US student arrested in Russia for his poor knowledge of history
An 18-year-old foreign student was arrested in St. Petersburg after he snatched Russian flags from war veterans in the city center.
The incident happened in St. Petersburg on May 9. A group of veterans saw a young man walking along the street holding several Russian flags in his hands.
“He was holding flagpoles like spades sweeping the pavement with cloths,” eyewitnesses said.
The man did not pay any attention to the veterans, but became confused at the sight of police officers. They stopped the man and asked for his IDs.
“We found out that the man had stolen the flags from other veterans. They called the police and complained of his inadequate behavior,” a police officer said.
The man introduced himself as an American student, who was staying in St. Petersburg for three months as an intern. As it turned out, he knew nothing about the Victory Day. The man said that he wanted to have the Russian flags for his collection.
The man could be imprisoned for 15 days, but he was eventually ordered to pay the fine of 1,000 rubles ($30).
