Ukraine bans St. George’s ribbon
The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, signed a law passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which prohibits the public demonstration and production of St. George's ribbons (Guards). Violations of this law would result in fines up to 172 EUR.
President Poroshenko signed the law passed by the Verkhovna Rada on May 16th. It prohibits the production and public use of Saint George ribbons. As reported on Monday, June 12th by the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state, the law will be effective the day after its promulgation.
Going forward, there will be a fine for the public demonstration of black and orange ribbons in the amount of 50 to 150 times the minimum wage. The current minimum wage is set at UAH 17, thus, the fine will range from 850 to 2550 UAH (in recalculation - from 1800 to 5400 RUB, or from 29 to 87 EUR). If these actions are carried out again within a year, the law allows for the imposition of a fine in the amount of 150 to 300 times the minimum wage (from 5,400 to 11,000 RUB, or 84 to 172 EUR ) as well as the confiscation of Saint George (Guards) or its images.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the ban on the public demonstration and production of St. George's ribbon by an absolute majority of votes, 238 deputies against 13. The bill, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, proposes to make changes in the Code of Administrative Offenses. A separate article will be included in the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, imposing a penalty for wearing and making the St. George ribbon. The explanatory note states that there is a legitimate use of St. George's ribbon, which coincides with the list of exceptions for use.