Russia's State Duma passed in first reading a law that would allow the Russian military to be deployed to protect Russian citizens arrested or prosecuted abroad. Read that again. The military - to "protect" arrested citizens.

The law covers cases of detention, criminal prosecution, and other legal proceedings in foreign courts. The specific trigger is Russian sailors and crews whose vessels are blocked and seized - an occurrence that, according to the sponsors, is happening with increasing frequency.

Formally, this looks like protecting your own citizens. Practically? Russia would gain a legal basis to involve military forces in situations where its nationals face foreign justice. The question none of the sponsors answer is: what exactly would "military intervention" look like to free an arrested sailor in, say, Norway?

The timing is no coincidence. Tensions around Russian vessels, maritime routes, and the status of Russian nationals abroad are at their peak. This law may never be applied literally - but as a tool for pressure and negotiation, it already serves its purpose. In the Balkans, we know how that model works: you pass a law that "will never be used" - and then you use it when nobody's watching.