Putin yesterday signed legislation that bans outright the use of swear words in films, stage performances and media, prompting a storm of criticism from leading arts figures who called the law unworkable and overly draconian.
The language law comes as part of a broader crackdown on independent media and popular bloggers, apparently aimed at muzzling political debate.
The government media watchdog today vowed to "strengthen monitoring of the observance of norms and demands of the law banning the use of obscenities in media".
Mainstream Russian media rarely uses obscenities, still seen as shocking. But commentators on online media often use swear words, raising the possibility that this could trigger a ban.
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"This will be a real headache for editors because of having to clean up comments on websites," the editor of Moi Raion freesheet, Alexei Sinelnikov, told Izvestia daily.
The law, which comes into force on July 1, introduces fines of up to USD 1,410 and says that films that contain swear words will be refused distribution licences.
"It is a sanctimonious law. The people who initiated it don't talk any other way," Mikhail Ugarov, a renowned playwright and director, told Moskovsky Komsomolets daily.
The law would force alterations to texts that are protected by copyright, Ugarov added.
"Russian life is becoming more and more hypocritical, insincere and prudish," award-winning theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov wrote on Facebook, saying swear words had been declared "enemies of the people."
"We will really miss them," he said.
Russia has already introduced compulsory age certification for everything from concerts to stage plays to television shows.
Russian has a richly developed system of obscenities, many originating from prison and criminal slang.
Putin himself makes a point of talking tough and using coarse language in phrases such as his famous pledge "to wipe out (militants) in the outhouse".