited from doing so by the internal policy department of the President's Administration, but criminal charges were hinted at.

An acquaintance of an official from the President’s Administration had also heard about the ban: "A lot of people wanted to (resign) after the war started. If everyone leaves, control will be lost." The President’s Administration regards wanting to resign as treason, and so civil servants have been ordered to maintain a "show of unity", he says.

Earlier, several unnamed FSB employees complained to iStories that they could not resign due to the mobilisation announced by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. According to the presidential decree, military servicemen under contract (which includes most FSB employees) cannot leave even after their contract has expired.

However, it was not previously known that the ban applies to civil servants as well.

iStories’ sources say that the resignation ban is informal and unlawful, so there may be exceptions to it – for example, for health reasons or corruption: "Many people are now ready to pay well for the opportunity to leave quietly and inconspicuously," a source explains.

Background: 

There were media reports of officials from the Russian government and Moscow City Hall escaping mobilisation by fleeing abroad as long ago as October 2022.

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