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This week, deputies will try to take some more freedom from Russian society: the State Duma is to consider two new bills. The federal law “On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and...

This week, deputies will try to take some more freedom from Russian society: the State Duma is to consider two new bills.

Adopted on June 19, 2004, the federal law "On Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets" banned freedom-loving citizens from organizing public events near the residences of the Russian president, courts and prisons.

The lower floors of the vertical of power felt wounded. The Parliament of Kabardino-Balkaria proposed to supplement the list of prohibited places with "law enforcement agencies, other federal state authorities and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation."

This means that a peaceful procession of demonstrators indignant over any reason should not pass by the buildings of regional governments, ministries and parliaments, territorial bodies of federal ministries and departments, numerous state departments and agencies, police stations and strongholds, prosecutor's offices, military registration and enlistment offices, departments and departments of the FSB, military units, fire stations, tax inspections and much more. Moreover, rallies and pickets will not be held near these institutions. Perhaps the only places for public actions of citizens will remain suburban wastelands and cemeteries.

But legislators didn't stop there. They propose that "places for holding public events, routes for processions and demonstrations" be established by local laws.

The law in its current form does not suit legislators because it "does not provide guarantees for the uninterrupted functioning of government and administration" and does not take into account "really existing terrorist threats." The words “terrorist threats” were even included in the text of the bill, although this concept is absolutely not legal and there is no interpretation of it in any law. Obviously, this is supposed to be determined at the local level by regional deputies and officials. Although the main thing is, of course, the calm work of the authorities. How can they work calmly and smoothly, if under the windows of their offices, citizens make noise at rallies and demonstrations, distracting officials from thoughtful work for the benefit of these same citizens?

Another bill proposed by the Legislative Assembly of Karelia is aimed at changing the media law. Since it was passed in 1991, there have been countless attempts to "correct" the law "On Mass Media". And for 15 years, changes were made to it 17 times! Twelve amendments limited the freedom of the press, four were purely technical in nature, and only one was directed towards greater freedom (albeit a trifle - the abolition of "legal copies").

Who has not tried to curtail the freedom of the press, and always under the guise of concern for morality, children and the high moral character of the Russian people. This time, the legislators decided to classify “the placement of advertisements for the provision of services of a sexual nature” as an unacceptable abuse of the freedom of the mass media. Indeed, there are many such ads in the tabloid press, but freedom also lies in the fact that the reader can choose what kind of press to buy - yellow or high-quality. It is obvious that even such announcements have their own readership, who is unlikely to agree that the question of his morality is decided by the deputies of the State Duma.

However, the legislators did not confine themselves to amendments to the law on mass media, they also provided for an amendment to the Administrative Code: punishment from 3,000 to 90,000 rubles. But not just for advertising sexual services, but for the same thing, but "under the guise of providing apartments, saunas, massages, providing escorts, showing striptease and other services." In practice, this means that hotels (for example, with hourly rates), saunas, massage parlors and striptease clubs will have to prove their non-participation in the sex business.

Everyone knows what evidence is needed in a country of total corruption. Actually, the question is not what, but how much. For many people in the civil service, the new ban promises a nice addition to their modest salaries.

In the explanatory note to their bill, the Karelian deputies write that advertisements in the press about sexual services "contribute to prostitution." Without going into a dispute about the legality of the ban or legalization of the "oldest profession", we note that it would be more logical for the guardians of morality to start the fight against prostitution not from the press, but from law enforcement agencies that protect prostitution on the streets of Moscow and other large cities of Russia. But such a path is thorny and very dangerous. It is much easier to fall on the press, which is always to blame for everything.

PS Consideration of the laws was scheduled for the evening of July 5th. At the time of signing the issue, it was not yet known what the deputies had decided.