MOSCOW, August 25 (RAPSI) – Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office vows to provide its explanatory notes to the federal law that introduces criminal liability for whitewashing or glorifying Nazism, and spreading false information about the Soviet Union’s role in World War II, Izvestia newspaper reported on Monday.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has reportedly joined its efforts with other law enforcement agencies in order to prevent the revival of Nazi ideology and the glorification of Nazi criminals.

First of all, they will reportedly adjust the wording of the law by saying what is meant by ‘Nazism’ and ‘Nazi hero’ and define who may face charges under the law.

On May 5, President Vladimir Putin signed a law that introduces criminal liability of up to five years in prison for rehabilitating or glorifying Nazism, for denying the facts established at the Nuremberg Trials and for spreading false information about the Soviet Union’s role in World War II. The law also introduces fines for desecrating Russian military glory dates or monuments.

The term “rehabilitation of Nazism and glorification of Nazi criminals and their accomplices” is interpreted as “the restoration of the rights, the issuance of state or public awards and the provision of other state and public incentives for Nazi criminals and their accomplices, the public justification of the Nazi ideology and practices, and the public promotion of the Nazi ideology or any other public actions glorifying Nazi criminals.”

The idea to prosecute individuals who justify Nazi crimes was put forth by State Duma lawmakers in June 2013. Irina Yarovaya, together with a group of supporters from the Russian Popular Front, proposed adding an article to the Criminal Code stipulating fines and prison terms for trying to deny or justify Nazi crimes and Nazi criminals, or for condemning the anti-Hitler coalition’s actions.