Donald Duck cleared of extremism in Far East of Russia

The 8-minute Oscar winning 'Der Fuehrer's Face', made in 1942, features Donald Duck and negatively portrays life under Adolf Hitler. Yet six years ago it found its way onto Russia's national list of "extremist materials" after a decision by the city court of Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky, capital of the Kamchatka region.

A local resident who uploaded it was hit with a six month suspended sentence, accused of 'inciting racial hatred', even though the film was a classic of anti-Hitler wartime propaganda. After establishing that the cartoon was anti-Nazi in character they filed for a cessation of the banning order. 

The film's director Jack Kinney won an Academy Award for best animated short cartoon in 1943.

A new court ruling in Kamchatka has decreed that the cartoon cannot be seen as extremist. This will see it removed from the national list of extremist materials in Russia. The list has existed in Russia since 2002. It currently includes over 3,700 items.