Higher fines sought for offending beliefs in Russia Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill conducts night Easter service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on April 24, 2011. UPI/Stringer MOSCOW, March 2 (UPI) -- A Russian lawmaker has proposed a ten-fold increase in fines and up to 15 days' administrative arrest for insulting religious beliefs. Under a bill proposed by United Russia Party member Alexander Sidyakin, fines for offending religious beliefs or desecration of holy objects or symbols would be increased from the current $17-$34 to $170-$340, RIA Novosti reported. Sidyakin said current fines are "insignificant and cannot serve as a deterrent against offending religious feelings." He said the bill came in response to a stunt by the feminist group Pussy Riot in downtown Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral. Five masked members of the female group stormed the church to perform a "punk prayer" criticizing what it called the church's links to the Kremlin. After the incident, Vsevolod Chaplin, a church spokesman, demanded blasphemy be made a criminal offense. City police opened a case against the group on charges of hooliganism, which carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison.