Editor of Astrakhan newspaper accused of promoting Nazi symbols

A criminal case on propaganda of Nazi symbols has been instituted against Alexander Tokarev, an editor of the "Astrakhanskaya Pravda", after the newspaper published an article about the prohibition of the Communist Party in Ukraine.

The "Astrakhanskaya Pravda" is a newspaper of the regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). The original article, authored by Gennady Zyuganov, was posted on the CPRF's website. The article is accompanied by an illustration depicting a person in the Nazi SS uniform with his hand outstretched in a Nazi salute, which appears under a boot with a "Hammer and Sickle" sign.

On January 30, Alexander Tokarev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the edition reprinted the material and the illustration, posted on the official CPRF's website since December 17, 2015.

Nevertheless, the Prosecutor's Office of the Kirov District of Astrakhan has instituted a case namely against Alexander Tokarev after a complaint filed by G. N. Ivanov, a Russian citizen. This is reported by the resolution, a copy of which is available to the editors' office.

Alexander Tokarev has called the criminal case instituted against him "a triumph of the absurd." He has also noted that the article written by Gennady Zyuganov, like an illustration to it, is of "clear anti-Nazi character."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.