The video shows the moment a young man lights a cigarette from the eternal flame dedicated to the fallen war heroes and is immediately arrested by police
Man Who Lit Cigarette From The Eternal Flame Detained By Police pic.twitter.com/xQqP02gAz3
— NewsX (@newsx_media) July 13, 2023
The unknown man lit the cigarette from the eternal flame of the mass grave on the Alley of Heroes in the Central District of the Hero City, in Volgograd, Russia.
He was detained by a squad of the patrol service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Volgograd. He turned out to be a 29-year-old visitor from another region.
According to local media, the detained man is a resident of the Yaroslavl region and was visiting the site as a tourist.
The police have launched an investigation into the matter. according to an official press release, and it resulted in the initiation of a criminal case under Art. 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – “Desecration of the bodies of the dead and places of their burial,”
According to the law, the sanction of the above article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation involves a fine of up to 340 GBP or 40,000 rubles, correctional labour for up to one year or arrest for up to three months.
This is not the first incident, on July 2, a 15-year-old teenager was detained in the same place for lit a cigarette from the sacred place.
Earlier on May 15, a resident of Moscow burned her personal things in the Eternal Flame . In a different incident same month , on May 27, a resident of the Sverdlovsk region lit a cigarette.
The mass grave with an obelisk and an eternal flame is a historical monument of federal significance, located at The Square of the Fallen Fighters in the central square of Volgograd.