The trial of the desecration of the memorial has begun in Novosibirsk

In Novosibirsk, a trial of a group of vandals has begun. As indicated in the investigation materials, in December 2014, in support of the Ukrainian radical movement “Right Sector” banned in Russia and its Azov battalion, young people painted the objects of the memorial complex dedicated to the feat of Siberians in the Great Patriotic War - a rocket launcher - in the colors of the Ukrainian flag "Katyusha" and T-34 tank. The Lenin monument and the headquarters of the regional branches of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and United Russia also suffered from their actions.

The Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk began considering a criminal case of vandalism. There are four defendants in the dock: Kirill Korzhavin, Vladislav Shipovalov, Sergei Belov, as well as minor Nazar K., nicknamed Syringe (as he was nicknamed in the weightlifting section: teammates believed that the weightlifter achieved impressive muscle growth by using steroids). As stated in the case, the young people agreed on the latest events in Ukraine: they spoke out for the justification of the Kyiv authorities conducting military operations in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, supported the ideas of the radical movement “Right Sector” and its paramilitary battalion “Azov”.

The vandals made their first attack on the night of December 3, 2014. At the headquarters of the local branch of the Communist Party, they, as stated in the case, cut the cable of the flagpole with metal scissors and removed the red flag with the symbols of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation; they painted a mustache, a tie and a fascist swastika on the bust of Lenin. Then, in Kirill Korzhavin’s Nissan Cube, we went to the office of the regional branch of United Russia. The young people painted over the signs on the facade with black paint, and on the door they left a swastika and the sign of the Wolfsangel rune in the form of the letter N crossed out in the middle, used in Nazi symbols.

Having gotten their hands on the offices of political parties, the vandals took on more serious “work.” According to the case materials, on the night of December 12, a three-meter Lenin monument near the Mining Institute for the Design of Coal Enterprises was painted yellow and blue with aerosol cans and paint brushes, and the inscription “Glory to Ukraine” was written on the pedestal. Their next object was a memorial complex in honor of the feat of Siberians in the Great Patriotic War. The young people painted the cabin and radiator of the Katyusha rocket launcher in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and painted the sign of the Wolfsangel rune on the wings of the car. They painted the turret of the T-34 tank in the same colors and wrote “Azov” on the memorial plaque.

Novosibirsk police opened a case under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - vandalism (Part 2 of Article 214, sanction - up to three years) and desecration of an architectural structure dedicated to the fight against fascism (Part 2 of Article 214, sanction - up to five years). Within a couple of days, the suspects were detained by officers of the Novosibirsk departments of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The arrest of Kirill Korzhavin and Vladislav Shipovalov was sanctioned by the court, Sergei Belov and minor Nazar K. were released on their own recognizance. According to the case materials, like-minded people discussed plans for a trip to Ukraine, one of them even communicated via Skype with battalion soldiers.

At the end of March, the criminal case was submitted to the court for consideration, and yesterday the judicial investigation began. After listening to the prosecutor’s speech, only Vladislav Shipovalov fully admitted his guilt. “I repent of what I did and apologize to all veterans and Novosibirsk residents for my stupid act,” he said. The other defendants admitted partial guilt. As senior assistant prosecutor of the Leninsky district Zhanna Leonova told Kommersant, first of all the participants in the trial will interrogate witnesses, then they will examine the case materials and interrogate the defendants.

Konstantin Voronov, Novosibirsk

The paint was removed from the vandals