Vladimir Putin banned denying the role of the Soviet Union in World War II

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promulgated a law which prohibits denying “the decisive role of the Soviet people in the crushing of Nazi Germany and the humanitarian mission of the Soviet Union in the liberation of the countries of Europe”.

The new regulations, published on the official government website, also prohibit publicly equating the objectives, decisions and actions of the government, military command and Soviet soldiers with those of representatives of Nazi Germany and European countries of the Axis.

In addition, Putin enacted an amendment to the anti-extremism law which prohibits the public display of images and speeches of leaders of organizations and movements declared criminal by the International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg.

Under the Code of Administrative Misconduct, the production or dissemination of extremist material is punishable by fines of up to 3,000 rubles (approximately $ 40) or arrest of up to 15 days. .

The same offense committed by legal persons is punishable by a fine of 100,000 to 1,000,000 rubles (approximately $ 1,370 and $ 13,700 respectively) or a work stoppage of up to 90 days.

The role in WWII

Most Russians are convinced that it was the USSR that won World War II, considering its contribution to be greater than that of any other country. Without the help of the United States and the United Kingdom, they would still have defeated Hitler, estimates 63% of the population according to a survey of the Levada Center 2020.

It is estimated that between 50 to 80 million people, military and civilian, died in the six years that WWII is commonly confined, between 1939 and 1945. Of this frightening total, between 20 and 27 million were citizens of the USSR, including soldiers and civilians killed in combat, massacres or due to disease. More than any other belligerent country.

As for German losses, out of more than five million soldiers, 3.5 million died on the Eastern Front, fighting the USSR, while some 740,000 perished in combat against Anglo-American troops on the Western Front, and the rest died in other theaters. of war.

(With information from EFE)

KEEP READING: