A bill was introduced to the State Duma of the Russian Federation defining responsibility for publicly identifying the role of the USSR and Nazi Germany in World War II. Relevant document posted on the website of the lower house of parliament.
The authors of the amendments to the Administrative Code were the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov, the chairman of the committee on culture Elena Yampolskaya and senators Alexey Pushkov and Olga Kovitidi.
According to the project, for identifying the role of the USSR and Nazi Germany, as well as for “denying the decisive role of the Soviet people in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the humanitarian mission of the USSR in the liberation of European countries,” citizens may face a fine of up to 2,000 rubles or 15 days of arrest. Officials will be fined up to four thousand rubles, and legal entities will be paid up to 50 thousand rubles.
For a repeated violation, the fine for citizens will be up to five thousand rubles, for officials – up to 20 thousand rubles or disqualification for up to a year, and for legal entities – up to 100 thousand rubles or suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
The explanatory note says that “the bill is aimed at preventing insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland and at ensuring legal protection of the historical truth about the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
In July of this year, Vladimir Putin signed a law banning the identification of the role of the USSR and Nazi Germany in World War II. The penalties for his violations have not yet been introduced.