Russia Criminalizes Denial of German World War II Crimes

Russian President Vladimir Putin honouring the victims of the Siege of Leningrad, including his brother, in January 2020 -- image via the President of Russia website, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Junge Welt, Online Extra: April 9, 2026. Translated by Helmut-Harry Loewen.

Russia officially considers Nazi crimes against the Soviet population during World War II to be genocide and has defined denial of this genocide a criminal offence. According to the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin signed corresponding amendments to the country’s Criminal Code. The term “genocide against the Soviet people” has been in use in Russia for some time. Russia opposes attempts to downplay the suffering of the people in the Soviet Union during the war or the Soviet contribution to the victory over the Nazis.

The German occupiers committed the most serious war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944. The nearly three-year siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) by the Wehrmacht alone killed an estimated 1.1 million people. So far, only parts of the occupation policy have been classified as genocide aimed at the destruction of an ethnic group — namely, the murder of Jews as well as Sinti and Roma.

The Moscow legislation could have consequences for scholars, journalists, and others who deny the genocide of the Soviet people. Offenders face fines of up to three years’ income or forced labor for up to three years. Anyone who desecrates or damages memorials to victims of the occupation will be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to three years. This provision is intended to apply both in Russia and abroad. It could therefore also affect the dismantling of a cemetery for Soviet prisoners of war in Germany. In Ukraine, the Baltic states, and other Eastern European countries, many war memorials have been dismantled in recent years. (dpa/jW)

Original article: Russland bestraft Leugnung deutscher Weltkriegs-Verbrechen. Junge Welt, 09.04.2026.