The legislation, which was signed off by President Vladimir Putin in May, imposes hefty fines on offenders -- USD 72 for individuals and up to USD 1,460 for businesses.
Movies featuring obscenities will not be issued a distribution licence, while traders will now be obliged to warn consumers about swear words.
The legislation does not spell out what constitutes profanity but the law is widely seen to be targeting Russia's hugely potent lingua franca of obscenities known as "mat".
Many ridiculed the legislation, saying efforts to outlaw what essentially is an inalienable part of Russia's culture will fail.
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Some of Russia's best-loved poets including Mikhail Lermontov and Alexander Pushkin are known for using swear words in their works.
Art-house director Andrei Zvyagintsev's movie "Leviathan", which won critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival in May, is among films that now face an uncertain future in Russia over their use of swear words.
The ban is the latest in a series of measures that seek to play up conservatives values and promote Russia as an antithesis to the West.