Local authorities in Russia have refused to allow an opposition rally on the grounds that activists' rubber duck toys are a symbol of regime change created by Western intelligence agencies.

Supporters of Alexei Navalny, who wants to challenge Vladimir Putin for the presidency, filed a complaint after they were denied permission for a rally by the city of Izhevsk, the home of the Kalashnikov rifle factory 700 miles east of Moscow.

The city argued in court that the demonstration was illegal under a law against “mass riots,” citing an article about rubber ducks by the pro-Kremlin website News-Front.info, according to photographs posted by opposition activist Timofei Klabukov.