Putin signed a law providing for up to five years in prison for “desecrating” the St. George ribbon

President Vladimir Putin signed a law classifying the St. George ribbon as a symbol of military glory and introducing a punishment of up to five years in prison for its “public desecration.” The document was published on the legal information website and has already entered into force.

According to the law, the St. George ribbon can only be used within the framework of events “dedicated to memorable dates in Russia”, as well as in “military-patriotic and spiritual-moral education of citizens.” Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code “Rehabilitation of Nazism” provides for maximum penalties for “desecration” of symbols of military glory of five million rubles in fine, five years of forced labor or the same term in a colony.

The bill was submitted to the State Duma by deputies from United Russia Andrei Turchak and Olga Zanko. When it was adopted in the second reading, Zanko called the St. George ribbon “a symbol of truth, justice, the fight against genocide and neo-Nazism.” According to the deputy, residents of the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine “with trepidation take the ribbon out of the closet” because they were previously forbidden to wear it.