A group of deputies and senators introduced bills No. 445 338–8 and No. 445 350–8 into the State Duma , in which they propose to ban criticism of the Russian Guard. The relevant information is posted on the website of the lower house of parliament.
The authors of the documents propose to expand the scope of the administrative article on discrediting the army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code), as well as criminal articles on discrediting and “fakes” about the army (Article 280.3 and 207.3 of the Criminal Code, respectively), adding to them liability for negative statements about the Russian Guard .
“These legislative initiatives are a logical continuation of the already adopted amendments aimed at prohibiting the expression of one’s opinion on the actions of the army and criticism of the authorities. As practice shows, the proposed amendments will most likely be adopted, and may lead to an increase in the number of cases under articles of discredit and “fakes,” says OVD-Info lawyer Ksenia Prosvirkina.
In addition, it is proposed to add a mention of the Russian Guard to the new article 284.3 of the Criminal Code - on the prohibition of assistance in the execution of decisions of international bodies in which Russia does not participate, or foreign government bodies
“So far we are not aware of any cases of prosecution under this article. There are no explanations about the enforcement of the article, however, from the direct interpretation it follows that we are talking about decisions of such bodies to criminally prosecute officials of the Russian Federation because of their activities or persons participating in the war, comments Prosvirkina. “The legislative initiative also proposes to introduce a ban on providing assistance in the execution of decisions of international bodies on the criminal prosecution of members of the National Guard.”
- Article 284.3 of the Criminal Code (Providing assistance in the execution of decisions of international organizations in which the Russian Federation does not participate, or foreign government bodies) was introduced in April 2023. Sanctions under it include a fine in the amount of 300 thousand to 1 million rubles or imprisonment for up to five years with deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities for the same period.
- Article 280.3 (Public actions aimed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the government responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. On March 14, 2023, the State Duma adopted amendments increasing the maximum penalty under this article, since then it has been seven years in prison.
- Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.