How the introduction of war law would enable Vladimir Putin to suppress the Russian dissent

He is already referred to as dictator by opponents - but the imposition of war law would give Wladimir Putin even more power to suppress different opinions in Russia.

There is widespread speculation that Putin could use an extraordinary session of the Russian parliament on Friday to impose war law either in the name or indeed and thus suspend civil law.

According to the Russian constitution, war law can be imposed if the country is threatened by attacks. There were reports that Russia prepared a rocket attack under the false flag from Ukraine, which could enable Putin to meet the necessary conditions.

This would mean that the Kremlin could impose the restrictions on bourgeois freedoms that have no longer been experienced since the culmination of the Cold War, including the internment of all foreigners, the closure of the limits and the control of food supply, which would lead to speculation about the introduction of a rationing.

Moscow could also tighten the censorship and give the military commander control of what can be sent and printed.

Speculation about the measure began to whirl at the beginning of this week when the authorities began to tough against the few independent votes that reported on Russia's war in Ukraine.

European officials said on Thursday that they had discovered signs that Russia could impose war law. "This is something that we are aware of and it is something we are worried about," said an EU official.

Mikhailo Podolyak, a consultant by the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, said on Wednesday that he understands that war law was approved at the urgency meeting, "with a total ban on all rallies, the separation from the outside world, large -scale food and finance restrictions".

Tatyana Stanovaya, political scientist and non-resident Fellow at Carnegie Moscow Center, described the imposition of war law as "more than a logical scenario".

she said: “War law allows the authorities to introduce military censors

"Under the current circumstances, it appeals to fully control over the media, to tie the opponents of the war and switch off the Internet without an excuse to throw everyone into prison that says or writes the wrong one and to restrict travel."

The step would take place in the middle of the growing anger of the public via the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war a week ago, more than 7,000 people have been arrested in several anti -war protests throughout Russia.

Alexej Nawalny, Russia's imprisoned opposition leader, called on Wednesday to demonstrate each day in the main places of their cities against the invasion.

The effects of unprecedented western sanctions are already noticeable. Expenses to the banks are scarce because the ruble falls on historical lows. Apple Pay is no longer available in Russia and countless international companies have demolished all connections to Russian companies.

Both chambers of the Russian parliament announced extraordinary meetings for Friday afternoon.

Russia's legendary radio station Ekho Moskvy, one of the last liberal media in the country, was switched off on Tuesday-for the first time since a KGB-led coup in the Soviet Union in 1991.

The authorities have also blocked the Russia's only independent television station website. The editor -in -chief said on Wednesday that he had fled from Russia for fear of an arrest.

Every proposal of a military tough action against dissenters would cause pictures of the great terror of the 1930s when Joseph Stalin cleaned the Soviet Union by detention or worse from opponents and sent millions in forced labor camps who are known as gulags.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow emphasized that there were no plans to introduce war law or to prevent young men from leaving Russia. "What they see on social media are just jokes," he said.