The presence of Nazi and Soviet symbols will be punished in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture is proposing to introduce fines for storing Nazi and Soviet symbols in the country with the intention of distributing them. LRT reported this on Monday, September 16.

Thus, the ministry responded to the bill, which was registered in April by the Chairman of the Seimas Committee on Culture Vytautas Juozapaitis and the Minister of Defense Laurynas Kasciunas.

Their document suggested not only banning the distribution and display of Nazi and Soviet symbols on the territory of Lithuania, but also their import for transit into the country.

The Ministry supported these changes, but added the need for administrative responsibility for those who maintain the relevant symbols for the purpose of distributing them.

“The Ministry of Culture of Lithuania proposes to empower Lithuanian customs officials to initiate cases of administrative violations, conduct investigations and make protocols currently, this is done by the police and the State Border Guard Service,” the ministry said in a statement.

It will be noted that the draft resolution needs to be approved by the government. After that, the document will be returned to parliament for further consideration.

The LRT publication added that in Lithuania there is already a ban on public demonstrations and dissemination of Nazi and Soviet symbols, as well as images of the leaders of these regimes. For individuals, fines range from 300 to 700 euros, and for managers of legal entities – from 600 to 1,200 euros.

Let’s recall that in the city of Wiesbaden in Germany, the court fined a man 1,500 euros for wearing a T-shirt with the symbol of Russian aggression – the letter Z. Moreover, the fine must be paid to an organization that provides help the Ukrainians.