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Russia Denounces Estonian Move To Ban Soviet Symbols
December 01, 2006
December 1, 2006 -- Russia has denounced moves in Estonia, a former part of the Soviet Union, to criminalize public displays of Soviet symbols.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin described the draft law, which would equate Soviet and Nazi symbols, as "blasphemous."
The Estonian government on November 30 approved the bill and sent it to parliament for adoption.
The amendment bans the public display of symbols including the Soviet hammer and sickle and the Nazi swastika, saying these emblems incite hatred.
(AFP, ITAR-TASS, Reuters)