A court in Stavropol Krai has sentenced four men from Daghestan to prison for actions committed at the eternal flame memorial, which commemorates WWII, in the city of Nevinnomyssk. According to the regional office of the Investigative Committee, the men were found guilty under Article 243.4 of the Russian criminal code — desecration of symbols of military glory committed by a group of persons in prior conspiracy.
The convicts were sentenced to between two years and three months and two and a half years in a penal settlement. The Investigative Committee did not disclose their names in its official statement, referring to them only as ‘residents of a neighbouring republic’.
The case became public in November 2024, when security forces obtained video footage showing four young men at the memorial alternately placing their feet near the flame and warming their hands. Later, the Telegram channel Mash Gor, known for its ties to law enforcement, identified the detainees as Arslanbek Aliev, Gusen Aliev, Shamil Magomedov, and Magomed Imiev. The media outlet Kommersant also reported that all four were from Daghestan.
After their arrest, the young men issued public apologies. In a video circulated on local Telegram channels, Imiev said: ‘We climbed onto the eternal flame and decided to warm up. I acknowledge my mistake and want to apologise to the entire city of Nevinnomyssk’.
Arslanbek Aliev added: ‘I also want to apologise to the city of Nevinnomyssk and all of Russia for desecrating and climbing onto the sacred memory of our ancestors. Please forgive me. We didn’t mean to offend’.
Gusen Aliev said: ‘We just wanted to warm our feet’.
As of the time of publication, there have been no official public statements from the convicts’ lawyers or family members. The Investigative Committee stated that the defendants’ actions showed ‘a clear disregard for society and its historical memory’ and ‘offended the feelings of citizens’.
This is not the first criminal case involving the eternal flame in Nevinnomyssk. In October 2024, three local residents were sentenced to one year in a penal settlement under a similar article. One of them was filmed moving his foot over the flame, another was recording the incident, and two others stood nearby.
Earlier, in September 2024, a man was placed under house arrest for allegedly lighting a cigarette from the same eternal flame. In September 2022, another court sentenced a group of young men who, according to investigators, urinated on the memorial, lit cigarettes from the same flame, and threw flowers into it.
Elizaveta Chukharova
