A 21-year-old Zambian student has been arrested in Russia after twerking outside a World War II memorial in the central city of Khanty-Mansiysk.
The young woman posted the video on her Instagram account and is now accused of “rehabilitating Nazism”. A Russian investigative commission confirmed that “the Khanty-Mansiysk district initiated criminal proceedings against a 21-year-old citizen of a foreign country”.
She is suspected of having committed a crime under paragraph 4 of article 354.1 of the Russian Criminal Code by having “performed an obscene dance near a memorial with the backdrop of the Eternal Flame, a memorial to the glory of the soldiers of the district who died during the Great Patriotic War”, reports the regional commission of inquiry.
Russian officials in Khanty-Mansiysk have charged a 21-yr-old student from Zambia with “rehabilitating Nazism” because she filmed herself twerking in front of the city’s WWII eternal flame. She faces 5 yrs in jail. Truly hers is the face of … Nazism??? https://t.co/IObbnQ8uxJ pic.twitter.com/OaRwkA2iwH
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) April 19, 2022
“Moving my ass for the dead, I’m sure they sleep well tonight,” reads the description of her Instagram video. The student faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 3 million rubles (about 34,500 euros at today’s rate) if she is officially convicted of desecrating a symbol of Russian military glory.
The Russian investigative committee also released a video where the Zambian student can be seen in an interrogation room where she apologizes. “I didn’t mean the video I posted to be offensive and disrespectful to the dead. I didn’t know what the memorial meant. I sincerely apologize to everyone,” the student reportedly said.
