Russian athlete makes fascist gesture at European Karting Championship | Video
India Today
A Russian athlete performed a Roman salute, considered to be a fascist gesture across the world, at the European Karting Championship. Watch the video here.
A Russian athlete made a fascist gesture during the award ceremony when the Italian anthem was played at the European Karting Championship, causing a massive outrage.
Artem Severiukhin, a Russian driver, could not represent his country, so he participated under the Italian flag.
A video of Severiukhin has gone viral, where he is seen performing a Roman salute which is considered a fascist gesture across the world. He later laughed hysterically as "Il Canto degli Italiani" was playing in the background.
In the 20th century, the salute began to be used as a greeting for fascist groups. Under former Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, it became an official part of the regime.
Severiukhin was supported by the Russian motorsport SMP RACING program. Its main sponsor was the Russian Gazprom.
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The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had barred Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing in international series under their own flags amid the raging war in Ukraine.
