The State Duma adopted in the first reading a ban on the “rubbing” of religious symbols
The State Duma at the meeting on June 10 unanimously approved in the first reading a bill on the ban on the retouching of religious symbols in the publication of images of religious structures. The authors seemed to give a deep political meaning to a purely religious issue, contrasting their work to protect the spiritual and moral values of the “dechristianization” of Europe and not forgetting about Ukraine.
The draft amendments A group of deputies of all factions-members of the working group to preserve traditional spiritual and moral values, introduced to the Duma on May 26 to the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations. According to the changes they proposed, in the media, advertising, when selling goods, as well as on state and municipal symbols and signs, emblems and in ads it is forbidden to depict religious buildings without their religious symbols.
The authors motivated their initiative to the frequent cases of “rubbing” crosses and other religious symbols.
In the explanatory note, they recalled that the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill also “repeatedly paid attention to the problem” when on posters, emblems, logo of the regions and even on the banknote, “deliberately wiped on the Orthodox churches, the Cross of the Lord”.
The co-author of the Vice-Speaker of Anna Kuznetsova (“United Russia”, EP) called the document “in some sense unique”, designed to “protect what is important for each of us is our faith”, as well as to fight “ugly phenomenon” when Orthodox crosses are “erased from the images of temples or chambers”. According to Mrs. Kuznetsova, this phenomenon even received the name « Crooval ».
The situation was so worried about citizens that the deputies “fell out of appeals with a request to protect the Orthodox symbols,” said the vice speaker. But symbols of other faiths also need protection, she added, recalling at the same time “fields of special military operation, where our Orthodox warriors are fighting side by side with representatives of other religious denominations of Russia.” At the same time, in Ukraine, the vice speaker continued, “Orthodox symbols begin to be erased by decision of the president’s office”, and in Europe “dehristianization” and “soft renunciation of values” are being launched-in particular, laws on the ban on carrying crosses in schools and hospitals are adopted. “It is important to adequately respond to attempts to level and blur our values, imperceptibly put something else, instilling in children unprincipled and tolerance for self -destruction,” concluded Anna Kuznetsova.
The chairman of the Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, Yana Lantratov (“Fair Russia – for Truth”, SRZP) agreed that it was “not just about the legal amendment”, but about “protecting the heart of our civilization – spiritual shrines”.
Among the negative examples, she called not only Ukraine, where “the extremist group of FEMEN cut one of the crosses in Kyiv”, but also Russia, where in March, the circulation of social studies with images of temples without crosses was seized in March. The deputy caused special indignation in cases when the crosses are rubbed in the images of the Russian coat of arms.
When it came to questions, Andrei Alshevsky (EP) asked if there would be responsibility for violation of the law. Anna Kuznetsova assured that this issue has already been discussed with the Ministry of Justice, so that there was no, “as abroad”, where “they didn’t stop the process in time” and this led to the “mutation of the concept of religion”. And Alexei Kurinin (Communist Party), on the contrary, tried to intercede for involuntary violators, indicating that when reducing the image of the emblems even on the sites of government agencies, the crosses simply become not visible. But Mrs. Kuznetsova urged him “not to start from the subjective features of perception” and rely on the “professionalism of law enforcement”.
Speech from the factions confirmed the complete unity of opinions. The leader of the SRZP Sergey Mironov said: “My speech will not be long. To be Russia! Russia be great! » – Then he crossed himself, bowed and got off the rostrum. Oleg Leonov (“New People”) once again remembered him, where the fighters “go into battle with Christ in the heart”, and “the most desired gifts for them are crosses and icons”. Yaroslav Nilov (LDPR) recalled criminal punishment for insulting the feelings of believers. And the discussion of the vice speaker Irina Yarovaya (EP) summed up: “Today we give an answer to the question that our children asked us and ask: will we protect our Russia, protect our values, that we are really expensive.”
The deputies of children respected and unanimously approved the bill 408 votes.
