![Putin meets with Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia members Russia's president Vladimir Putin at a meeting with representatives of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia in Moscow on May 1, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/putin.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
By Dan Kedmey
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday that will ban swearing in films, music and public performances.
Explicit books and CDs will have to be sold in sealed packages with a warning that reads “contains obscene language,” CNN reports.
The law will levy fines as high as $1,400 against organizations and $70 against individual offenders. Repeat offenders could face steeper fines and a 3-month suspension of business.
A panel of obscenity experts will define the finer points of the law, deciding which words could damage the Kremlin’s stated goal of “protecting and developing language culture.”
[CNN]
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