T-shirts celebrating the Russian annexation of Crimea appeared on sale in the capital and will remain on sale until May 11, the Moscow region's Directorate for Information Politics announced last week.
The T-shirts portray images of heavily armed Russian soldiers alongside the words "polite people." The phrase became an Internet sensation after it was used to describe the appearance of Russian soldiers in Crimea prior to the region's annexation by Russia in March.
While the soldiers' equipment and accents suggested their country of origin, they wore no identifying insignia and denied that they were Russian, resulting in locals describing them simply as "polite people."
The term was further popularized by President Vladimir Putin, who used it to joke about Western sanctions against Russia, saying that "I think that [the sanctioned Russians] are these 'polite people' in camouflage with machine guns," in an interview with RT.
The current release of T-shirts is timed specifically for Labor Day on May 1 and Victory Day on May 9, and are produced by the Defense Ministry's clothing supplier, Voyentorg.
The T-shirts are on sale only in special pavilions in the suburban towns of Reutov, Mytishchi, Odintsovo and Lyubertsy, where visitors can buy a variety of printed T-shirts with the logos "Russian Army" or "Polite People," among others.
"We all know how important military and patriotic upbringing is for the youth, and this is accomplished not on through classes in manliness in school, but also in everyday life," said Vladimir Posazhennikov, Moscow region's minister for consumer goods and services.
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