 Source: HRO.org (info) On 25th March 2014 Oleg Mikheev, a deputy from the party A Just Russia, introduced into the State Duma bill No 479893-6 “On amending particular legislative acts to protect the memory of those who died defending the Motherland and the authority of the State”. The document proposes changing Article 1 of the Federal Law “On perpetuation of the memory of those who died defending the Motherland” by adding to paragraph 4: “It is forbidden to disseminate false information, which denigrates the services of those killed defending the Motherland, the authority of the Russian empire, the USSR, the Russian Federation and its armed forces”. Also proposed is a new version of Article 10, Section 6, of the Federal Law “On information, information technology and information protection”: “It is prohibited to disseminate information the aim of which is war propaganda, incitement to national, racial or religious hatred and enmity, or false information that denigrates the services of those who died defending the Motherland, the authority of the Russian empire, the USSR, the Russian Federation and its armed forces, or any other kind of information for the dissemination of which there is criminal or administrative liability”. To punish those guilty of disseminating this kind of information the bill proposes amendments the Administrative Code and supplementing Article 6.17.1 as follows: “The dissemination of false information which denigrates the services of those who died defending the Motherland, the authority of the Russian empire, the USSR, the Russian Federation and its armed forces”. The article as amended would provide for an administrative fine of 2,000-3,000 roubles for individual citizens; 5,000-25,000 roubles for officials; and from 100,000 up to 500,000 roubles for legal entities. The explanatory note, accompanying the document, states that the law is necessary in order to strengthen patriotism which is threatened by computer games (for example Call of Duty and Opposing Fronts-2). Moreover, the deputy Mikheev sees the games as a “realm for the propaganda of ideas considered to be extremist in the Russian Federation”, as well as an information war related to the events in Ukraine that is leading “not only to a reconsideration of the theory and distortion of historical facts, but also to the creation among the upcoming generation of a negative image of our country”. We consider this bill to be a limitation on the freedom of speech and consider an extremely negative initiative. The wording he uses is so vague and general in nature that it allows the banning of any historical discussions whatsoever, from the dawn of the Russian empire (for example on the Russian-Turkish wars or the war in the Caucasus), not to mention any critical analysis of current political events, in particular those Ukraine. Source: Sova Center Translated by Olga Cable |
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