Soviet Swastika. Real or otherwise?

[AndromedasWake]

There's no shading on the red.

It looks like it was alpha blended from a solid image, so the texture of the book is still there but none of the shading.


Also, it would be as faded as the rest of the page. It's clearly shopped. Probably not even shopped, probably just gimped.

If it's shopped, the logo layer may be set to screen transfer mode, allowing the appearance of the paper to be seen. If I were manipulating an image like this, I'd use some desaturation and probably set the white point to the inverse of the ink colour on the typed letters to make it look more authentic.

 

[Predanator]

It is definitely photoshopped. The outer edge of the red field is clearly made with a line/shape tool... and the entire emblem does not share the same blurriness of the original text on the page.

Even, I could have done a better job.

 

[DepricatedZero]

If it's shopped, the logo layer may be set to screen transfer mode, allowing the appearance of the paper to be seen. If I were manipulating an image like this, I'd use some desaturation and probably set the white point to the inverse of the ink colour on the typed letters to make it look more authentic.

That would allow the shading from the image to seep in to the logo. A small blend, say 5 or 10% transparency on the logo layer, would show greater details(like the fold) but not the shading.

Your way is better than what looks to have been done here.

Also, the color profile associated with the image is "Default RGB working space" which means it was saved from within image editing software, and I believe that is the default editing profile for Photoshop? Might be gimp's, though, too.

 

[IvantheLizard]

This is a response to a Post, made by Ad Initium on my thread, refuting some of the claims that Hitler was a leftist. One of the pieces brought up, by the webpage that i am critiquing as evidence that Hitler was leftist is this image below.

Now i've already made a comment, pointing out that whilst this image may Look very convincing. Only to the foolish it does anyway. Read what it says around the Swastika. The Red Army was formed Feb. 23, 1918. The date on the picture is smudged, but it's probably 1918. The text in Russian details the description of the patch and who it is designed for: Red Army soldiers and commanding officers of the Kalmyk troops. The Kalmyks are a small pastoral ethnic group in southern Russia, with their own autonomous region west of the Caspian Sea. They are of Mongolian origin and they are Buddhists. I believe that paticular swastika, which is a common Buddhist symbol is just that, It's Buddhist, and has nothing to do with socialism per-se. In the text, the swastika is called "LYUNGTN" or some such native Kalmyk word in Cyrillic (the text is blurry and those may be characters specific to the Kalmyk language).

So anyway, even if genuine, what i've wrote above still argues against the website anyway, But Ad Initium has made a further analysis

Perhaps the image will disappear at some time . As soon as the poster realizes how CRAP it is. But I uploaded it to imageshack for safety as such we have a backup... and Ive have ZOOMED in to the most interresting area in BIG WHITE CIRCLES.

Suppose all that text has some validity in reality ... (hard) ... How come the image, the poster of this message is using, is totally crap and fake? ALL NORMAL PERSONS with a little bit of sence and understanding of photo's and manipulation of images, can clearly see this is fake !!! Just look at THE FOLD in the right side of this paper. Explain to me please why THE FOLD in this socalled AUTHENTIC piece of paper ... does NOT extend to the red inked communistic mark.

I will tell you !!! ... Someone put a FAKE image over a USSR document with the intend to fool us.

He's accused the image of being Fake, (photoshopped?) And that has got me thinking, Is the image real or Fake? Im not an expert on photo manipulation but im prepared to accept it's genuine at the moment. Am i being led astray by that?

After checking it with my dad (a fluent Russian speaker) and some internet searches to Russian websites I have discovered that this document could well be real. But it does not have anything to do with Nazi's. It most likely had to do with a Russian colonel's desire to discover Shambala (as the Nazi's would attempt to do as well) or it was the fact that as a colonel he would have been well educated and he could have been into theology. Additionally the descriptions in the text describe the image accurately with all measurements seeming to work out. The star should be1.5 cm in diameter the swastika at 2.7 cm in across or roughly 3 cm. The star, if placed at the edge of the swastika, should reach a little over halfway across. The wreath should have a 6 cm diameter. so you should be able to roughly fit 4 stars from one edge of the wreath to the other. The description asks for the Acronym PCΦCP to be printed on the patch (the Φ is centered in the swastika). PCΦCP (RSFSR) refers to the Republic of Soviet Federations of the Socialiist Republic, which came before the CCCP (USSR). From what I and my fatherr have read, this is a legitimate document, but linking it with Nazi's and Hitler is only possible through the Shambala search if that was what it was.

This page helped and the English translation is rreadable: http://lj.rossia.org/users/just_hoaxer/311555.html follow the livejounal link at the top of the page to see some more swastikas that were used by not only the Russians but internationally.

It is possible that someone decided to digitally color in the picture that was on the actual document. Although there does appear to be bleeding red ink on the bottom left hand side of the diamond. Also notice that the outlines of nearly all the objects in the picture are not completely colored in. There is a very small strip of uncolored paper bordering most of the objects. The right side of the bow appears to have a scratch going though it. So we either have a very detail oriented photoshopper or it may actually be real. I have a friend who does photography a bit more than me so I will ask him for a second opinion.

I also rescind my vote for fakery and replace it with real.

 

[theyounghistorian77]

After checking it with my dad (a fluent Russian speaker) and some internet searches to Russian websites I have discovered that this document could well be real. But it does not have anything to do with Nazi's. It most likely had to do with a Russian colonel's desire to discover Shambala (as the Nazi's would attempt to do as well) or it was the fact that as a colonel he would have been well educated and he could have been into theology. Additionally the descriptions in the text describe the image accurately with all measurements seeming to work out. The star should be1.5 cm in diameter the swastika at 2.7 cm in across or roughly 3 cm. The star, if placed at the edge of the swastika, should reach a little over halfway across. The wreath should have a 6 cm diameter. so you should be able to roughly fit 4 stars from one edge of the wreath to the other. The description asks for the Acronym PCΦCP to be printed on the patch (the Φ is centered in the swastika). PCΦCP (RSFSR) refers to the Republic of Soviet Federations of the Socialiist Republic, which came before the CCCP (USSR). From what I and my fatherr have read, this is a legitimate document, but linking it with Nazi's and Hitler is only possible through the Shambala search if that was what it was.

This page helped and the English translation is rreadable: http://lj.rossia.org/users/just_hoaxer/311555.html follow the livejounal link at the top of the page to see some more swastikas that were used by not only the Russians but internationally.

It is possible that someone decided to digitally color in the picture that was on the actual document. Although there does appear to be bleeding red ink on the bottom left hand side of the diamond. Also notice that the outlines of nearly all the objects in the picture are not completely colored in. There is a very small strip of uncolored paper bordering most of the objects. The right side of the bow appears to have a scratch going though it. So we either have a very detail oriented photoshopper or it may actually be real. I have a friend who does photography a bit more than me so I will ask him for a second opinion.

I also rescind my vote for fakery and replace it with real.

Thanks for your insight

 

[DepricatedZero]

After checking it with my dad (a fluent Russian speaker) and some internet searches to Russian websites I have discovered that this document could well be real. But it does not have anything to do with Nazi's. It most likely had to do with a Russian colonel's desire to discover Shambala (as the Nazi's would attempt to do as well) or it was the fact that as a colonel he would have been well educated and he could have been into theology. Additionally the descriptions in the text describe the image accurately with all measurements seeming to work out. The star should be1.5 cm in diameter the swastika at 2.7 cm in across or roughly 3 cm. The star, if placed at the edge of the swastika, should reach a little over halfway across. The wreath should have a 6 cm diameter. so you should be able to roughly fit 4 stars from one edge of the wreath to the other. The description asks for the Acronym PCΦCP to be printed on the patch (the Φ is centered in the swastika). PCΦCP (RSFSR) refers to the Republic of Soviet Federations of the Socialiist Republic, which came before the CCCP (USSR). From what I and my fatherr have read, this is a legitimate document, but linking it with Nazi's and Hitler is only possible through the Shambala search if that was what it was.

This page helped and the English translation is rreadable: http://lj.rossia.org/users/just_hoaxer/311555.html follow the livejounal link at the top of the page to see some more swastikas that were used by not only the Russians but internationally.

It is possible that someone decided to digitally color in the picture that was on the actual document. Although there does appear to be bleeding red ink on the bottom left hand side of the diamond. Also notice that the outlines of nearly all the objects in the picture are not completely colored in. There is a very small strip of uncolored paper bordering most of the objects. The right side of the bow appears to have a scratch going though it. So we either have a very detail oriented photoshopper or it may actually be real. I have a friend who does photography a bit more than me so I will ask him for a second opinion.

I also rescind my vote for fakery and replace it with real.

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn

I'm convinced.

I see the bleed you're talking about.

I'm torn as to how to take this. A huge part of me screams that it has to be shopped, only because of the vibrancy of the ink. The image is far too bright and sharp compared to the aged text. If it's authentic, there's no reason to doctor it. However, if it isn't, it's a damn good facsimile.

At any rate, shaving with Occam's Razor says it's probably legit, if the translation is correct. The artifacts are likely just from it being compressed as a jpg. And, blushingly, I've reanalyzed the image at higher magnification and the shadowing does appear to be consistent across the page. The red ISN'T pixel perfect, and the diamond isn't perfectly angled.

So it's probably legit. I change my vote.

 

[Predanator]

It is possible that someone decided to digitally color in the picture that was on the actual document.

It doesn't just seem colored in... it is overlayed. Just look at the text above the emblem... it is leaning down to the right.
However, the emblem has pixel perfect alignment... the letters are completely aligned with each other and square, but the image of the whole right page is clearly at an angle.

Although there does appear to be bleeding red ink on the bottom left hand side of the diamond. Also notice that the outlines of nearly all the objects in the picture are not completely colored in. There is a very small strip of uncolored paper bordering most of the objects. The right side of the bow appears to have a scratch going though it. So we either have a very detail oriented photoshopper or it may actually be real. I have a friend who does photography a bit more than me so I will ask him for a second opinion.

These details are not a sign of a very detail oriented photoshopper, because most of them are direct results of overlaying an image onto another image.

Whether the original book contained the emblem is irrelevant, because that picture is a fake...

 

[DepricatedZero]

It doesn't just seem colored in... it is overlayed. Just look at the text above the emblem... it is leaning down to the right.
However, the emblem has pixel perfect alignment... the letters are completely aligned with each other and square, but the image of the whole right page is clearly at an angle.

Actually, that was something I didn't check in my initial analysis. Close inspection shows that it is, in fact, NOT pixel perfect, and if you draw a line to measure the slope of the text, and a line to indicate the slope of the logo, they're parallel.

These details are not a sign of a very detail oriented photoshopper, because most of them are direct results of overlaying an image onto another image.

Overlaying does not cause bleeds. That isn't dithering or anti-aliasing, it is an ink bleed. As for artifacts, simply saving as a jpeg causes them.

Whether the original book contained the emblem is irrelevant, because that picture is a fake...

Occam's Razor says, probably not, provided the translated text.

 

[Predanator]

We must be seeing different images... nothing about that emblem seems original.

Babel fish of http://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/Приказ_войскам_Юго-Восточного_фронта_№_213

Order to the forces of the southeastern Front of â„– 213
Material from [Vikiteki] - the free library
The unverified changes show on this pageNot verified
To pass [k]: navigation, the search
Photograph of the order
Scan of application to the order

ORDER

to the forces of the southeastern Front of â„– 213

Mountains. Saratov on November 3, 1919


Is asserted the distinguishing oversleeve mark of Kalmik woman formings, accordingly [prilagaemy]x of drawing and description. Right of carrying to appropriate to entire executive body and Red Army men [sushchestvuyushchi]x and [formiruemy]x of Kalmik woman parts, accordingly the indications of the order of the revolutionary military council of republic of this year for â„– 116.

Front commander Shorin

Member of the revolutionary military council of the Trifons

[Vrid]. the chief of staff of the General Staff Of [pugachev]


Application to the order to the forces of the southeastern Front of this year of â„– 213

DESCRIPTION

Rhomb of 15×11 of centimeters from the red cloth. In the upper angle five-pointed star, in the center - wreaths, in middle of which "[LYUNGTN]" [1] with the inscription "of r. s. f. s. r.". Stellar diameter 15 mm, Viennese - 6 cm, size "OF [LYUNGTN]" - 27 mm, letters - 6 mm. sign for the command and administrative personnel are embroidered by gold and silver, also, for the Red Army men stereotyped. Star, "[LYUNGTN]" and tape Viennese are embroidered by gold (for the Red Army men by yellow paint), very of wreaths and inscription - by silver (for the Red Army men - by white paint).


1. ↑ was probably intended originally the word of lungta in the Latin transcription, during the record by cyrillic alphabet it became "[lyungta]", and with further correspondence last letter "and" became "n".

Does Свастика (Swastika) appear in the Russian text? (No)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungta

Does this look like a Swastika? (No)

[edit: I am done with this "debate", some hoaxer must be pretty proud about duping atheists and skeptics into believing unsubstantiated BS.]

 

[theyounghistorian77]

We must be seeing different images... nothing about that emblem seems original.

Babel fish of http://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/Приказ_войскам_Юго-Восточного_фронта_№_213

Order to the forces of the southeastern Front of â„– 213
Material from [Vikiteki] - the free library
The unverified changes show on this pageNot verified
To pass [k]: navigation, the search
Photograph of the order
Scan of application to the order

ORDER

to the forces of the southeastern Front of â„– 213

Mountains. Saratov on November 3, 1919


Is asserted the distinguishing oversleeve mark of Kalmik woman formings, accordingly [prilagaemy]x of drawing and description. Right of carrying to appropriate to entire executive body and Red Army men [sushchestvuyushchi]x and [formiruemy]x of Kalmik woman parts, accordingly the indications of the order of the revolutionary military council of republic of this year for â„– 116.

Front commander Shorin

Member of the revolutionary military council of the Trifons

[Vrid]. the chief of staff of the General Staff Of [pugachev]


Application to the order to the forces of the southeastern Front of this year of â„– 213

DESCRIPTION

Rhomb of 15×11 of centimeters from the red cloth. In the upper angle five-pointed star, in the center - wreaths, in middle of which "[LYUNGTN]" [1] with the inscription "of r. s. f. s. r.". Stellar diameter 15 mm, Viennese - 6 cm, size "OF [LYUNGTN]" - 27 mm, letters - 6 mm. sign for the command and administrative personnel are embroidered by gold and silver, also, for the Red Army men stereotyped. Star, "[LYUNGTN]" and tape Viennese are embroidered by gold (for the Red Army men by yellow paint), very of wreaths and inscription - by silver (for the Red Army men - by white paint).


1. ↑ was probably intended originally the word of lungta in the Latin transcription, during the record by cyrillic alphabet it became "[lyungta]", and with further correspondence last letter "and" became "n".

Does Свастика (Swastika) appear in the Russian text? (No)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungta

Does this look like a Swastika? (No)

[edit: I am done with this "debate", some hoaxer must be pretty proud about duping atheists and skeptics into believing unsubstantiated BS.]

i would point out that the outer part of that "wind horse" pic, seems to contain a whole bunch of swastikas.

Also, i do not think that refutes my core point of the swastika being Buddhist (regardless of if the pic is true or not). But perhaps someone knows more about the Kalmyk culture than i do.

 

[IvantheLizard]

i would point out that the outer part of that "wind horse" pic, seems to contain a whole bunch of swastikas.

Also, i do not think that refutes my core point of the swastika being Buddhist (regardless of if the pic is true or not). But perhaps someone knows more about the Kalmyk culture than i do.

No it does not refute your point. At this point we are merely arguing over the pictures validity. Although if someone here could reproduce both those pages and make it look nearly identical, I'd have to reconsider. Also that magic crease where the line seems to go straight through it, look closely at the full version and you will notice that there is a very slight bend as opposed to the other side. All this suggests is that the crease is actually smaller or not a deep and defined as it may appear also look at the left corner of the star through which the crease passes. You will notice an ever so slight distortion that bends that corner with the crease. The other thing that suggests that the creases possible distortion effects are negligible is the fact that it does not distort the actual writing on the page in any significant way. Two other points over which I am not sure but am concerned:
-The opposite page appears to be reddish. Could be because of bleeding from being closed but the red appears smeared throughout the page so I kinda doubt this.
-Now this could be because of the camera or shadows, but the red color of the patch appears blotchy in certain areas with a bit of staining occurring. This effect is also fairly subtle hence my apprehension about it.

To bad we can't actually get to see the document, eh.

I'd also like to inform Predanator that the translation you were given by Google was crap for the first page and mostly crap for the second page.

 

[Predanator]

I'd also like to inform Predanator that the translation you were given by Google was crap for the first page and mostly crap for the second page.

Provide an accurate translation that includes the word or a word with the same meaning as swastika... or refutes the word for the bit at the center being a Wind Horse known to be used in Mongolian heraldry... otherwise you are just wasting everyone's time.

Even the reasonable observations you've mentioned can be faked... so there is yet to be evidence of any authenticity to what clearly seems like a fake.

 

[theyounghistorian77]

I'd also like to inform Predanator that the translation you were given by Google was crap for the first page and mostly crap for the second page.

Provide an accurate translation that includes the word or a word with the same meaning as swastika... or refutes the word for the bit at the center being a Wind Horse known to be used in Mongolian heraldry... otherwise you are just wasting everyone's time.

Even the reasonable observations you've mentioned can be faked... so there is yet to be evidence of any authenticity to what clearly seems like a fake.

"so there is yet to be evidence of any authenticity to what clearly seems like a fake."

which is why im still asking if it is or not. Ad initium thinks it's fake

This is the contextualisation from this website. http://nork.ru/fylfot/red_army.html

To be exact this swastika is not "Russian" but "Kalmuck". On this page you can see the facsimile of the order to the Kalmuck units of Red Army concerning the swastika on a uniform. The Kalmuck live in the south-east of the European Russia. This nation is of Mongol ancestry, their religion was lamaism. Very likely Bolsheviks thought that the sacral symbol would get Kalmucks to take part in Red Army as well as prevent their desertion from it. That is a rather usual practice for an ideology and religion of any kind... Anyway there are both a swastika and a five-pointed star on the arm-badge. View the translation of the facsimile into English below.

THE ORDER
to the troops of the South-Eastern Front

No. 213
The city of Saratov, November 3, 1919

There be approved a distinctive arm-badge for the Kalmuck units, in accord with the draft and the description enclosed.
It is ordered to give the right of bearing the arm-badge to all the officers and Red Army men of the present and being organized Kalmuck units, in accord with the instructions of the order No. 116 given by the Republic Revolutionary Council of War this year.

Front Commander Shorin

Revolutionary War Councillor Trifonov

Acting Commander of the General Staff Pugachev

(For the Front Staff)


DESCRIPTION
A rhombus measuring 15 by 11 centimeters is made of red cloth. There are a five-pointed star in its upper corner and a garland in the center. There is a "LUNGTN"* with the legend "R. S. F. S. R."** in the center of the garland. The diameter of the star is 15 mm, that of the garland is 6 cm, the dimensions of "LUNGTN" are 27 mm, those of a letter are 6 mm.
The arm-badge for the officers and administrators is embroidered in gold and silver, while for Red Army men it is stencilled.
The star, "LUNGTN" and the ribbon of the garland are embroidered in gold (yellow paint for Red Army men), the garland itself and the legend are embroidered in silver (white paint for Red Army men).

Draft: (follows below)

Without any doubts this "LUNGTN" means a swastika, a fylfot, you see, but we don't know the etymology of this word. On the other hand it is written in capital letters, so the word looks like a kind of an abbreviation

the reliability of this webpage, you decide. It's this kalmyk Swastika/"LUNGTN"/Wind horse connection that needs clarifying. I think i need someone who knows about the kalmyk culture to help me do that

btw lamaism is another name for Tibetan Buddhism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Buddhism#cite_note-0

 

[Predanator]

Without any doubts this "LUNGTN" means a swastika, a fylfot, you see, but we don't know the etymology of this word. On the other hand it is written in capital letters, so the word looks like a kind of an abbreviation

the reliability of this webpage, you decide.

The webpage makes an unsupported claim, when the word or origin of the word LUNGTN or ЛЮНГТН is completely unevidenced, except the above Wiki link which cites it being derived from Lungta meaning Wind Horse. Wind Horse being a completely different symbol.

 

[theyounghistorian77]

The webpage makes an unsupported claim, when the word or origin of the word LUNGTN or ЛЮНГТН is completely unevidenced, except the above Wiki link which cites it being derived from Lungta meaning Wind Horse. Wind Horse being a completely different symbol.

i think this is going to on and on and on.

but thanks for the insight. i take it you know russian quite well?

 

[Predanator]

The webpage makes an unsupported claim, when the word or origin of the word LUNGTN or ЛЮНГТН is completely unevidenced, except the above Wiki link which cites it being derived from Lungta meaning Wind Horse. Wind Horse being a completely different symbol.

i think this is going to on and on and on.

but thanks for the insight. i take it you know russian quite well?

This thread has been pointless for a while... you don't need to know Russian to be able to identify the word in the text that corresponds to the central symbol... and a quick search reveals that it is not a common Russian word if a Russian word at all.

 

[IvantheLizard]

This thread has been pointless for a while... you don't need to know Russian to be able to identify the word in the text that corresponds to the central symbol... and a quick search reveals that it is not a common Russian word if a Russian word at all.

My main problem with your accusation is that you are ignoring all other pieces of evidence over this one piece of LUNGTN nonsense which would be impossible to confirm. Outside of that one bit, all the other information matches perfectly to the image at hand. There could be any number of reasons why it feature a swastika instead of the wind-horse. Artist didn't get an accurate description? The translator messed up and defined the Swastika as the wind horse? The colonel preferred the swastika over the wind-horse but the text went unaltered? The evidence of authenticity outweighs the evidence of this being a false document. The problem with our ONE word is that neither me nor you can confirm if they MEANT a swastika or a wind-horse. It's like calling a Russian person a douche. To us it means shower, a regular shower. Words get lost in translation. as we can see by the H(N) at the end where there should be an A(same as in English). Someone messed up way back then.

 

[Predanator]

The evidence of authenticity outweighs the evidence of this being a false document.

Sorry that is a big FAIL. No evidence of authenticity has been provided. All indications point to an emblem being photoshopped into an old book with an obscure description that could be claimed to match the photoshopping. If you sincerely believe that the image could not be photoshopped, then that is too bad, but a lack of imagination and understanding of photoshopping is still not evidence.

I can show you a picture of bigfoot where "all the other information matches perfectly to the image at hand" except for the bigfoot part, but that doesn't lend credibility to the bigfoot part, especially when that would the point of the image. Maybe LUNGTN means bigfoot! Should we photoshop a Tibetan Yeti onto the page and pretend it is beyond mortal men to have faked the image?

End of Line (TRON)

 

[DepricatedZero]

The evidence of authenticity outweighs the evidence of this being a false document.

Sorry that is a big FAIL. No evidence of authenticity has been provided. All indications point to an emblem being photoshopped into an old book with an obscure description that could be claimed to match the photoshopping. If you sincerely believe that the image could not be photoshopped, then that is too bad, but a lack of imagination and understanding of photoshopping is still not evidence.

I can show you a picture of bigfoot where "all the other information matches perfectly to the image at hand" except for the bigfoot part, but that doesn't lend credibility to the bigfoot part, especially when that would the point of the image. Maybe LUNGTN means bigfoot! Should we photoshop a Tibetan Yeti onto the page and pretend it is beyond mortal men to have faked the image?

End of Line (TRON)

This is where you have to slam your analysis down on occam's razor, as I said earlier.

Unfortunately, signs point to both sides of the coin, so we have to decide which is more compelling. IF we accept that the translation is not fabricated, which we have no reason to believe it is, then the question is this:

Which is more likely, A or B?

Let A be: The book describes an emblem and shows an example of it. The colored ink was more resilient than the mass-produced black ink and is still fairly bright.

Let B be: A photoshopper faked a book with Russian text describing the dimensions of the logo they had created, and successfully circulated it as a historical photo.

Alternatively, let B be: A photoshopper found a description in Russian which vaguely matched the logo they had made up. They managed to preserve the color and shading of the page perfectly as they removed the logo already present in the book, and then overlaid their own logo on the book, then successfully circulated it as a historical photo.

In either case, A seems much more reasonable than B. Just because something CAN be photoshopped, does not mean it was. There is enough compelling evidence for authenticity to suggest that this is real.

 

[Pulsar]

My first reaction was: "looks fake". However, I found this picture of the same document:

which looks more realistic to me (although I'm not an expert on photoshop at all). In any case, the symbol itself looks genuine, there are several other versions. You can find them if you google "LUNGTN" and change the language settings to 'Russian' in advanced search. (link to the above picture: here)
I get 1130 hits in total: apparently the Russians are obsessed with this on their fora. I have no idea what they say, I don't speak Russian. My guess is that there are even more Russian conspiracy theorists than American ones.
In any case, I don't understand the fuss. Swastikas were commonplace all over the world before the Nazis used them, so what if they did copy it from Russia?