Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, has spent weeks watching its warehouses burn.
Just last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised government help to rebuild warehouse infrastructure damaged in Ukrainian attacks.
Now the Kremlin has added another response: if the state decides an owner failed to adequately protect a facility from Ukrainian drones – or took too long to rebuild it – the government can take control of the owner’s assets.
Signed on Monday, Aug. 24, Decree No. 604 applies when security measures are missing, deemed ineffective, or repairs are judged too slow.
Kremlin puts responsibility on owners
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made that clear Tuesday.
“We are facing an obvious threat of drone attacks on critical infrastructure facilities,” Peskov said, adding that business owners “often do not pay enough attention” to anti-drone security.
Given the threat to vital infrastructure, he said, Russia “must take measures” to ensure its security.
But the decree turns that logic on its head: when a refinery, warehouse or factory is hit, the owner can be penalized for failing to prevent it – even though the Kremlin launched the war and Russia’s air-defense system is responsible for defending the country.
Loopholes for abuse
On paper, the measure gives companies a strong incentive to spend more on protection and rapid repairs.
But it does not define what level of anti-drone protection is sufficient or how quickly a damaged facility must be restored.
That leaves the Kremlin broad discretion to decide when a company has failed.
The Kremlin can take much more
The decree goes far beyond the refinery, warehouse or plant that was hit.
“Temporary management” can cover an owner’s property, company stakes, securities and other assets.
Rosimushchestvo will usually take control, but the Kremlin can appoint someone else – potentially even a direct competitor. An unwanted owner could be pushed aside without any formal change in ownership.
The decree sets no fixed time limit. The Kremlin alone decides when “temporary” management ends.
If the state cannot stop the fire, it can still take control of what is left in the ashes.
Not nationalization – formally
First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov moved quickly to reassure Russian businesses.
“I want to stress that this is not about nationalization or a change in the form of ownership,” Manturov said.
He said the decree simply allows the state to enter company management “to address specific security tasks.”
But local residents know too well how measures are called “temporary” when they begin – only to become permanent. The war itself was launched as a “special military operation” – and is now in its fifth year.
A Soviet echo
The measure also carries a familiar Soviet legacy.
The USSR subordinated strategic industry to state control and largely eliminated private ownership of major enterprises.
Putin’s decree stops short of formal nationalization, but follows a similar principle: ownership may remain on paper while effective control shifts to the state in the name of security and wartime necessity.
The new wartime reality
The timing is no coincidence. As Ukrainian deep strikes bring the war into Russia’s economic heartland, Moscow is struggling to protect every refinery, warehouse and logistics hub.
Moscow may not be able to stop every Ukrainian drone. But it can still decide who pays for the damage – and who keeps control afterward.