- An anonymous social media user denounced her for “discrediting the army”
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The search for Ukrainian supporters in Russia reached a new level when police questioned a woman for wearing her yellow jacket against a vaguely blue sky.
Journalist Antonida Smolina, 38, was denounced by an anonymous accuser for promoting the colors of Ukraine after she posted photos of her wearing the jacket on social media.
By doing so, it was alleged that he was “discrediting” Putin’s military.
After posting the photo, he discovered that he was the subject of a police investigation by Vladimir Putin’s law enforcement agencies.
“A district police officer came to see me,” said the journalist from Veliky Ustyug. “He said that a certain Valery P wrote a statement against me to the police.”
Antonida was said to be “provoking associations with enemy symbols, discrediting our government and army.”
Antonida Smolina, 38, was accused of “discrediting Putin’s army” because she was photographed in a yellow jacket against a vaguely blue sky.
After posting the photo, Antonida discovered that she was the subject of a police investigation by Vladimir Putin’s law enforcement agencies.
“A district police officer came to see me,” the journalist said. “He said that a certain Valery P wrote a statement against me to the police.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in Moscow, Russia, on March 23, 2024.
“My down jacket is three years old and my salary doesn’t allow me to buy new clothes every time the public rating of a certain color changes,” Smolina said.
“And the color of my down jacket, to be very strict, is not yellow, but ‘Crayola’.”
She was forced to write a formal response to the allegation and police will decide what action to take.
Social media users mocked the draconian new laws in Russia that have led to people seeing enemies everywhere linked to the war against Ukraine.
‘Is yellow prohibited? Is the rainbow prohibited? The triumph of gray,” said one.
‘The next step is to ban the yellow sun in the blue sky. This is the symbolism of the enemy,” posted another.
Another comment said: “A criminal case will soon be opened against the sky and the sun if someone doesn’t like it.”
Another mocking post said: ‘Heaven is recognized as extremist and is banned in the Russian Federation. However, it is still present, like the Taliban.”
Antonida wrote: ‘The publication that offended Valery P so much has nothing to do with politics, but politics is killing the souls of my compatriots. And it’s scary
Antonida told Baza: ‘You have to be careful because there is no guarantee that the people around you are normal’
FILE – Police detain a man who wanted to lay flowers in honor of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, February 17, 2024.
Antonida wrote: ‘The publication that offended Valery P so much has nothing to do with politics, but politics is killing the souls of my compatriots. And it’s scary.’
He admitted that he stopped wearing the yellow jacket.
“I’ve already changed my jacket because of the season,” he said.
“But I definitely wouldn’t change it because [the complaint].’
Speaking to Russian independent outlet Baza, he said: “I decided to talk about this so that people understand that they need to be careful; there is no guarantee that the people around you are normal.”