MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on fines of up to 5,000 rubles or arrest for up to 15 days for individuals and fines of up to 100,000 rubles for an entity for any public attempt to equate the roles of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during World War II.

The document was published on the official Russian legal information website on Saturday.

Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses is supplemented with an article on fines for the violation of the ban, which was stipulated in the federal law, to publicly equate the actions of the leadership, commanders and service members of the Soviet Union with the actions of the leadership and service members of Nazi Germany and the European countries of the Axis alliance during WWII, as well as for denying the Soviet people’s decisive role in Nazi Germany’s defeat and the Soviet Union’s humanitarian mission in the liberation of Europe.

The law stipulates that the breach will entail a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 rubles or administrative arrest for up to 15 days for individuals, a fine of 2,000 to 4,000 rubles for public officials, or a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 rubles for entities. Repeat offenders will be subjected to stiffer penalties.

The Federation Council (the upper house) passed the bill on April 13 after the State Duma (the lower house) approved it on April 6.

Last June, Putin signed into the law a ban on any public attempt to equate the goals and actions of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during World War II, as well as to deny the decisive role of the Soviet people in the victory over fascism.