Russian prosecutors investigate circus that dressed monkeys in Nazi uniforms for ‘spreading propaganda’

Monkeys and goats were dressed in Nazi insignia 

The Russian Orthodox Church has denied a circus featuring monkeys dressed in Nazi uniforms was a celebration of fascism after prosecutors opened a probe into a state circus show.

Videos of the performance, widely shared on social media, showed the “fascist” monkey dancing on a leash held by a trainer dressed in a Soviet Army uniform.

Prosecutors in the city of Izhevsk, around 700 miles east of Moscow, said they were “inspecting” the images from last week, without indicating a possible charge.

Russia has a blanket ban on Nazi symbols, though an amendment last year allowed their use if they are not intended to promote fascist ideology.

The local branch of the Orthodox Church, which organised the show, insisted it was not intended to celebrate fascism.

It said the performance was a “historical excursion into the Christmases of various years” and the section involving Nazi animals referred to the defeat of the German army near Moscow in in the winter of 1942.

The images had been “taken out of context… and provoked a scandal”, it added.

"A special feature of circus art is entertainment, and there is nothing surprising in the fact that the images used in it have an ironic and sometimes even grotesque character," the diocese said in a statement.

Other video showed two goats in Nazi flags being led around the ring of the circus, and a topless Red Army soldier juggling weights.

Both the diocese and the circus said the performance had not broken any laws.

Russia’s ban on Nazi symbols, introduced in 2014, had been opposed by rights groups and some politicians, as it can cover legitimate historical research, documentaries and educational materials.

The use of animals in circus performances remains common in Russia.