Russian police are investigating a bizarre circus show with a monkey in a Nazi costume and goats wearing a swastika, according to a report on Wednesday.
The animals were caught with the camera marching around the Udmurtia State Circus in Izhevsk, with manipulators dressed in Soviet uniforms last week, according to UK Sun.
Wild images show goats in red swastika capes chopping them next to a monkey wearing a formal Nazi uniform.
The show – seen by children and commissioned by the Russian Orthodox Church – could violate a Russian law banning the display of Nazi symbols, media reported.
Local police and prosecutors are looking into whether the show glorifies Adolf Hitler’s or Nazi culture.
But the church said the performers were simply using animal actors to describe the country’s historic victory over Hitler during World War II.
“The performance of coaches wearing Soviet military uniforms with animals wearing Nazi symbols was used as an image not only of the victory over fascism,” said a church official. “[It depicts] the worldwide condemnation of Nazi Germany’s ideals. “
The circus added that no one involved in the act is actually bananas for the Third Reich.
“Coaches in the form of Red Army soldiers [were] following trained animals wearing Nazi symbols “, said the circus representative.
Last year, Vladimir Putin signed an exemption to allow swastikas to be worn in shows if he represented the Nazis negatively.