Ulyanovsk school student fined for comparing Russian Z and V symbols with the Nazi Waffen SS

A court in Ulyanovsk has fined an eleventh-grader 15,000 rubles (€230) for comparing the Russian Z and V symbols with the Waffen SS symbols of the Nazi Germany, says Mediazona.

The young man was found guilty of “discrediting the Russian army”. He left a comment on a local Instagram profile, saying: “Well, they had SS before, now it’s ZV”. He pleaded guilty during the court session on 11 May and said he had no idea as to why he wrote such a comment.

The court also pointed out that the Russian Defence Ministry had interpreted the meaning behind those symbols earlier: “Z means Za pobedu [for the victory] or Zadacha budet vypolnena [the goal will be accomplished], while V stands for Sila v pravde [truth is the real power]. These symbols have become popular and are “related to the lawful actions of the Russian army in Ukraine,” the court said.

The Russian Defence Ministry stated earlier that the Z and V symbols “are not official military symbols and have no meaning behind them”.

An 11-year-old school student was put on probation in the city of Kamyshin in Russia’s Volgograd Region for “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces on social media earlier. A school raid was held by local police officers on April 14 - April 22. As a result of the raid, 13 messages “of illegal, suicidal or extremist nature,” as well as messages “promoting criminal subcultures” were found on children’s social media pages. These messages were blocked, along with three websites with “illegal content,” local police informed.

In total, 146 administrative protocols were filed by police, including 21 charges filed against teenagers. Local police officers have held 2,045 lectures explaining liability for misdemeanours and inspected the households of 1,466 minors and their parents.