Russia Moves to Ban Swearing in Movies

Invasion of a neighboring country? Fine. Laws against "homosexual propaganda"? That's OK, too. But curse words in film? Intolerable. Russia's lower parliament has passed legislation that bans swearing in films, plays, concerts, and shows, reports the BBC. Scofflaws would face fines. If the upper house goes along and Vladimir Putin signs off, the law would take effect in July. But first, a special committee would have to draw up a list of no-no words.

That would apparently include "hrenovina," which the BBC describes as a "colorful expression for nonsense" that got bleeped out of a TVC broadcast of the popular Soviet movie, Garage. Its director called the censorship "an act of idiocy." Meanwhile, bloggers might have to rein in the urge to swear, too. A separate measure that cleared the lower house declares that all those who have 3,000 or more visitors per day must steer clear of obscene language and sign posts with their real names, reports RT. (More Russia stories.)