Moscow: The Russian lower house on Wednesday adopted a bill introducing fines for publicly equating the roles of the USSR and Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
The bill will add a new article to the Russian administrative violations code, which will impose a fine of up to 2,000 rubles ($24) or up to 15 days under arrest for private individuals, as well as a fine of up to 4,000 rubles for public officials and up to 50,000 rubles for legal entities.
A repeated offense will net a fine of up to 5,000 rubles private individuals or a 15-day administrative arrest, while public officials will risk a fine of 20,000 rubles or a suspension for six months to one year.
Legal entities will face a fine of up to 100,000 rubles or suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
Russia has been consistently opposed to any attempt to lump the USSR and Nazi Germany together in any narrative about WW2, both at home and in the international arena.Â
