The State Duma adopted amendments to the criminal article on «property damage» in the second and third readings. In the second, more severe part of this article, punishment will be prescribed for damaging things due to «political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred». The punishment is up to five years in prison.
The explanatory note to the bill states that in several regions of Russia, there have been increasing cases of destruction or damage to the property of citizens and organizations that have placed symbols in support of the «SVO» on buildings, structures, and vehicles.
Currently, cases under the second part of the article on «property damage» are initiated due to arson of military enlistment offices or equipment on the railway, but increasingly, people in these cases are being charged with «sabotage» or «terrorism».