New Russian law bans book covers with Nazi symbols

The new legislation is the latest in a string of Russia's strict laws around distortion of the Soviet Union’s role in World War II.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
DESPITE THE evil brand-recognition the title has, few people have read ‘Mein Kampf.’ Dr. Oded Heilbroner will discuss it on July 1 at Holtzer Books. (photo credit: ERIKA FLETCHER/UNSPLASH)
DESPITE THE evil brand-recognition the title has, few people have read ‘Mein Kampf.’ Dr. Oded Heilbroner will discuss it on July 1 at Holtzer Books.
(photo credit: ERIKA FLETCHER/UNSPLASH)
A new law in Russia is cracking down on book covers with Nazi symbols, mandating bookstores to remove offending history books from their shelves, the Calvert Journal reported. 
Among the changes generated from the legislation, sent out by the Russian Book Union, includes an amendment which forbids writers from depicting an equivalence between Nazi and Stalinist crimes.
Large Nazi propaganda images on the cover will not be tolerated under any circumstance, Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly told booksellers. But reference information or an image inside the book will be considered, the Journal said. 
The new legislation is the latest in a string of Russia's strict laws around distortion of the Soviet Union’s role in World War II. 
In May 2014, Putin signed a law making the denial of Nazi crimes a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in jail.
Russian bookstores made headlines in 2015 when they began removing the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus from their shelves due to the large swastika on its cover, JTA reported. 
Reuters contributed to this report.


Related Tags
Russia
Nazi
books