Russia’s Law Enforcement Gets New Tools to Combat “Distortion of History” and Defense Failures

Russian authorities may soon gain new powers to implement “preventive” measures aimed at addressing offenses like “failure to fulfill the duty to defend the country” and “distortion of historical truth.”

According to The Moscow Times on January 22, proposed bill to this effect has been put forward in the State Duma  by a group of lawmakers, including Vasily Piskaryov and Andrei Kartapolov, the heads of the Duma's security and defense committees.

The document's explanatory note underscores that national security and defense are central priorities for the government amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. According to the bill's authors, these goals cannot be met without citizens fully understanding the need to “unconditionally fulfill the duty to defend the Fatherland.”

As reported by The Moscow Times, the bill links the issue of “distortion of historical truth” to Russia's ongoing struggles with “unfriendly countries,” rising terrorist and extremist groups, and “radical citizens and foreign agents manipulating public opinion.” These factors, they argue, contribute to creating “false, inaccurate views and knowledge” about Russia’s history among its people.

Piskaryov, speaking to RBC, explained that the bill’s aim is to give law enforcement additional tools for preventing offenses before they are committed. He stated that these measures would focus on cases where individuals have already started down a dangerous path but haven’t yet engaged in actions warranting criminal or administrative punishment.

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“Prevention,” he said, could involve legal education, information sharing, and preventive conversations. He emphasized the importance of taking these steps “before a person breaks the law.”

The bill also provides for issuing warnings about the inadmissibility of actions that could lead to offenses, and proposes preventive monitoring of those already held accountable under relevant sections of the Criminal Code and Code of Administrative Offenses, according to Piskaryov. He added that the role of “prevention” could extend beyond law enforcement, involving local authorities and the public as well, The Moscow Times reported.

If approved, the initiative will result in changes to the law “On the Fundamentals of the System for Preventing Offenses.” Specifically, the offenses of “failure to fulfill the duty to defend the Fatherland” and “counteracting the distortion of historical truth” would be added to the existing list of offenses subject to preventive measures.

Earlier, it was reported that beginning on January 21, photojournalists representing media organizations are no longer allowed to take photographs during plenary sessions of the Russian State Duma.

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