The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation noted the need for certain rules, "which would be unacceptable in normal peacetime, but now they should be a mandatory attribute"
MOSCOW, November 17. /tass/. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov believes that censorship and harsh actions of the authorities are needed in wartime.
"Yes, now is a very tough time, a military one that requires tough measures from the authorities," the Kremlin representative said in an interview with the MGIMO 360 student information channel.
"I think that, of course, there should be some censorship in wartime. And there should be certain rules that would be unacceptable in normal peacetime, but now they should be a mandatory attribute," Peskov stressed.
At the same time, he found it difficult to answer the question where the line between criticism and discrediting of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation passes. "Where is the edge? I can't answer that question. It's very thin. And therefore, I would advise all those who, without understanding the essence of the matter, want to speculate so indiscriminately and throw some words of criticism towards our army, towards those who are engaged in a special military operation, to think 10 times," the Kremlin representative said.
Previously, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provided for liability only for discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation abroad. In March 2023, laws were adopted according to which criminal punishment will follow for public actions to discredit any participants of the SVO, including volunteer formations, organizations or persons assisting in the performance of tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The maximum penalty for such a crime is increased from five to seven years in prison. Amendments were also made to Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (CAO). Previously, she was punished only for discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of Russia and its citizens. Now the norms establish that responsibility under this article will also occur in the case of discrediting volunteer formations, organizations or persons assisting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in carrying out the tasks assigned to them.
Responsibility of foreign agents
"As for the rather harsh actions against those who violate the current laws related to foreign agencies, this is in the context of the formation of greater independence of Russia," Peskov believes. He pointed out that "many of those who received money from abroad tried to interfere in Russian politics."
"One fairly smart state has figured out how to deal with this - the United States of America," the Kremlin representative noted, recalling that the law on foreign agents was adopted in the United States in 1938. "This is a fairly tough law, very tough. When they tried to adopt a similar law in Georgia last year, there was almost an uprising there. But the Americans were the first to implement this practice so that no one could interfere with them. More precisely, so that the Communists could not interfere with them," Peskov stressed.
He stated that in the Russian Federation, in order "not to reinvent the wheel," a "similar law" was introduced, although "in some ways it is even softer" than the American one. "That's where foreign agents came from, that's where strict rules came from. Everyone is accusing us of who knows what. But it is very important to understand where the legs grow from," the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation is convinced. He noted that this law "is aimed at protecting our society, our politics from paid interference from the outside."
Speaking about the legislative prosecution for other offenses, Peskov stressed that "law enforcement agencies are also engaged in murderers and rapists, they are engaged resolutely." "Any self-respecting state, of course, must protect its citizens, ensure the right to life, the right to personal security, which is what our state is doing," the Kremlin representative assured.
MGIMO 360 is a student information channel on the site of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) The Russian Foreign Ministry. The channel covers various youth events at MGIMO and beyond, creates entertainment content on various topics and publishes interviews. Since May 2021, the channel's correspondents, as part of the pool of journalists of the Russian Foreign Ministry, have been covering the working visits of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
