Fake veterans and "heroes" of the so-called SMO are proliferating en masse in Russia. The situation with awards in the aggressor state has completely spiraled out of control, as officially stated by their "Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation." This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service, according to UNN.
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As the intelligence service notes, those who have not yet signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense have found a new way to make money and assert themselves – buying medals on marketplaces.
Any Russian civilian can easily buy copies of combat orders online. Sellers offer Wagner PMC and Ministry of Defense medals that are indistinguishable from the originals, while public organizations and even ordinary private individuals stamp their own orders that closely resemble state ones,
As a result, humanitarian aid drivers walk around in camouflage, hung with "hero stars" like Christmas trees. The Russians themselves admit that they pin this junk on themselves without any shame because "they simply want more medals."
This avalanche of fake heroes has already generated a host of absurd situations in Russia. For instance, scammers with purchased pieces of iron are visiting Russian schools and universities en masse, where they tell the youth fictional "stories of exploits," talking complete nonsense,
Furthermore, classified award decrees from the Ministry of Defense and the FSB are impossible to verify, so Russians with fake medals are often simply taken at their word. This is exploited by the most brazen individuals, who calmly infiltrate government offices, take photos with deputies, and squeeze out money and benefits for themselves.
Attempts to regulate this in any way have crashed against the harsh Russian reality. Efforts to ban non-state medals offended the "Wagnerites," the idea of creating an awards registry at the Ministry of Justice scared officials with the prospect that the database would be immediately stolen or leaked online, and the fine for wearing fakes currently stands at only 1,000–1,500 rubles (the price of a pack of dumplings).
So while the Kremlin tries to mold a cult of a "new elite," Russia is being rapidly flooded by a wave of fake "order-bearers" who are successfully robbing and deceiving their own naive population,