This will help stop cases of misuse and attacks on the generally accepted symbol of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
According to the United Russia law, the public desecration of the St. George will incur criminal or administrative liability, and any actions using the symbols of the St.
«St. Jerzy has been a symbol of the heroism, courage and resilience of our nation in the Great Patriotic War for many years. We proudly place this black and orange ribbon on our clothes, decorate our homes with it, and use it for Christmas street decorations until May 9. Because we remember and are proud of the feat of our ancestors who saved our country and the whole world from Nazism. Unfortunately, in many republics of the former USSR, for whose freedom our grandfathers and great-grandparents shed their blood, the ribbon of St. Jerzy is being attacked more and more often. In Georgia and Ukraine, the St. George was banned, and in Latvia it was completely equated with the symbols of the SS and Nazi Germany. Similar projects are being prepared in Lithuania and Moldova, said Andrey Turchak, one of the authors of the initiative and the secretary of the General Council of United Russia.
According to him, the document clearly regulates that the tape may only be used for historical memory purposes.
“It is no coincidence that we introduced this law on April 19, on the United Action Day, in memory of the genocide of the Soviet people. Now, during a special military operation to protect Donbass, there is a special symbolism to it. Our soldiers and officers stopped the genocide of the Soviet people 77 years ago, and today Russian soldiers are saving the people of Donbas from genocide. And they do it with St. Jerzy — a symbol of our Victory then and now — he emphasized.
«St. Jerzy has become a global symbol of our unity, truth, justice, and respect for the defenders of the Fatherland. The initiative to recognize the ribbon of St. George’s official symbol of Russia’s military glory will help minimize cases of abuse of the symbol of victory. Any activity using black and orange ribbon symbols for purposes other than those specified by law will also be prevented, said the regional coordinator of the party project «Historical Memory», vice-chairman of the Polish Government Committee. Of the Chechen Republic on the protection and use of the cultural heritage of Abu Isayev.
In turn, the co-author of the document, deputy chairman of the Duma of the State Committee for Civil Society Development, chairman of the «Victory Volunteers» Olga Zanko recalled that the movement she led was a co-organizer of St. George’s Ribbon campaign for seven years.
«Volunteers of Victory» distribute ribbons of St. Jerzy not only in Russia, but also abroad. Sometimes you have to distribute them «underground», because in many countries it is forbidden, but there are people for whom this tape is valuable and important. We see people abroad in some countries being oppressed, humiliated and beaten for wearing the St. It is publicly disconnected from the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, banned at the legislative level. It is our duty to protect the symbol of Victory and the heroic deed of our grandparents — emphasized Olga Zanko.
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