Wow. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

From BLABBERMOUTH:

According to The Moscow Times, the Russian government is in the process of drafting a law to make emo and goth music illegal.

Last month a parliamentary committee was convened to discuss a draft proposal of the Russian government’s “Government Strategy In The Sphere Of Spiritual And Ethical Education” bill, the details of which were leaked to The Moscow Times. Among other measures, the proposed legislation calls for heavy regulation of emo web sites and for banning young people dressed like emos from entering schools and government buildings.

The bill also outlines what it calls a “spiritual and ethical crisis” facing Russian youth, including the high rate of alcohol abuse, teen abortions and “negative youth movements.”

Emo ideology encourages and justifies drug use and sexual relations among minors, according to the bill, which also lumps emos and goths together with skinheads.

“The point of the bill is so that by 2020, Moscow will have someone to rule its government,” said Alexander Grishunin, an adviser to Public Chamber member Yevgeny Yuryev, one of the bill’s three coordinators. “This is the first step in the public discourse.”

The bill’s sponsors hope that it will be passed into law by the end of the year.