A resident of Orenburg region who lit a cigarette from the Eternal Flame is being prosecuted for “rehabilitating Nazism”

A case has been opened against an 18-year-old resident of Novotroitsk, Orenburg region (a city in the southern Urals), who lit a cigarette from the Eternal Flame. He is being prosecuted for desecration of symbols of military glory on the internet (Part 4, Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the regional Investigative Committee.

According to investigators, on 7 August, the young man lit a cigarette using the Eternal Flame in the “Internationalist Soldiers” square in Novotroitsk. Investigators allege that he also “uttered insults and obscene words,” and sent a video recorded on his phone to a city Telegram channel.

A pre-trial restriction measure has been imposed on the young man. The Investigative Committee did not specify which measure was chosen. The name of the accused is also unknown.

“I apologise to the mothers, wives and children of soldiers of the Soviet Union for desecrating their memory with my actions,” the Novotroitsk resident said on camera after being detained.