Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 4, 1995 N 870 On approval of the Rules for classifying information constituting a state secret to various degrees of secrecy.
RF Government Resolution of September 4, 1995 N 870
«On Approval of the Rules for Classifying Information Constituting a State Secret to Various Classification Levels»
In accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation «On State Secrets», the Government of the Russian Federation decrees: To approve the Rules for classifying information constituting a state secret as belonging to various levels of secrecy.
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation V. Chernomyrdin
Moscow
September 4, 1995
N 870
Rules
for classifying information constituting a state secret
as different levels of secrecy
(approved by RF Government Resolution of September 4, 1995 N 870)
- These Rules have been developed in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation «On State Secrets» and are mandatory for execution by government bodies whose heads are empowered to classify information as a state secret, when they develop an expanded list of information subject to classification (hereinafter referred to as the «list»), as well as by other government bodies, local government bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations when preparing proposals for inclusion in the list of information of which they are the owners.
- The list must determine the degree of secrecy of specific information (group of information), and its structure must take into account departmental or industry specifics.
The degree of secrecy of information constituting a state secret must correspond to the severity of the damage that may be caused to the security of the Russian Federation as a result of the dissemination of said information.
Quantitative and qualitative indicators of damage to the security of the Russian Federation are determined in accordance with regulatory and methodological documents approved by the heads of state authorities who are empowered to classify information as a state secret, and agreed upon with the Interdepartmental Commission for the Protection of State Secrets (hereinafter referred to as the Interdepartmental Commission)*.
The delineation of powers to manage information constituting a state secret between government bodies is determined by the List of information classified as a state secret, published in the open press.
- Information classified as a state secret is divided according to the degree of secrecy into information of special importance, top secret and secret.
To information of special importanceshould include information in the areas of military, foreign policy, economic, scientific and technical, intelligence, counterintelligence and operational-search activities, the dissemination of which may cause harm to the interests of the Russian Federation in one or more of the listed areas.
To top secret informationshould include information in the field of military, foreign policy, economic, scientific and technical, intelligence, counterintelligence and operational-search activities, the dissemination of which may harm the interests of a ministry (department) or sector of the economy of the Russian Federation in one or more of the listed areas.
To secret informationall other information from among the information constituting a state secret should be classified as such. In this case, damage to the security of the Russian Federation is considered to be damage caused to the interests of an enterprise, institution or organization in the military, foreign policy, economic, scientific and technical, intelligence, counterintelligence or operational-search areas of activity.
- Heads of government bodies empowered to classify information as a state secret organize the development of the list and bear personal responsibility for the decisions they make on the advisability of classifying specific information as a state secret.
To develop the draft list, an expert commission is being created, which will include competent specialists working with information constituting a state secret.
During the preparation of the draft list, expert commissions, in accordance with the principles of classification of information established by the Law of the Russian Federation «On State Secrets», analyze all types of activities of the relevant government agencies, enterprises, institutions and organizations in order to determine information, the dissemination of which may harm the security of the Russian Federation. The justification for the need to classify information as a state secret, indicating the corresponding level of secrecy, is carried out by the owners of this information and is drawn up in the form of proposals for inclusion in the draft of the relevant list.
The level of secrecy of information at the disposal of several government agencies is established by mutual agreement between them.
The list may include information that has been received (developed) by other government bodies, local government bodies, enterprises, institutions, organizations or citizens who are not subordinate to the head of the government body approving the list. The level of secrecy of such information is established by agreement between the government body developing the list and the owner of the information.
The draft list developed by the expert commission is submitted for approval to the head of the government body authorized to classify information as a state secret, who also decides on the advisability of classifying the list itself.
Approved lists are sent to the Interdepartmental Commission for the purpose of coordinating work to protect state secrets.
- After approval, the lists are communicated to:
interested government bodies in full or in the part that concerns them;
enterprises, institutions and organizations operating in the sphere of jurisdiction of state authorities, in the part concerning them, by decision of the official who approved the list;
enterprises, institutions and organizations participating in the implementation of joint work, in the volume determined by the customer of this work.
- The lists are revised if necessary (in the event of a change in the international situation, conclusion of international treaties by the Russian Federation, transfer of information constituting a state secret to other states, emergence of new achievements in the field of science and technology, etc.), but not less than every 5 years.
The lists are revised in the same manner as their development. Proposals for additions and amendments to the lists are sent to the heads of government bodies that approved these lists, who are obliged to organize an expert assessment of the proposals received within three months and make an appropriate decision. If the adoption of these proposals entails a change in the List of information classified as a state secret, the heads of government bodies send a draft of the relevant decision with justification to the Interdepartmental Commission for an expert assessment and decision-making. * The functions of the Interdepartmental Commission for the Protection of State Secrets in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 30, 1994 No. 614 are temporarily assigned to the State Technical Commission under the President of the Russian Federation.