MOSCOW, November 18 A criminal case on the rehabilitation of Nazism was opened against a man who tried to extinguish the Eternal Flame on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, senior assistant to the head of the capital's head office of the RF IC, Yulia Ivanova, told reporters.
The capital's prosecutor's office reported that on Saturday night a 49-year-old man tried to extinguish the Eternal Flame by pouring liquid into it from a plastic bottle, and also scattered wreaths laid in memory of those killed during the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill. The man was detained, and a case was opened against him under Article 243.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “damage to monuments, steles, obelisks, other memorial structures or objects perpetuating the memory of those killed defending the Fatherland or its interests during the Great Patriotic War.”
«A criminal case has been opened against a 49-year-old man. He is suspected of committing a crime under Part 3 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (rehabilitation of Nazism),» Ivanova said.
She also clarified that the man was intoxicated.
The suspect was taken to the department of the capital’s Investigative Committee, investigators began interrogating him.