Law and interests: prosecutors will check the conditions of service in the free zone of those convicted of corruption

The number of corruption crimes in Russia increased by 12.3% in 2025. Vladimir Putin said this on March 19 at a meeting of the board of the Prosecutor General's Office. Another problem remains the increase in terrorist and extremist crimes, which have increased by almost 60% over the past year. The issue of protecting the rights of ITS participants and their families remains on the agenda. In particular, it concerns employment, since now less than 50% of the servicemen who have returned home have jobs. How many people convicted of corruption are in the free zone can be found in the Izvestia article.

Why do I need to contact the Prosecutor General's Office?

On March 19, Vladimir Putin took part in an expanded meeting of the Board of the Prosecutor General's Office. In recent years, the head of state has never missed this annual event and has always participated in it in person, even during the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2026, for the first time, the board meeting was chaired by Alexander Gutsan, who replaced Igor Krasnov as Prosecutor General, who moved to the Supreme Court.

The Prosecutor's Office in Russia is an independent body that is not part of any branch of government. The Institute of Public Prosecutor's Office became the "eye of the sovereign" more than 300 years ago. It was established by Peter the Great in January 1722, by his decree appointing Pavel Yaguzhinsky as the first Prosecutor General of Russia. "This is my eye, with which I will see everything..." said the emperor. And today, the country's main supervisory authority pays tribute to its past — a large banner depicting a historic decree and a quote from Peter the Great was placed at the entrance to the Marble Hall, where prosecutors from all over the country gathered.

In 2025, about 7.7 million people applied to the prosecutor's office. The Head of State called for better and more consistent solutions to the vital problems of Russians. In particular, it concerns the protection of their labor and social rights. And especially the salary arrears. In a year, prosecutors have already achieved repayment of debts worth 30 billion rubles, including at bankrupt enterprises, said Russian Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan.

However, Russians do not complain about social issues very often — last year, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, received about 21.3 thousand appeals on this topic out of 128 thousand. According to her, today most of the appeals come from victims of crimes who are denied criminal proceedings.

"According to my appeals to the prosecutor's office, several thousand checks were carried out, and 400 appeals received positive permission — the decisions on refusal to initiate criminal proceedings were canceled," she told Izvestia.

At the same time, in general, the number of complaints on criminal procedure issues has been gradually decreasing over the past three years.

The problem with corruption and the employment of ITS participants

Assistance to the SVO fighters and their families should be under special control of the prosecutor's office, the head of state reminded. According to Alexander Gutsan's estimates, in 2025 it was possible to protect the rights of 620 thousand military personnel and their family members, and more than 18 billion rubles of social support were transferred, the Prosecutor General said.

The violations were related, in particular, to the duration of the appointment of survivor's pensions, the awarding of state awards to the relatives of the victims and the receipt of payments. Nevertheless, the issues of employment of military personnel have not yet been resolved: now less than 50% of the participants of the SVO who have returned home are provided with work.

— The situation when a disabled person left without feet is offered to become a janitor, except as a mockery, cannot be called, — said Gutsan.

Another problem is corruption. Last year, according to the president, the number of crimes in this area increased by 12.3%. More than 150,000 violations of anti-corruption legislation have been uncovered. The Prosecutor General added that the increase in crime detection has been recorded for the fifth year in a row: in 2025, their total number exceeded 43 thousand, more than a third were committed on a large and especially large scale and as part of organized groups.

The number of officials dismissed at the request of prosecutors due to loss of trust increased by a third. "And that's almost a thousand employees with tarnished reputations," Alexander Gutsan said.

He also instructed prosecutors to monitor the execution of sentences for those convicted of corruption and other dangerous crimes in order to prevent cases of their unjustified early release. Alexander Gutsan recalled that about 1.1 thousand people convicted of corruption are currently in the zone of a special military operation. By June 1, prosecutors must make sure that they are actually doing military service, "and not holed up closer to the kitchen in the rear."

Vladimir Putin called for monitoring the spending of funds that go to the state defense order and the expansion of defense industry capacities. The money allocated to national projects should also be reliably protected. Equally important is the work on identifying the property and sources of criminal proceeds of corrupt officials. In 2025, the prosecutor's office has already turned 1.6 trillion rubles worth of corrupt property into state revenue through the courts.

— Now society is particularly sensitive to embezzlement and corruption of some officials. Therefore, it is important that those convicted of corruption do not avoid punishment, do not use their connections and means for illegal release, for example, on parole or due to illness," the Prosecutor General stressed.

The number of terrorist and extremist crimes has also increased in the country over the past year, Vladimir Putin stressed. According to Alexander Gutsan, their number increased by almost 60% in 2025. He noted a threefold increase in the number of foreigners in Russia involved in terrorist activities. The number of teenagers involved in terrorist crimes has also increased significantly in the Russian Federation in 2025, and they are becoming more aggressive, the Prosecutor General said.