Putin signed three laws to support the families of war veterans. Wives of fallen soldiers were allowed to enter universities and colleges for free

On April 25, Vladimir Putin signed three laws concerning the families of fallen military personnel and seriously wounded employees of the Russian Guard, as well as workers returning from the war.

One of the documents amends the law “On Education in the Russian Federation” and gives the right to widows (and widowers) of war participants to enter universities and colleges for free. Educational institutions will accept spouses of deceased military personnel under a separate quota - without entrance examinations.

Another law concerns guarantees for the families of employees of the Russian Guard. It will allow two family members or two close relatives in the event of a seriously injured employee to travel free of charge to the place of treatment. This benefit, as Kommersant notes , is already valid for military families and volunteers.

The third law amends Article 179 of the Labor Code and protects from layoffs employees who returned from military service after mobilization or the end of a contract during martial law.

• A bill giving the wives of deceased Russian military personnel a “preemptive right” to enroll in free education at universities and colleges was submitted to the State Duma in August 2025, and was authored by the head of the lower house of parliament committee for family protection, Nina Ostanina. In January 2026, the bill passed the first reading in the State Duma, and in mid-April - the second and third, final ones.
• Russian universities must allocate at least 10% of budget places for war veterans and their children. In 2024, more than two thousand people entered the 18 best Russian universities under this quota for budget-funded places, in 2025 - almost three thousand applicants, “Important Stories” calculated .