On July 2, 2014, a controversial law signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin entered into effect, prohibiting obscene language and vulgarity in film, theater shows, mass media, and the visual arts. This law follows principles adopted by the Kremlin to enhance traditional decency values in Russian society, with the intention of securing closer ties to the Orthodox Church. This is the most recent prohibition in a series of measures intended to rebuild conservative mores and promote Russia as an antithesis to the discredited culture of the West. The law imposes drastic sanctions for those who break it, including fines of up to US$72 for individuals and US$1,460 for companies or groups. Distribution licenses for films deemed obscene will be revoked, and it is mandatory that distributors notify consumers expressly of any inappropriate content. According to the AFP news service, the government has not specified which particular expressions will be considered "inappropriate or obscene," but the law reveals a clear desire on the part of the Kremlin to eliminate the everyday colloquial language that has taken root in the community and is known as "mat." Some assert that some words common in this slang are highly offensive to Russian citizens and must be censored, while supporters argue that it is a form of art that makes possible to express extreme human conditions of suffering and rage. The law has been ridiculed, as "mat" is assumed to be inherent to contemporary culture and impossible to eradicate. The future of renowned personalities in the realms of Russian literature and film, such as Alexander Pushkin and Andrei Zvyagintsev, looks uncertain under the new law, which—like a similar law against the public spread of homosexual behavior and expressions—is as vague and unspecific about what it actually prohibits, as to render anything running counter to official susceptibilities subject to censorship.