"Dollar," euro" are banned words for Russian officials

(RIA Novosti) - Russia's lower house of parliament passed in first reading Wednesday a bill that would ban lawmakers and other officials from using the terms "dollar" and "euro" in domestic economic debates.

"When speaking in public, including in the mass media, members of the government must not use foreign currency terms ... to give information about the cost of goods, work, services, property, the sums of closed deals, budget indexes at any level of the Russian budget system, state and municipal borrowings, or state and municipal debts," the bill said.

With 300 votes needed, the bill was backed by 384 deputies, with none against and one abstention.

The bill was proposed by Yevgeny Velikhov, the head of the Russian Public Chamber, a new body set up to act as a bridge between the pubic and the authorities, and was later backed by the pro-presidential United Russia faction.