Russian Coach Fined For Removing Pro-War Sign In School; Students Raise Money For Him

An archery coach in Russia tore down a symbol associated with the supporters of the country's invasion of Ukraine, resulting in him being fined and interrogated.

Valery Yakovlev was fined $100 for "discrediting the Russian Army" after removing a "Z" sign twice from the entrance of a sports school in the Buryatia region of Siberia, the United States government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The symbol was seen painted on some Russian military vehicles in the invasion of Ukraine, and it has since been used to show support for the ongoing war.

Yakovlev claimed he tore down the sign at the school because he did not want children to be "programmed" with any pro-war symbols.

"If children are brainwashed from an early age, what will become of them? Instead of bringing them joy, love, music, art, we fill them with some crap," said Yakovlev, who admitted he "hated" the late Russian writer Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Russian nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov back when he was an elementary student.

Both men were persecuted in the Soviet Union as Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism while Sakharov was an activist who fought against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The former was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, while the latter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.

"I didn't know why I hated them back then. But I called them enemies of the people and traitors. Many years later, I read most of Solzhenitsyn. I discovered who Sakharov was... God, our heads had been filled with stupid crap! I don't want that to happen again. That's all," Yakovlev said in an interview.

Yakovlev was allegedly interrogated for four hours after he removed the sign.

"There was a lot of pressure. They asked me about my ethnic origin. They tried to turn my mind inside out. Why did I do that? It was scary," he said.

Yakovlev claimed he was also "scared" because he had heard of a new Russian law giving 15-year prison sentences.

While Yakovlev did not disclose what law he was referring to, it was likely the one passed on March 4, which imposes a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally "fake" news about the Russian military.

Students reportedly provided Yakovlev with "moral" and “financial” support. The students even launched a fundraiser that collected $240 in two days.

"Thank you for your bravery and honesty," a student wrote in one of the letters addressed to Yakovlev. Some of the letters called the instructor a "good coach."

"You are not alone," read another message.