Moscow raided the identification of Nazi symbols

The Moscow authorities conducted the first raids on shops for the presence of goods with Nazi symbols. This was announced by the head of the regional security department Alexey Mayorov.

His department, as well as the department of commerce and councils of public order policing centers, identified 17 products allegedly with elements of Nazi symbolism. These are books, including second-hand books, prefabricated toys and models, and chess.

“In accordance with the mayor’s instructions, more than 1,7 thousand retail places were examined, special attention was paid to stores that sell children’s goods, souvenirs and books,” Mayorov noted.

Social activists found kits for assembling German military equipment of the Great Patriotic War with appropriate symbols, books with the biography of Adolf Hitler and a swastika, as well as a chessboard with black figures of officers and soldiers of the Third Reich in black uniform with fascist symbols.

According to Mayorov, all inspection materials were transferred to the prosecutor's office for further examination. “We are not seizing anything, we are identifying goods that may be included in the list of either extremist or propaganda of Nazi symbols, and the prosecutor’s office will make an assessment after analysis and examination,” explained the head of the department.

Mayorov added that a new list of stores is already being prepared and raids will continue, but only after the first results of prosecutorial checks. “Taking into account the examinations and recommendations of the prosecutor’s office, we will conduct more targeted inspections,” the official noted.

Officials will look for prohibited symbols in clothing stores, souvenir outlets, newsstands, and other retail outlets. Having identified the prohibited materials, civil servants will have to report this to law enforcement agencies.

In April, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code after discovering busts of German soldiers with swastikas in the recently opened Children's World. Rosmolodezh announced that it will check all toy stores in the country for the presence of Nazi symbols.

In addition, the recently famous graphic novel "Maus" about the Holocaust was filmed from the shelves of bookstores in the capital. Store representatives explained this by saying that a swastika was drawn on the cover. Also, the director of one of the Moscow private security companies was fined for the fact that the company’s logo was the so-called “wolf hook” - the emblem of the 2nd SS Panzer Division “Das Reich”.

At the same time, Roskomnadzor issued a clarification that the use of Nazi paraphernalia or symbolism for historical and scientific purposes is permissible. Only the demonstration of symbols as propaganda is forbidden.