Mediazona: Putin’s ‘secret decrees’ hit record highs since war in Ukraine began

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of secret decrees signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin has hit record highs, Mediazona news outlet reports.

According to Mediazona, these decrees are used to award military officers posthumously. Nearly half of presidential decrees issued since February 24 have not been published: this is a record high since 2002.

The news outlet found out that the share of secret decrees always rises during wars and “special operations,” which is what happened during the First and Second Chechen Wars, the 2014 events in Crimea and the start of the Donbass conflict.

Reporters found a possible mention of such a decree in a social media post about a Russian soldier from the Orenburg Region, who was killed during the “special operation.” Local officials informed that he had been awarded an Order for Bravery by a presidential decree №85СС dated 3 March, 2022. Mediazona suggests that the letters CC mean “top secret” in Russian.

Earlier, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk “people’s republic” (“DPR”) Denis Pushilin awarded 90 medals “For the liberation of Mariupol” to “DPR” soldiers and law enforcement officers.

It was reported yesterday that Russian colonel general Aleksandr Lapin had awarded his son, Denis Lapin, for participating in the failed “liberation” of Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv.