DECREE OF THE PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME SOVIET OF THE USSR FROM 25.12.1972

Decree No. 3707-YIII from 25.12.1972 was entitled: “On the use by State Security bodies of warnings as a preventive measure”.  The previously applied measures of “preventive education” – conversations, grilling at meetings etc had demonstrated their lack of effect and were often ignored by dissidents since they were not mandatory.

The Decree gave the State Security Service the right to officially warn individuals that “their actions bordered on the criminal”, and that, in accordance with this, “criminal proceedings might be launched”.  If the individuals were later charged with criminal offences, the fact that a warning had been issued would be viewed by the court as an aggravating circumstance. The Decree entitled the Security Service to bring in individuals to receive such a warning who had not responded to their summons. At the time of issue of the warning a protocol was produced which the person warned had to sign.

The Decree was not published in the open press.

The measure was used until the middle of the 1980s against dissidents.

Based on material from “Memorial”, Moscow