A resident of Syktyvkar who poured lemonade on the Eternal Flame was sentenced to forced labor

26-year-old Vasily Zadorozhny was found guilty of desecrating symbols of Russia's military glory and insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland.

On October 2, 2023, the Supreme Court of Komi sentenced Syktyvkar resident Vasily Zadorozhny to 100 hours of compulsory labor. He was found guilty under Part 3 of Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code (desecration of symbols of Russia’s military glory, public insult to the memory of defenders of the Fatherland).

The criminal prosecution of Zadorozhny became known on April 15, 2023. As a preventive measure, the court ordered him to prohibit certain actions. According to investigators, on April 12, 2023, Zadorozhny, while intoxicated, came to the Eternal Glory memorial, doused the flame of the Eternal Flame with lemonade and thus extinguished it. According to law enforcement agencies, by his actions the Syktyvkar resident desecrated one of the symbols of Russia’s military glory and insulted the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland who died during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. On June 14, 2023, the Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Komi Republic reported on the completion of the investigation into the criminal case.

We believe that Zadorozhny’s hooligan behavior deserves condemnation. However, criminal prosecution can be justified only if crimes are committed that pose a significant danger to society, which we do not see in this case. Moreover, even if we understand by desecration of monuments not only their direct damage, such “desecration” may not be qualified under Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code, and under Art. 214 of the Criminal Code (vandalism). We also note that the list of symbols of military glory has not yet been precisely defined by Russian legislation - such a status is assigned only to the St. George Ribbon . As for insulting the memory of unspecified defenders of the Fatherland, the criminalization of acts defined so abstractly hardly meets international legal standards in the field of human rights. Let us also recall that in General Comment No. 34 to Art. 19 (freedom of opinion and expression) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The UN Human Rights Committee expresses concern about laws regarding acts such as, in particular, disrespect for flags and symbols.

Sources

• Criminal case card No. 2-16/2023 // Supreme Court of the Komi Republic. 2023. December 8.
• A verdict was passed on a resident of Syktyvkar who was found guilty of desecrating a memorial perpetuating the memory of those killed during the Great Patriotic War // Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for the Komi Republic. 2023. October 21.
• The investigation of the criminal case on the rehabilitation of Nazism has been completed // Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Komi Republic. 2023. June 14.
• The court chose a preventive measure against a resident of Syktyvkar, detained for the desecration of the “Eternal Glory” memorial // Syktyvkar City Court of the Komi Republic. 2023. April 17.
• A preventive measure was chosen for the accused of rehabilitating Nazism // Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Komi Republic. 2023. April 17.
• A criminal case was opened against a resident of Syktyvkar for allegedly pouring lemonade on the Eternal Flame. //Astra. Telegram. 2023. April 15.