Russian police punishes Santa. Not allowed to wear moustache and beard in public
Activist Leonid Larichev was fined by police after he dressed up as Father Frost, the Russian Santa Claus, in a protest against local authorities. It is illegal to cover one's face with a moustache and beard, the policemen said.
The City Court in the north Russian town of Ukhta has imposed two fines of 10,000 rubles (€92) each on local activist Leonid Larichev. He is accused of violating the rules for holding a public picket because of the Santa Claus beard that partially covered his face.
The pickets took place in November and December 2024.
Larichev had decided to bid for the position as head of the Ukhta town administration, a post that, like in most Russian towns, is chosen by local legislators. The activist wanted to draw his fellow townspeople's attention to the procedure that he finds unfair and illegitimate. As part of his protest, he put on his Santa Claus costume and walked out in town with posters. "Larichev for Mayor," one of them read.
As reported by the press service of the Court in the Komi region, Larichev used a "mask," namely — false moustache and Santa Claus beard. The activist's argument that the white beard is an essential attribute of the fairy-tale character were rejected: according to Judge Vitaly Utyansky, Larichev deliberately used the "mask" to make it difficult to establish his identity.
Leonid Larichev describes the meeting with the police in a telephone conversation with the Barents Observer.
The police approached me; I did not run away, I presented my documents, showed my face. I did not obstruct their work, I am an open kind of guy. They somehow identified me! This absurdity is just remarkable.”
The police officers who drew up the protocols against the activist claim that he was rushing onto the roadway (the same is stated in the court press release), Larichev says that this did not happen. They also forced Larichev to undergo testing for alcohol or drugs in his blood.
The activist notes that he knew nothing about the court hearings, he did not receive the corresponding notification. He intends to appeal the fines.
At the pickets for which he was fined, he used posters with the text “Do you want a new mayor in the New Year?” and “Will there be a new mayor soon?” On Larichev's social media page he has posted photos from other rallies where he, dressed in the Santa costume, informs people about the competition for the city manager position. For example, one of the posters indicated the time and place of the procedure. In another case, he stated the victory of his competitor — United Russia member Magomed Osmanov. During those pickets, the police did not take action against the activist.
“The same policemen came as if it were a holiday to talk to Father Frost,” Larichev recalls. “They didn't care about the beard."
The activist admits that he also uses the Father Frost costume for self-promotion.
"I ask: 'And who do you want to support [for the position of mayor]? Shall we perhaps nominate you? No, well, but are you ready to support me?'
"And I explained to people that I am from Ukhta, and that I am interested in the development of the city, that I want the available resources to be used more rationally."
Leonid Larichev is a native of Ukhta. He works as a milking machine operator.
He keenly want to encourage fellow citizens to participate in elections, he explains. Since August, he has submitted several applications to hold rallies, but almost all were turned down. The local town administration has justified the refusals by saying that other public events were planned for the same time and place (but no events actually took place). According to Larichev, only one event was agreed upon. It was attended only by a few people, but a lot of police.
“People can really make a difference. [...] I am trying my best to draw attention to what is happening in our town Council, how deputies vote, how they fall under criminal articles."
"I have tried to draw people's attention to the elections that are taking place now and argue that also ordinary people can influence them. We cannot vote, but what if at least ten people came to the council and declared: we support such and such a candidate!"
According to Larichev, he is not against the deputies that elect the head of the city.
"If they had been adequate, responsible, independent, people's representatives — then why wouldn't they choose the head in the interests of the people? But the question is — how are the deputies themselves elected? We don't even properly elect the deputies.”
Today, there are almost no towns or cities in Russia where direct mayoral elections still exist. In October this year, the authorities of Yakutsk proposed to cancel direct elections of the mayor, a move supported by the current mayor. The explanatory note to the bill states that this will help save budgetary funds.
