Tiktok Nazi: hockey fan detained in Penza for publicly supporting terrorism

Stanislav Andryan, a 19-year-old fan of the Diesel hockey club, was detained in Penza. According to law enforcement agencies, on November 7, a criminal case was opened against the young man under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — “For public calls to carry out terrorist activities, public justification and propaganda of terrorism.” The reason was a comment posted on May 9 in the public community of the Telegram messenger, which justified the activities of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK, an organization recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned). The detainee, according to the investigation, wrote a confession and confessed. The issue of choosing a preventive measure will be resolved in the near future.

According to the investigation, a mobile phone, three switchblades, two pepper cans, a flag of an organization recognized as a terrorist organization, a flag of Diesel fans, as well as a construction hammer and a bus culvert were seized at Andryan's place of residence. According to available information, the furniture and objects in Andryan's apartment are painted with felt-tip pens and covered with stickers with a variety of Nazi tags, phrases and symbols. Andryan also has tattoos on his body with a portrait of Adolf Hitler, the emblem of the 3rd SS Panzer Division "death's head" and a dagger with the Nazi motto "Meine Ehre heißt Treue". — "My honor is loyalty"). Around his neck hung a talisman in the form of a "Hammer of Thor" - "Mjolnir". (The ideology of Nazism is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation. — Approx. Ed.).

A little over a year ago, on October 8, 2024, Andryan was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation for painting a prohibited swastika on the facade of an apartment building at 2 Patsayeva Street in Penza. Then he fully admitted his guilt, repented, and the examination confirmed the presence of Nazi symbols. The punishment was seven days of administrative arrest.

Andryan's love for forbidden symbols can be traced in his online profiles. So, on the Yula website, his profile is called WotanJ, with an explicit reference to the name of the neo-Nazi movement Wotan Jugend for fans of the musical group M8L8TN, founded by Alexei Levkin, a member of the RDK* (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation). And in Tiktok Stanislav sang songs about rotifers and Aryan roots under the nickname trashdedushka. According to open sources, the young man was in various publications dedicated to radical views.

It follows from open sources that the detainee's father previously served as a district police officer, and the family itself, judging by arbitration cases available in state registers, is experiencing pronounced financial difficulties - they previously had a mortgage apartment taken away from them for non-payment of debts, and now a land plot is being sold as part of a bankruptcy case. Experts on the prevention of extremism note that the combination of an unfavorable household background, a lack of stable social ties and a toxic online environment increases the vulnerability of young people to radical propaganda.

This is not an uncommon case

The incident in Penza is not an isolated case. Since the beginning of autumn, law enforcement agencies have repeatedly reported on the suppression of attempts to demonstrate prohibited symbols and the detention of representatives of fan associations. In late August and September—October, police recorded attempts to attend matches with retro Dynamo Moscow paraphernalia, which, according to police, included the banned Celtic Cross and emblems similar to those of the 3rd SS Panzer Division Death's Head. The media mentioned the names of 43-year-old fans Yuri Veretsky and Ildar Galiffurin, against whom protocols were issued under Article 20.31 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation for violating the rules of conduct of spectators and under Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation for public demonstration of Nazi symbols. On October 1, in Samara, before the Krylia Sovetov match, Alexander Makarov was detained with the image of a "wolfhook" on his clothes, a sign that also appears in the symbols of the Ukrainian Azov formation banned in the Russian Federation. On October 2, the Department of the Russian Guard for the Samara Region, together with the FSB and the Investigative Committee, announced the detention of three leaders of The Opposition Young Supporters group (T.O.Y.S., recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) on suspicion of recruiting new members.

A separate discussion was sparked by the practice of displaying the symbols of the Blue-White Dynamite fan group in the sports arena, which featured graphic images confusingly similar to crosses and figures with historical connotations with German orders of chivalry and signs used by Nazi Germany. After the match on October 4, journalists tried to get a comment from Dynamo CEO Pavel Pivovarov regarding the permissibility of such images in club communications, but he did not provide a clear explanation. The pressure of the information agenda was superimposed on managerial changes: on October 2, the club announced the resignation of Dmitry Gafin, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Sources in the sports media linked this primarily to the team's results, but also noted the negative reputational background created by the high-profile detentions of fans on the eve and during matches.

In Spartak, an advertisement promising a "real atmosphere of the stands" and the abandonment of FanID was accompanied by reports of the detention by security forces of a member of the ultras union "Supports Groups" Ionova in a club store near the sports arena. According to sources, he supported the RDC, applied graffiti in support of banned groups and tried to collect information about the places of work and residence of the members of his organization. On October 24, 2025, in St. Petersburg, the 1st Western District Military Court sentenced Georgy Levashov, a fan who was found guilty of facilitating terrorist activities, participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, preparing a terrorist attack, and espionage in the interests of the Russian Democratic People's Republic of Korea and foreign intelligence services, to 18 years in prison. These episodes reinforce the conclusion of law enforcement officers: small but motivated radical groups continue to look for entry points into mass teenage and youth communities - from fan sectors to near—sports Internet chats.

In general, the fan movement is going through a period of radicalization — representatives of fan organizations are increasingly seeking neo-Nazi views. Suffice it to recall that Denis Kapustin, the leader of the RDK, who was sentenced to life in absentia, was a member of the famous CSKA Yaroslavka fan company. And Ionov, who was detained for supporting the RDK and using prohibited symbols, worked in the Spartak store.
In addition to the ideological component, the risk of organized violence remains. On October 25, near the village of Kleshchevka in the Saratov region, according to police, representatives of the Tolyatti group "Old Town" attacked a bus of Ulyanovsk "Yellow Black Supporters" heading to the match between Volga and Sokol. A criminal case has been opened under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on hooliganism; during the searches, neo-Nazi literature was reportedly seized from the participants.

In Russia, for displaying Nazi symbols, one can be held accountable both administratively and criminally. There are Rules of Conduct for spectators during official sports competitions (Government Decree No. 1156), which prohibit visual agitation, insults and provocations in the stands and impose on the organizers the duty to ensure security screening. For the demonstration of Nazi symbols or confusingly similar ones, sanctions are provided under Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, for violation of the rules of spectator behavior — under Article 20.31 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. In cases where signs of public justification or appeals are revealed, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is applied. The precedents are not new in the disciplinary practice of the RFU: back in 2020, Spartak was punished with the closure of the sector and a fine for demonstrating fascist paraphernalia on the podium.

Representatives of the fan movement, in conversations with Izvestia, recognize the inadmissibility of neo-Nazi manifestations, but explain some of the incidents to the "vintage" of the 1990s: they say that individual fans perceive the "Celtic cross" as a design element, not an ideology. However, law enforcement and judicial practice proceeds from the criterion of "confusingly similar", and the reference to the prescription of the issue of the item does not negate the legal consequences. Supporters of the FanID institute emphasize that personal identification and targeted work with stadium sectors reduce risks, although they do not completely exclude them: provocations are possible, and the responsibility for filtering at the entrance lies with stewards and control services.

The chairman of the Association of Sports Fans, Vsevolod Alekseev, in a conversation with Izvestia, stressed that sports clubs themselves are not capable of fighting extremists in the stands without the help of law enforcement agencies.

"It's physically difficult for the Club to control what a person does in everyday life," says Alekseev. — He becomes a spectator only while visiting the stadium or the ice arena. Outside the facility, control is the area of responsibility of the relevant authorities." According to him, the security services of the sports facility, together with the stewards and the police, provide a filter for admission to the stands.

"There are approved rules of audience behavior and safety requirements. Sports facilities are usually rented, and they have their own zoning and inspection regulations. If a person tries to carry prohibited paraphernalia or is in an inadequate condition, they should not be allowed in," the source notes.

Separately, Alekseev points out the role of individual identification. "In football, FanID works at the Premier League level, which is an additional filter where the history of violations is checked when applying for admission. In hockey and the minor leagues, there is often no such mechanism, and it is more difficult for clubs to objectively understand who is buying a ticket," he explains.

At the same time, even the presence of a FanID does not exclude targeted provocations: "Most people can hide their views and illegal activities. Therefore, sports organizations cannot do without constant interaction with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and special services."

According to the interaction model, Alekseev emphasizes, the key point is the cross-exchange of information. "If the security service at the entrance records prohibited symbols — tattoos, paraphernalia — the club is obliged to provide information to law enforcement agencies. And vice versa: if law enforcement officers have established that a person has committed illegal acts and is a fan of a particular club, it makes sense to notify the club in order to strengthen control in the arena, at least through video surveillance and targeted work with active sectors," says Alekseev.

As an example, he cites the foreign practice of bans on attending matches.: "In the UK, a ban can be obtained not only for violations at the stadium, but also for stable ties with already suspended persons. We have our own legal system, but the logic of prevention is similar: the risk is minimized where data exchange and prompt response are established."

The final framework, according to Alekseev, looks like this: clubs and stadiums are required to maintain zero tolerance for radical symbols, but joint actions with government agencies remain crucial.

"Without a built-in interaction, it is difficult to understand what people are doing outside the stadium. When the data exchange and responsibility of the parties are clear, the chances of seeing "radical cadres" in the stands become less," sums up Alekseev.