Comparing the USSR to Nazi Germany became a crime in Russia on Wednesday when the State Duma adopted amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, Russian news outlet RT reports.

According to the Duma, Russians could face punishment for publicly identifying "the goals, decisions, and actions of the leadership of the USSR, the command and military personnel of the USSR with the goals, decisions and actions of the leadership of Nazi Germany … as well as the denial of the decisive role of the Soviet people in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the humanitarian mission of the USSR during the liberation of European countries."

The prohibition extends to publication of such comparison in the media or on the Internet, or making the comparison in a speech.

According to RT, fines for citizens could range from 1,000 to 2,000 rubles ($12.01-$24.01) and 1,000 to 4,000 rubles for officials ($12.01-$48.02). For legal entities, the fines would range from 10,000 to 50,000 rubles ($120.08-$600.43).

Citizen repeat offenders could be fined 2,500 to 5,000 rubles ($30.14-$60.20) or administrative arrest for up to 15 days, according to the Duma, while officials who repeat the offense could face fines of 5,000 to 20,000 rubles ($60.20-$240.83) or disqualification for six months to one year.

Legal entities would have to pay 50,000 to 100,000 rubles ($601.97-$1,204.46) or an administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days.

According to RT, Elena Yampolskaya, the chair of the committee on culture and the co-author of the bill, said the law levies the same fines that apply to the illegal use of Nazi symbols.

"In recent years, 'experts' from Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic countries, local 'political scientists' have actively slandered the history of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War, and now slander is against our Armed Forces, which are fighting for the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine," Yampolskaya said. "When we fight these fakes, we are protecting the honor of our soldiers, and this is the least we can do for them.

"When we are fighting slander against the Great Patriotic War, we are defending the honor of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, who can no longer stand up for themselves."

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