In the Russian Federation, a state secret (Russian: Государственная тайна; Gosudarstvennaya Tayna), according to the definition adopted in the Official Secrets Act of the Russian Federation, is information protected by the state on its military, foreign policy, economic, intelligence, counterintelligence, operational and investigative and other activities, dissemination of which could harm state security.

Protection of State Secrets in the Russian Federation

Legislation of the Russian Federation on State Secrets was based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federal Law "On Security" and "On State Secrets". The list of information constituting state secrets shall be determined by federal law "On State Secrets" (Section II), under which inter-ministerial Commission for the Protection of State Secrets generates a list of information classified as state secrets.

Public authorities, whose leaders have the authority to designate information as state secrets, develop, within their competence, detailed lists of information to be classified. Guided by these lists, originators determine the degree of secrecy of information, establish the secrecy of documents developed by them (carriers) and their restrictive measures.

Under the law "On State Secrets" it is forbidden to designate as state secrets and classify information:

• on emergencies and disasters that threaten the safety and health of citizens, and their consequences, as well as natural disasters, their official forecasts and consequences;
• state environment, health, sanitation, demography, education, culture, agriculture, and the state of crime;
• on privileges, compensations and social safeguards provided by the state to citizens, officials, enterprises, institutions and organizations;
• about violations of human rights and freedoms of man and citizen;
• on the amount of gold reserves and government foreign exchange reserves of the Russian Federation;
• on the health status of senior officials of the Russian Federation;
• on any violations of law by public authorities and their officials.

For most of the 20th century, classification in Russia included topographic maps that are fully unclassified in most other countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, maps of scale 1:100,000 and less were declassified, but larger scale maps were still considered a state secret.^[1] This caused a number of problems for GIS and navigation software makers, and many foreign tourists relied on war time maps prepared by the Germans (e.g. Caucasus area). Around 2010, the declassification process for maps of larger scale (up to 1:50,000) was started.^[2]

Levels of secrecy

Levels of secrecy of documents in the USSR, and still in Russian Federation, from maximum to minimum are:

• ОВ (Совершенно секретно/особой важности or simply Особой важности) en.:Particularly Important, equivalent in US:^[3] TOP SECRET
• СС (Совершенно секретно) en.:Completely Secret, equivalent in US:^[3] SECRET
• С (Секретно) en.:Secret, equivalent in US:^[3] CONFIDENTIAL

Limited access (potentially sensitive), but unclassified information

• ДСП (Для служебного пользования) en.: For Official Use Only, equivalent in US: FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO) or RESTRICTED

ДСП do not belong to the state secret.

Classified documents with special contents are marked:

• Особая папка en.: Special Folder, no equivalent in US
• Литер "К" (used for mobilization documents), en.: Type K, no equivalent in US
• Лично en.: Personal, equivalent in US: PERSONAL

The degree of secrecy of information constituting state secrets, is consistent severity of damage, which may be caused by the public spread said information. Using secrecy levels for classifying information that is not classified as state secrets is not allowed.

Declassification of information

The grounds for the declassification of information classified as state secrets (i.e. removal of restrictions on their distribution) are:

• compliance with the Russian Federation's international obligations under the open exchange of information constituting a state secret of the Russian Federation;
• change of objective circumstances, which result in further protection of information constituting a state secret being inappropriate.

The term of classification of information constituting state secrets, shall not exceed 30 years. In exceptional cases this period may be extended at the conclusion of the interdepartmental commission on protecting state secrets.

Limitations

Persons admitted to the degree of information "Top Secret" or "special importance", may be limited in their constitutional rights. Such restrictions may be placed only on an individual basis by the security organs on the basis of conclusions about the awareness of individuals in the information constituting a state secret.

Officials admitted to state secrets to the Russian Federation

List of positions, the substitution of which persons are admitted to the state secret, approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on January 15, 2010 № 24-p

1. Prime Minister of Russia
2. Attorney General of the Russian Federation
3. Head of Presidential Administration
4. Secretary of Russian Security Council
5. First Deputy Prime Minister
6. Deputy Prime Minister
7. Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation
8. Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of Staff of the Russian Federation
9. First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation – Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Procuracy of the Russian Federation
10. Federal Minister
11. Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation
12. Chairman of the Accounting Chamber of Russian Federation
13. Chairman of the Central Bank of Russian Federation
14. President of the Russian Academy of Sciences
15. Head (Director) of the Federal Service
16. Head (Director) of the federal agency
17. Senior official (head of the supreme executive organ of state power) of the Russian Federation
18. Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation
19. Head of organization with in accordance with federal law the authority to exercise on behalf of the Russian Federation government in the specified area of activity

Officials with the right information, to designate state secrets to the Russian Federation

Notes

References

• N. Stolyarov, "Organization of protection of state secrets in Russia" (Н. В. Столяров «Организация защиты государственной тайны в России»)
• Questions of a fair trial in criminal cases concerning espionage or divulging state secrets, the report of PACE, 2007 (Вопросы справедливого судебного разбирательства в уголовных делах о шпионаже или разглашении государственной тайны, доклад ПАСЕ, 2007)