Due to an incident that took place on the eve of a premiere of Der Fliegende Hollдnder in Bayreuth, an incredibly important event for me, I would like to issue the following statement:
I am not and never have been affiliated with any political parties, leftwing or rightwing. I find National Socialism in any form whatsoever deeply repellent. Both of my grandfathers perished during World War II.
I categorically deny any connection whatsoever between any of my tattoos and Nazi symbolism.
One side of my chest depicts Scandinavian runes – while a student of hard rock, I was deeply interested in Scandinavian eposes. The tattoo on the other side of my chest has never had any association with the swastika whatsoever. It was supposed to be an eight-pointed star with a coat of arms designed by myself in the middle. I had this tattoo done in several stages. In the video used in the programme by ZDF, I am filmed with the incomplete tattoo, its uncoloured contours appearing to some to resemble a swastika. Let me repeat that this was an intermediary stage at which point the tattoo was incomplete. Never in my life have I wished to have a swastika tattoo on my body, and I most certainly would never pose for the camera in such a fashion.
Yevgeny Nikitin
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