Russia's crackdown on war protests has led to a Moscow man, 40, being fined 10,000 rubles for an "unauthorized protest" because he wore blue and yellow sneakers.
Those are the colors of the Ukraine flag.
The shoes, according to photos on Facebook, were a shade of blue and had yellow soles. The man was reportedly going to the store and was stopped by police for the color of his sneakers, according to the MSK1.ru report.
"He was stopped by the police, put in a paddy wagon and said that he had a means of political agitation on his feet," the man's lawyer told the outlet. "He is calm, obviously not one of those who are about protests. He is one of those who understand everything, not the first day he lives in this country. On March 6, maybe he would have been surprised, but now it's April 21 out there – he got used to this idea in a month and a half," the lawyer said.
The offense was filed under Part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses by the Butyrsky District Court in Moscow, according to the lawyer.
The fine follows a few other drastic measures taken amid Russia's policing crusade against war dissent, according to the report:
- A man was detained March 28 in Moscow for holding a Mir credit card, which is a "world" card that stood for "peace."
- An April 18 dance to the Soviet era song "Let there always be sunshine" was recognized by police as an "anti-war manifestation."
- A man was detained for having a post with the stars "*** ****," which a court ruled was akin to the slogan "no to war."
While 10,000 rubles sounds like a lot of money for the blue sneaker fine, Russia's devalued currency makes it equivalent to about $129 U.S.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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