Russian lawmakers amend proposed counter-sanctions to give Putin more leeway

Russia’s answer to the U.S. “oligarch sanctions” just got a little fuzzier. According to an amended draft of legislation authorizing various “counter-sanctions,” the State Duma is no longer presenting the government with a list that specifies which imported goods to ban in retaliation.

The draft law initially mentioned medicines, food, tobacco, and alcohol. A second reading leaked by the political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann drops this language in favor of an open-ended endorsement allowing the president to ban any products or raw materials that are not vital goods unavailable in Russia.

Lawmakers will vote on the legislation on May 15, but they’ll be voting on the draft law’s first reading. Attending a committee meeting at the Duma, Schulmann got her hands on a copy of the second reading.