Penalty abroad – Newspaper Kommersant No. 172 (7373) of 09/17/2022

Deputies of the “United Russia” (ER) propose to recognize as extremist materials that challenge the territorial integrity of Russia. For the distribution of cards with incorrect borders and other similar products, citizens will face a fine or arrest for up to 15 days, and legal entities – a fine of up to 1 million rubles. Lawyers fear that if the bill is passed, all textbooks that do not keep up with the new Russian territories, as well as foreign periodicals, will be banned. The textbook should be as objective as possible at the time of publication, retorts the author of the initiative.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption Vasily Piskarev and two of his deputies – Ernest Valeev and Anatoly Vyborny (all United Russia members) – introduced two bills to the chamber on Friday against the distribution of maps and other products that challenge the territorial integrity of Russia. The deputies propose to supplement the law “On counteracting extremist activity” with a norm according to which extremist materials will include “cartographic and other images and products that dispute the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation” intended for distribution and public demonstration.

“There have become more frequent cases of distribution in the territory of our country of printed and booklet, cartographic and other products, on which certain parts of the territory of the Russian Federation (for example, the Crimea, the South Kuriles, etc.) are clearly attributed to the territories of other states,” the explanatory note says. to the document. The authors of the draft law are convinced: “Such information campaigns are a hidden form of propaganda, carried out, as a rule, from abroad, in order to form distorted ideas about the state border of Russia among the Russian and world community, justify the territorial claims of neighboring states to our country, undermine sovereignty and state integrity of the Russian Federation”.

The second bill introduces corresponding amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. For the distribution of such cards and other similar products, citizens will face a fine or arrest for up to 15 days, legal entities – a fine of up to 1 million rubles. It is also proposed to expand the scope of this article of the Code of Administrative Offenses to cases of distribution of extremist materials that are not included in the federal list of extremist materials, but are recognized as extremist in accordance with the current legislation. The amendments received government approval.

“It is especially dangerous when such materials are designed for a children’s audience, as was the case with children’s photo wallpapers sold in one of the popular retail chains, where Crimea was designated as part of Ukraine. Obviously, this is part of a hybrid war unleashed by the West against Russia,” Vasily Piskarev himself commented on the bill.

He added that State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin instructed the security committee to take action in connection with the distribution of such products. Recall that in July, Mr. Piskarev was indignant at the photo wallpapers in the Leroy Merlin chain of stores, on which Crimea was displayed as part of Ukraine. The deputy even turned to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Roskomnadzor with a request to conduct an inspection.

“If we interpret the text of the bill literally, then it is necessary to destroy all maps of Russia published before 2014, since their distribution (for example, issuing or selling books) after the law comes into force will be illegal. And most importantly, all foreign periodicals should become practically outside the law, based only on formal signs, ”warns lawyer Aleksey Elaev. However, according to the lawyer, it is quite difficult to imagine that all periodicals coming to Russia, including publications from the Republic of Belarus, are recognized as extremist. Therefore, most likely, the law will be applied very selectively, the lawyer believes.

“It is unlikely that this rule will be extended to cartographic images issued before the entry into force of the law, taking into account the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation that the law establishing liability does not have retroactive effect. At the same time, after the adoption of the law, problems, at least of an administrative nature, may arise for the authors of textbooks who do not keep up with the expansion of Russian territories,” says lawyer Andrey Grivtsov.

The annexation of territories is “not such a fast process as it seems at first glance,” Anatoly Vyborny responds to criticism. According to him, if the territory is disputed, then this can be indicated in textbooks and all points of view on this matter can be evaluated.

“At the time of publication, there should be maximum objectivity. If the textbook has been published and has already entered educational organizations, and then the territory was annexed, then there is no responsibility here. But then, in the reissue of the textbook, the changed status of the territory should be taken into account, ”the deputy told Kommersant.

Ksenia Veretennikova