Moldovan police fine 103 people for wearing Georgian ribbon

On April 9, Moldovan police fined 103 people for wearing the "ribbon of Saint George" during the Victory March in the capital, Chișinău, said the Chief of the General Police Inspectorate of Moldova Viorel Cernauteanu, Report informs, citing Moldovan media.

According to him, ten MPs are among those who violated the law.

The ribbon of Saint George (Georgian ribbon) is a Russian military symbol consisting of a black and orange bicolor pattern, with three black and two orange stripes. It appears as a component of many high military decorations awarded by the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the current Russian Federation. In the early 21st century, the ribbon of Saint George has come to be used as an awareness ribbon for commemorating the veterans of the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The modern term comes from the Russian 2005 program of the same name and is used to refer to the mass-produced awareness ribbons as opposed to the original military awards. The usage of the epithet Georgian in reference to that ribbon is subject to controversy in Russia due to its Tsarist connotations, and thus sometimes, the term Guards ribbon is used to refer to the modern ribbons as well, as they are meant to commemorate the Soviet period of Russian history. Since 2014, the symbol has become much more controversial in certain post-Soviet states, such as Ukraine and the Baltic states, due to its association with the pro-Russian and separatist sentiment.