The Russian State Duma has approved a draft law in its first reading that introduces criminal liability for desecrating military graves, monuments, and other objects commemorating those who died defending the Fatherland. The maximum penalty under the initiative is imprisonment for up to five years for the destruction or damage of these memorial structures.

This legislative move comes in response to a reported increase in desecration incidents, with over 370 “high-profile facts” recorded across Russia since February 2022, which, according to the explanatory note to the bill, “did not receive due criminal legal assessment.”

Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigative Committee, advocated for stricter penalties for such acts at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum in late May.

Bastrykin characterized the amendments to the Criminal Code as “another step to increase the level of criminal law protection of military graves.”

The current law establishes liability for the destruction or damage of monuments. However, the explanatory note to the bill states that the existing Article 243.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not specifically address illegal acts such as desecration.