Apparently, more than ever before, it’s in vogue to compare people to Hitler. Though some of the collations may be stretching at times, it seems that a Russian citizen found the connection between Winnie the Pooh and the National Socialist Workers’ Party so startling (probably saw this video) that he decked out his Winnie – the Pooh that is – with swastikas.

The Russian Justice Ministry, instead of maybe questioning the sanity of a grown man who owns and dresses up a Pooh doll, took prudent action and added “Winnie the Pooh with a swastika” to its list of banned “extremist” material. This infamous list includes 414 items brought to the Justice Ministry’s attention from local court rulings. The Wall Street Journal notes that the banned material on the list carry ambiguous definitions and extensive application like “a flag with a cross”, which can apply to the Swiss flag.

Speaking of pooh, this isn’t the first time the Russian government has banned a cartoon figure. Last year, the State Duma (parliament) outlawed one of its cartoon channels from showing episodes from Family Guy, The Simpsons, and South Park. At the center of the government’s outcry was the airing of the South Park episode “Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics”. Wanting to hone the public’s xenophobia instead of encouraging a diet of good fiber, the Duma banned such Western filth and legislated the channel to now provide programming that “reflects the state position in the area of youth policy.”

Thankfully this move of the Duma is nothing similiar to what the Nazis would do. In fact, to ensure the proper education of the Russian youth in upholding their country as nothing close to the scum that was Nazi Germany, the government also desires to mandate patriotism classes for students. Moreover, to guarantee that children receive plenty of positive recreation time outside of the classroom, the Kremlin has also established a youth group, the Nashi (I love phonetics), which swears loyalty to country and Prime Minister Putin.

It is good to see the Russian government producing such quality, alternative options for programmatic, educational, and extracurricular activities. So don’t worry kids. I’m sure the Kremlin will soon accommodate the lack of Winnie the Pooh with its own cartoon (see left) to teach y’all valuable life lessons.