Russia will sanction up to five years in prison for those who dishonor the ribbon of Saint George

MOSCOW, 20 Dec. (DPA/EP) –

The Russian Parliament has approved a new legislation that penalizes with fines of up to 70,000 euros and imprisonment of up to five years whoever dishonors the military ribbon of Saint George, symbol of the invasion of Ukraine.

“The ribbon of Saint George is one of the symbols of Russia’s military glory,” reads the bill presented to Parliament on Tuesday.

According to the deputy Andrei Kartapolov, it was necessary to approve this new rule because in Ukraine people are “tortured and even killed” for wearing the orange and black colors of the military ribbon.

The Saint George ribbon has historically been used as a memento of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, although in the Ukrainian context it has been used by Russian sympathizers after the 2014 Crimean War.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, several former Soviet republics have passed legislation to prohibit their being shown in public. Among the prohibited Russian symbology are also the letters ‘V’ and ‘Z’, drawn on some Russian tanks.