The head of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Valery Fadeev, has appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a request to pay attention to the "increasing practice" among motorists who obtain license plates without images of the Russian flag. Fadeev claims that this "is a sign of disregard for the state."
Either the car owner is showing his disregard for the Russian state, denying secular authority, or he is calling for separatism or something similar. In any case, this is a reason to pay attention to such citizens.
It is emphasized that this does not concern car owners who use square-shaped license plates, which are placed on American and Japanese cars. They usually do not have a tricolor.
When registering a car with the traffic police, the car owner can choose how to obtain a state license plate. This can be done directly at the traffic police unit or ordered from a private company that has permission from the State traffic inspectorate. In the first option, a license plate with a tricolor image in the corner is issued, in the second, it was previously possible to choose a license plate format without a flag. However, from January 1, 2025, this option will be canceled due to the entry into force of the new edition of standard 50577–2018 "State registration plates of vehicles".
Fadeev believes that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should oblige owners with license plates without a flag to replace them within a year with those that comply with the current standard.