Sochi court fines driver for white-blue-white flag on car license plate

The Central District Court of Sochi fined Sergei Roldugin two thousand rubles for a white-blue-white flag on the rear license plate of his car. This follows from the ruling published on the court's website, which was brought to the attention of Mediazona.

Roldugin, registered in the village of Lezhanka in the Omsk region, was found guilty under the protocol on the demonstration of extremist symbols (Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

The decision states that the man installed on the back of his car “a license plate frame with a graphic image representing a modified Russian flag with three equal horizontal stripes, on which the red stripe replaces the white one, which is the established attribute of the military unit “Legion of Freedom of Russia”” (spelling and punctuation preserved — MZ).

Roldugin admitted his guilt in full and asked to be given the minimum sentence, the court explained.

In May 2023, a court in Zelenograd fined two local residents for similar charges of displaying extremist symbols due to flags on their car license plates. The court concluded that the women were "displaying" the Freedom of Russia Legion flag — they themselves said in court that the red paint had faded from the license plates.