Russia criminalises denial of ‘Soviet genocide’ by Nazis during World War II

Russia has formally designated Nazi crimes against the Soviet population during World War II as genocide and criminalised their denial, after President Vladimir Putin signed amendments to the country’s criminal code, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The term “genocide of the Soviet people” has increasingly been used in Russia in recent years. Authorities have also proposed repurposing a closed museum dedicated to the Soviet-era Gulag system into one focused on victims of Nazi crimes.