A criminal case has been opened against three St Petersburg residents for “rehabilitating Nazism” over the “desecration” of the “Blockade Tram.”

The Investigative Committee’s office for the Kirovsky district of St Petersburg has opened a case against three residents under group desecration of symbols of military glory charges (Article 354.1, part 4 of the Criminal Code), after they climbed onto the roof of the “Blockade Tram” memorial in Avtovo. This was reported on the Investigative Committee’s website.

According to law enforcement, during the night of 27 to 28 July, the suspects climbed onto the roof of the “Blockade Tram,” broke a memorial plaque and several elements of the monument. As the pro-government channel “Mash na Moyke” reported, one of the men also urinated on the memorial. The entire incident was recorded on video.

St Petersburg media report that the suspects are still being sought.

On 30 July, the Kirovsky District Court of St Petersburg placed the three suspects under house arrest until 27 September. This was reported by the press service of the city’s courts.

Investigators had requested that the men be placed in a pre-trial detention facility. They have already been charged.

The names of the suspects have also become known: they are Mikhail Dmitriev, Ivan Trunov and Anatoly Semenov.

• The “Blockade Tram” is a monument to public transport that operated in besieged Leningrad. During the blockade, trams remained among the few ways to transport soldiers, evacuate residents, deliver food and so on between districts of the city. The memorial carriage was installed in St Petersburg in 2007 as a reminder of the courage and resilience of Leningrad’s residents.