An 18-year-old Russian youth was detained in the city of Nizhny Tagil, located in the Ural Mountains, after identifying himself as Adolf Hitler while ordering a pizza.
The detention of the young man occurred after a regional lawmaker personally witnessed the incident while the Russian student was placing his order at a fast-food cafeteria.
The news of the controversial arrest was officially made public on Wednesday by the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti, sparking widespread conversation online.
The lawmaker immediately reported the entire encounter on his personal social media channels, including the exact time of the incident alongside a photograph of the youth. Later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs formally confirmed the operational detention and stated that the student is deeply remorseful about the choice of his order handle.
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The government body emphasized that the young man has already apologized to anyone who may have felt genuinely offended or targeted by his highly provocative public behavior.
“The student explicitly stated during his questioning that he is not a Nazi and does not sympathize with Nazi ideology,” an official ministry spokesperson declared.
In the Russian Federation, the administrative offense of displaying Nazi symbols or distributing related propaganda is punishable by up to 15 days in prison, heavy fines, or community service.
