Feelings are torn

On July 11, 2013, the Deputy Chairman of the Sami Parliament of the Kola Peninsula, Andrei Danilov, sent an appeal to the prosecutor's office demanding an examination of the performance of the creative group "Joy" on June 1 of this year in Murmansk at a concert dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Murmansk region, reports the SOVA Information and Analytical Center . From Danilov’s point of view, the speech falls under Art. 148 of the Criminal Code on insulting religious beliefs and feelings of citizens.

“I received this composition with surprise and insult: the group “Joy” showed a shaman who danced to Buryat throat singing, on his head was wearing a hat of either Buryat or Kalmyk shamans, girls were running like deer in stylized costumes of the Norwegian Sami, and on their heads (they there were) men’s hats, and on top there were fur hoods with ears, on the legs there were harem pants, like Uzbek women. At the end of the performance, they began to jump over the rope and tug of war, and the shaman did a somersault, a ring and showed the bottom break,” Danilov said in a statement. handling.

According to Danilov, he “perceived this speech as an insult to the culture and identity of his people and himself in particular.”

It is unlikely that Danilov’s appeal - the first of the known complaints about insulting religious feelings after the adoption of the new law - will lead to the initiation of a criminal case, SOVA comments: “insulting culture and identity” is not included in the updated article. 148. As Danilov himself explained his initiative in a commentary to a post about it on the website of the FlashNord agency, “the faith and culture of the peoples of the North are components of one chain,” and the exact framework and definitions are not spelled out in the law. It is difficult to disagree with the latter, so in the near future we should expect the appearance of numerous poorly substantiated complaints to law enforcement agencies about insulting religious feelings. The new law brings into the legal field issues that are appropriate in the sphere of public controversy and theological disputes.