Russian Supreme Court signs bill making it illegal to dishonor the national anthem
The Russian Supreme Court approved a bill criminalizing any dishonor of the national anthem. The document indicates that insulting the Russian anthem is equated to insulting the national coat of arms or the flag. According to the bill, any violation is punishable by up to one year in prison.
“As specified in Article 9 of the Federal Constitutional Law ‘On the National Anthem of the Russian Federation’, it contains a direct stipulation for punishment in accordance with Russian legislation in cases of dishonoring the national anthem, and proceeding from that principle to all state symbols, the provisions of the bill on safeguarding the anthem appear to have proper grounds,” said the Supreme Court’s document signed by Deputy Chairman Vladimir Davydov.
The authors of the bill — State Duma members, Vadim Tyulpanov, Andrei Klishas and Raziet Natkho— define the desecration of the Russian anthem as any “deliberate distortion of the musical score or lyrics of the national anthem of the Russian Federation in the course of its public rendition or publication in the media, electronic or informational networks (including the Internet)."