Nikolay Zimirev. Photo: social media
A court in the southern Russian city of Sochi has sentenced cross-country skiing champion Nikolay Zimirev to 15 days in prison for “demonstrating extremist symbols” after he posted a picture of a flag associated with the Russian anti-war movement, independent media outlet 7x7 reported on Wednesday.
Zimirev’s VK post.
Zimirev was arrested on 22 February for posting a picture from a June protest in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to mark opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s birthday in which a person can be seen holding a white-blue-white flag.
The white-blue-white flag, which replaces the red stripe in the Russian national flag with a white one, has been used by Russian anti-war protesters since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zimirev, who is now retired and works as a coach in Sochi, was initially detained on 17 February for laying flowers at a makeshift memorial to Navalny, whose death had been reported the day before, but he was released later the same day without charge.
