Putin is trying to hide data on losses in the war against Ukraine/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin has almost absolute power in the country. Among them is the issuance of decrees that must be immediately executed. True, the inhabitants of Russia do not always learn about them.
It is a widespread practice in Russia that Putin issues “secret decrees”. Often this is done to hide certain information from “prying eyes”. Among them is the awarding of fallen servicemen. As a rule, they are awarded the “order of courage”.
In Russia, they analyzed the number of Putin's secret decrees. Chance helped to reveal that they were “secret”.
In the message about the death of one soldier from the Orenburg region, there was a mention that he was awarded the “order of courage” according to the decree of the Russian president No. 85ss. This decree was not published on the website of the Russian president, and there is no number 85 in the serial numbers of the decrees. As well as №86.
Subsequently, we found another mention of Putin's decree on rewarding the killed soldier, where at the end of the number there was “ss”. And this decree was also not on the website of the Russian president. Journalists suggested that “ss” means “top secret”. Therefore, following this principle, they decided to investigate which decrees have not yet been officially published.
There were many of them. In March 2022 alone, there were 54% of such decrees. This is a record for almost 20 years. In April, there were 49% of such decrees. For example, in February 2022 – 33%. And in January 2022 – 26%.
Journalists attribute such secrecy to the fact that the Kremlin is trying not to show the real number of soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine. After all, even in peacetime in Russia, data on the death of the military is classified.
Important! As of May 5, Ukrainian defenders liquidated more than 24,700 Russian invaders. These dates are indicative, because the fighting continues daily, and it is difficult to establish the exact number of killed invaders.
The analysis also showed that a large number of Putin's secret decrees increase during the war. So it was during the first Russian attack on the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. And during the second war against this country. So, in December 2002, the number of Putin's secret decrees was 59%. The record is 61%. So, it was recorded twice – in February 2000 and in November 2001.
The number of secret decrees increased significantly when Russia annexed Crimea and started a war in the Donbass. Already in January 2014 there were 48% of them, and in February – 42%. 44% was recorded in July 2014.
Journalists note that all secret decrees can be associated with liquidated occupiers. For example, Putin also rewarded propagandists with secret decrees during the seizure of Crimea. And in general, military awards are just hidden, including the top military leadership of the country.
