On Aug. 8, the Kremlin rolled out another planned new law redefining police powers. The bill’s presentation was very much in the style of the technophile Medvedev, with the proposed text posted on the Web and a commentary penned by Medvedev himself, complete with an invitation for users to comment on the details of the law before it is submitted to the Duma. Medvedev promised that the bill would “clearly define the police force’s sphere of activities” and “prevent potential abuse of power.”

In reality, the law would do just the opposite. Despite some clauses included at the behest of the Presidential Human Rights Commission—such as an explicit ban on torture—much of the new law would extend the police’s already extensive authority. They would have almost unlimited power to stop and search people and to detain them for up to an hour just to check their documents, a reversal of the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Russian Constitution. Police can also now enter private homes without a warrant.