Influencer, 23, who filmed herself tickling chest of famous Russian war statue, publicly apologizes as she faces five years in prison for Instagram video in Putin’s tough Russia
A Russian influencer who filmed herself tickling the chest of a famous Russian war statue has issued a scathing public apology.
Alena Agafonova, 23, posed under the 279-foot statue of a woman brandishing a sword called The Motherland Calls in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, scene of one of World War II’s most epic battles.
She now risks five years in prison for the Instagram video in Putin’s harsh Russia.
She appears to ‘tickle’ the figure’s right breast in footage she posted on Instagram, officially banned in Russia.
Agafonova went into hiding in Sri Lanka after the film was made last year.
She was put on Russia’s wanted list and was held this week when she returned to her home country.
The video shows Alena Agafonova appearing to ‘tickle’ the character’s right breast in footage she posted on Instagram, officially banned in Russia
Agafonova was put on Russia’s wanted list and was held this week when she arrived back in her homeland (File Photo)
Agafonova was immediately transported from Moscow to Volgograd and is now detained for two months pending further investigations.
She issued a humiliating apology for her actions, but still faces criminal prosecution in Volgograd and a sentence of up to five years.
She is accused of ‘desecration of a grave’ and ‘cynical acts that disregard the norms of morality’ as well as ‘rehabilitation of Nazism’.
Her hunt shows the new morality in Russia under Putin amid the war with Ukraine.
Agafonova issued a humiliating apology for her actions, but still faces criminal prosecution in Volgograd and a sentence of up to five years
The 279-foot statue of a woman brandishing a sword called The Motherland Calls in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, scene of one of World War II’s most epic battles
Agafonova posed under the statue. She was put on Russia’s wanted list and was held this week when she returned to her home country
Alena Agafonova. The 23-year-old went into hiding in Sri Lanka after the film was made last year
The authorities crack down on any behavior seen as unpatriotic or contrary to ‘traditional values’.
Footage showed Agafonova in handcuffs as a law enforcement officer told her: ‘I inform you that the investigative department of the Central District of Volgograd has a criminal case against you for desecrating a symbol of Russia’s military glory, insulting the memory of the defenders of the fatherland, engaged in the use of the internet…’
She appeared to have been ordered to issue a public apology, a growing trend in Putin’s repressive state with those flouting the increasingly strict laws.
“I address all residents of Russia and Volgograd and ask everyone not to commit the actions I did last year because of my stupidity,” she said.
‘I didn’t even think I could hurt anyone’s feelings.
‘I ask all Russian citizens for forgiveness.’
Agafonova is taken to the police station in handcuffs. She is accused of ‘desecration of a grave’ and ‘cynical acts that disregard the norms of morality’ as well as ‘rehabilitation of Nazism’
Agafonova escorted by officers. Her hunt shows the new morality in Russia under Putin amid the war with Ukraine
Agafonova at the police station. Authorities crack down on any behavior seen as unpatriotic or contrary to “traditional values”
The statue is among the most famous in Russia and commemorates those who fought and died in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, which resulted in a decisive Soviet victory against Hitler.
The USSR suffered more than a million casualties during the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted from August 1942 to February 1943.
Separately, social activist Rasul Akhiyaretdinov has called on Putin to cover up The Motherland Calls statue.
He was embarrassed by her ‘openly protruding nipples’, which he said signified ‘homosexual moments and a decline in morals’.
The statue, which dates from the Soviet era in 1967, could be disturbing to both Orthodox and Muslim Russians, he said.
“It would be better if the motherland was more covered,” Akhiyaretdinov said.
He plans to appeal to Putin to call for a cover-up.
Earlier this week, two female influencers were forced to make absurd apologies over a lesbian kiss they posted on social media.
Vlada Alchaeva, 24, and her friend Vika, 19, were hunted by police and will also face heavy fines for flouting laws banning LGBT ‘propaganda’.
The pair were told by police they could ‘damage the psyche’ of minors who watched their video under draconian new laws.