In Estonia they tried to take away hats from tourists by confusing the flags of the Russian Federation and Slovakia

In a recent incident in Tallinn, police tried to take white, blue and red knitted hats from two tourists, based on a misperception of the symbolism.

According to the Delfi portal, a man and a woman visited the Christmas market on Town Hall Square, wearing hats resembling the Russian flag. The police decided to contact the tourists because of the prohibited symbols, but it turned out that the hats were decorated with the colors of the flag of Slovakia, not Russia.

The flag of Slovakia also has three stripes, the same as the flag of Russia, and even in the same order: white, blue and red. However, the flag of Slovakia has the state emblem, which helped the police resolve this misunderstanding by examining the hats. Thanks to this, tourists did not have to freeze without hats during severe frosts in Tallinn.

Last April, the Estonian parliament passed a law banning the use of “hostile symbols” that pose a threat and may be associated with acts of aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. For violating this law, individuals may be subject to a fine of up to 1.2 thousand euros or arrest. In the case of legal entities, the fine can be up to 32 thousand euros.

The law does not provide specific examples of prohibited symbols, but police have deciphered some of them. In particular, St. George’s ribbons, the “Z” symbol, flags and coats of arms of Russia and the USSR, as well as Soviet military uniforms are considered “hostile symbols.”

Earlier it became known that a group of Chinese tourists were in serious danger when their gondola capsized while riding in Venice. Read more about this in material Public News Service.

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