The regional court confirmed the fine of a Chelyabinsk resident for a post with a still from a comedy about Nazis on the Moon

On January 27, 2016, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court rejected the appeal of a local resident Ivan Alekseev, who on November 24, 2015 was fined under Part 1 of Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (public display of Nazi symbols) for posting on a social network a frame from the comedy Iron Sky about the Nazis on the moon. Thus, the regional court agreed with the decision of the lower instance - the Metallurgical Court of Chelyabinsk, whose decision was upheld.

Ivan Alekseev was fined 1,000 rubles for posting in October 2012 on his personal page on the VKontakte social network a frame from the film Iron Sky containing Nazi symbols. This is a fantastic comedy about the war of earthlings with the Nazis, who took refuge after World War II on the moon. The lawyer of the Chelyabinsk resident filed an appeal, stating that the time limit for bringing to justice had expired in the case, territorial jurisdiction had been violated, and Alekseev had no intention to demonstrate specifically Nazi symbols, let alone engage in propaganda.

According to the Information and Analytical Center "Sova" , this case is an example of the unlawful application of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, since the publication of a frame from a feature film in itself cannot be interpreted as promoting Nazi ideology. However, as Sova notes, Russian anti-extremist legislation punishes any display of Nazi symbols without regard to context.