A group of Russian lawmakers have submitted a bill to parliament on holding to account anyone who denies that the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces was "genocide."
The leader of Russia's opposition A Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, said on November 25 that the bill proposes a fine of up to 500,000 rubles (more than $7,500) for any denial of what is considered by Armenia and some other countries as genocide.
The move by Russian lawmakers was made a day after the Turkish air force shot down a Russian jet near the Syrian-Turkish border.
Armenia claims Ottoman troops systematically killed some 1.5 million Armenians and deported many more from their traditional homeland.
Turkey counters that atrocities were committed by both sides and that Armenians killed many Turks.
Russia is among the 25 countries that has recognized the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.
