Uzbek detained in St. Petersburg for public stunt with toy weapon

In St. Petersburg, Russia, an Uzbek migrant identified as J.S. has been sentenced to five months in prison for dancing in public while holding a toy gun. This was reported by RIA Novosti.

According to the report, the Smolninsky District Court classified his actions as hooliganism under Part 1, Paragraph "a" of Article 213 of the Russian Criminal Code. The court sentenced him to five months in a general-regime penal colony. Time already served in temporary detention during the investigation was counted toward the sentence.

The incident took place in March of this year. The 19-year-old Uzbek citizen was detained by the territorial department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs after he was seen dancing with a group of youths near the “Galerieya” shopping center in central St. Petersburg while displaying a toy gun.

The court ruling stated that the individual deliberately brandished a toy weapon, exerted psychological pressure on bystanders, and grossly violated public order. He admitted his guilt and expressed remorse for his actions.

It is worth noting that earlier in Moscow, a 30-year-old Uzbek man was sentenced to 14 days of administrative detention for wearing a cap with the inscription "AUE" and an eight-pointed star—symbols prohibited in Russia—while riding the subway.