Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Government Rejects Proposal to Fine Officials for Insulting Citizens

Andrei Lyubimov / Moskva News Agency

The Russian government has rejected a bill that would have introduced fines for officials who exhibit disrespect toward citizens, weeks after lawmakers passed a bill that introduced fines for disrespecting the authorities.

Communist lawmakers introduced the legislation in February, seeking to fine and suspend civil servants for humiliating voters. Around the same time, another bill that criminalized “blatant disrespect” of Russian authorities was swiftly making its way through the State Duma and became law in March.

The government legislative commission rejected the proposed bill as “unnecessary” due to existing anti-insult laws, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Wednesday.

Public officials across Russia have increasingly made national headlines for being caught on record insulting regular citizens, at times using terms like “excrement” and “riff-raff” to refer to them.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more