Translated material
Prussian knight
The Duma will not discuss the origin of Nazi symbols on the helmet of a Russian riot policeman
The recently “fashionable” fascist theme was reflected in the scandal that erupted a few days ago. At the end of last week, the State Duma gave the Committee on Information Policy a protocol order, in which it asked to check the actions of the editors of the Moscow magazine Esquire, which published a photograph depicting Nazi symbols, and even of a special police unit soldier.The May issue of the Russian-language version of the American publication published a photograph depicting a riot policeman in a helmet, on the back of which the letters “SS” were painted in white paint. Before the photo was republished by Esquire magazine, it became widely known on the Internet. There were even variations.
The author of the protocol order was State Duma deputy from the United Russia faction, first deputy chairman of the Duma Security Committee, chairman of the parliamentary anti-corruption commission Mikhail Grishankov. “A thorough visual analysis gives every reason to believe that the image of the SS symbols on the helmet was applied through editing, that is, the published photograph is falsified,” reads the protocol order from United Russia. -- The actions of the editors of a foreign magazine not only mislead readers, discredit law enforcement officers, and discredit their honor and dignity. They are also a direct violation of the federal law “On Combating Extremist Activities,” which established a ban on the public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols or paraphernalia or symbols that are confusingly similar to them.”
Further, in his protocol instructions, Mr. Grishankov recalls that by the decision of the Nuremberg Tribunal at the end of the Second World War, the SS was recognized as a criminal organization guilty of Nazi crimes: “The publication of such a photograph in a foreign magazine on the eve of Victory Day damaged the image of Russia. The fact of public slander against a law enforcement officer in the performance of his official duties, combined with the public display of Nazi paraphernalia, must receive a worthy legal and political assessment on our part.”
However, the editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine, Philip Bakhtin, categorically denies accusations that the publication falsified the photo. “We spent several days, received a dozen other photographs where the same policeman is depicted in the same helmet, found a dozen witnesses who saw him,” Mr. Bakhtin told a Vremya Novostei correspondent. - Now the authenticity of the photograph is obvious to me. I can’t call this situation anything other than monstrous stupidity.”
As the Vremya Novostey correspondent was told by the staff of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, most likely Mikhail Grishankov’s protocol order will not be considered at the committee meeting. Instead, the order will be sent to the relevant department - presumably, to the prosecutor's office. At the same time, Philip Bakhtin is confident that this matter will not have any unpleasant consequences for the publication. “Since the accusation is clearly far-fetched, this does not threaten us in any way,” the editor of Esquire magazine told Vremya Novostey. “If I’m wrong, life will show.”