Kenyan Sentenced for Extinguishing Eternal Flame with Snowball
A Kenyan citizen was sentenced to two years in a correctional colony for throwing a snowball at the Eternal Flame memorial in Troitsk, Moscow, in late December 2025, an act that briefly extinguished the flame. The man admitted guilt and expressed remorse, while his wife made a charitable donation to the memorial and the Kenyan embassy apologized.
Consensus
- The Kenyan citizen was sentenced to two years in a corrective colony.
- The incident occurred at the WWII memorial on Tekstilshchikov Street in Troitsk, Moscow.
- The man threw a snowball at the Eternal Flame, causing it to briefly go out.
- The act took place in late December 2025.
- An investigation was launched and criminal charges were filed under the law on damage or desecration of military graves or memorials.
- The defendant admitted guilt and expressed remorse.
- The defendant's wife made a charitable donation to the memorial.
- The Kenyan embassy sent an apology letter to the authorities in Troitsk.
- The defendant appealed the verdict and requested a lighter sentence.
Points of divergence
- In February of this year, a 50-year-old man from St. Petersburg extinguished the Eternal Flame on Mars Field, but this event is unrelated to the Kenyan case and is presented as a separate incident. — vm
- The defendant may be released in a few months because time spent in pre-trial detention counts as 'one day for two' under the Russian penal system. — vesti
Coverage (3 sources)
- Court in Moscow gave Kenyan two years for extinguishing Eternal Flame with snowball — Коммерсантъ
- In Moscow, a Kenyan man was sentenced for extinguishing the Eternal Flame with a snowball — Вести
- Kenyan man extinguished Eternal Flame in Troytsk with a snowball: how the foreigner was punished — Вечерняя Москва