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Agence France-Presse 30.07.12 MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill punishing people for homosexual "propaganda" in a move critics fear will fuel hate crimes. Rights activists and Western governments have criticised bthe bill as part of an unprecedented crackdown on dissenting voices. The anti-propaganda law introduces fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($156) for citizens who disseminate information aimed at minors "directed at forming nontraditional sexual setup" or which may cause a "distorted understanding" that gay and heterosexual relations are "socially equivalent". Opponents have called the bill homophobic and so vaguely defined that it would...

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) – President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill banning the promotion of “homosexual propaganda” among minors, Russia’s official website of legal information said on Sunday. The law will levy fines for such offenses from 800,000 rubles ($24,000) to 1 million rubles ($30,500) for legal entities, from 4,000 rubles ($120) to 5,000 rubles ($150) for individuals and from 40,000 rubles ($1,220) to 50,000 rubles ($1,530) for officials. Legal entities may also be suspended for 90 days for disseminating gay propaganda among children. Gay propaganda with the use of mass media or Internet resources will...