The candidates for deputies of the City Duma of Novgorod from Yabloko Valery Kochnev and Oksana Sergeeva were issued protocols on the demonstration of prohibited symbols (Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). This is reported by a member of the Novgorod branch of the party Ksenia Cherepanova.
The reason for compiling a protocol against Kochnev was a post published two years ago on his VKontakte page with a video for the song Zombie by the Irish group Cranberries, which contains footage of a chronicle of the times of Nazi Germany. Kochnev explained to OVD-Info that he published the video because of his anti-fascist beliefs.
The protocol against Sergeyeva was drawn up because last year she published four photos with a white-blue-white flag on her VKontakte page. The police considered it a symbol of the Freedom of Russia Legion, which is fighting in Ukraine on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The punishment under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which has entered into force, prohibits participation in any elections during the year. These rules were introduced in June 2021, a few days before the court recognized the FBK and Navalny’s headquarters as “extremist” organizations and banned them in Russia.