Genocide of the Soviet people is a novel concept introduced in early 21st century in Russia. It classifies the actions of Nazi Germany and its allies as genocide of the Soviet citizens.Russia coined the term ‘genocide of the Soviet people.’ Now it wants to jail deniers — a move unprecedented even in the USSR. Meduza, February 27, 2026 It was formalized in the Russian Federal Law No. 74-ФЗ of April 21, 2025 "On the Perpetuation of the Memory of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945" ().Федеральный закон от 21.04.2025 г. № 74-ФЗ Об увековечении памяти жертв геноцида советского народа в период Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 годов
Other major official developments in this respect are the declaring April 19 to be the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet PeopleВладимир Путин установил 19 апреля Днём памяти жертв геноцида советского народа and the replacement of the with the Museum of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide of the Soviet People, announced in February 2026.Музей истории ГУЛАГа станет Музеем памяти геноцида советского народа
Commentators point out that this concept was absent in the Soviet Union and question both the motives underlying the introduction of the concept and whether it fits the commonly accepted definition of genocide.
Background
For the first time the term "genocide of the peoples of the Soviet Union" was officially used in an October 2020 ruling of the 2019 case related to the killing of the Soviet civilians near the village of .Russian Court Rules That Mass WWII Killings In Pskov Region Were Genocide
Russian law
The 2025 Russian law defines the concept as follows:
In March–April 2026 a federal law introduced changes in the Criminal Code of Russia in this regard. Article 2434 criminalizes attacks on the burial sites of victims of the genocide of the Soviet people and objects perpetuating their memory, in Russia and abroad. Article 3541criminalizes the denial of the genocide of the Soviet people, approval of this genocide, and insulting the memory of its victims.
Similar laws were introduced in Belarus.
See also Generalplan Ost Siege of Leningrad
References