A resident of Yamal who threw a fox’s corpse into the Eternal Flame is to be tried on charges of rehabilitating Nazism.

The Investigative Committee has sent the case of a resident of Novy Urengoy, who is accused of desecrating a symbol of military glory and insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland (Part 3, Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code), to court. This was reported by the Investigative Committee Directorate for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

According to the investigation, on 31 December 2024, an intoxicated man threw the corpse of a fox into the Eternal Flame.

The SOVA Research Centre questions the legal classification of the man’s actions and believes that a charge of vandalism would be more appropriate:

“The list of symbols of military glory has still not been clearly defined by Russian legislation—this status is only attached to the St George ribbon. As for insulting the memory of unspecified defenders of the Fatherland, the criminalisation of such vaguely defined acts is hardly in line with international human rights standards.”

The centre also recalled that the United Nations Human Rights Committee had previously expressed concern about laws addressing actions such as disrespect for the flag and state symbols.