Alex Fleming-Brown
A junior Russian karting champion is being investigated for 'unacceptable conduct' after appearing to perform a Nazi salute on a winner's podium.
Artem Severiukhin, 15, came first in 11-15 age bracket at the FIA Karting World Championships hosted in the city of Algarve in Portugal over the weekend.
But footage of his celebration has since gone viral as spectators were disgusted to see the teenager pound his chest and give what appears to be a Nazi salute.
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He then can be seen collapsing into giggles and apparently sharing the joke with one of the spectators in front of him.
Severiukhin was competing under the Italian flag after Russian athletes were banned due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Today, the war in Ukraine entered its 47th day, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. Vladimir Putin has consistently sought to justify his war, which we he claims is a 'special military operation', by using the rhetoric of 'denazifying' Ukraine.
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The conspiracy that Ukraine is run by Nazi's has been perpetuated by the Kremlin, despite the fact that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is himself Jewish.
President Putin continues to argue his invasion is to 'protect people subjected to bullying and genocide' from a 'neo-Nazi regime'.
In addition to the situation in Ukraine, the young Russian driver's gestures are especially inflammatory since the public performance of fascist salutes has been illegal in Italy since 1952, due to the 'Scelba Law'.
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These laws, aimed at banning Nazi apologism, came into place following the fall of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in 1945.
Severiukhin, standing in the centre of the podium, made the controversial motions whilst the Italian anthem can be heard playing over the loud-speakers.
It is not clear why the young Russian was allowed to compete under the Italian flag.
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The FIA, who organises the event, has now confirmed that it has launched an investigation.
It wrote: "The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile confirms that it has launched an immediate investigation into the unacceptable conduct of Mr Artem Severiukhin that occurred during the podium ceremony for the OK category at Round 1 of the 2022 FIA Karting European Championship at the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
"The FIA will communicate shortly on the further steps that will be taken in this case."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.orgÂ