A RUSSIAN influencer who faced backlash for burning her passport has claimed it was not a protest against Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Yevgenia ‘Gipsy’ Hoffman, 22, received intense criticism from Russian war fanatics who claim she was “expressing support for Ukraine”.
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However, Hoffman claims her stunt was not to go against Putin, instead burnt her passport because she “did not like her picture” on it.
One alleged she was “expressing support for Ukrainian terrorists”.
Hoffman, who belongs from an area near the Russia-Ukraine border, said: “I burned the passport because the photo [of me] is ugly.
“I love Putin and Russia, and the act was not to show support towards Ukraine.”
The influencer, who has more than 5,000 followers online, has been vilified by online critics.
One said: “She should be stripped of her citizenship for this.”
Others called for her to be given a severe punishment to deter others from making anti-war protests.
The influencer’s late-night passport prank has reached to Kremlin’s top investigator Alexander Bastrykin, who also happens to be Putin’s university classmate.
Her alleged crime is burning the State Emblem – a two-headed eagle – which appears in the “internal passport”, used in Russia as a vital identity document.
The investigating committee said: “These actions are a gross insult and mockery of the civil and patriotic feelings of citizens of the Russian Federation.
“The Chairman of the Investigative Committee will be presented with a report on the investigation of the criminal case against a Moscow resident who committed desecration of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation.”
A criminal case has been opened against her, with a clear hint that she will be found guilty.
The influencer could now face upto a year in jail amid the intense backlash from the critics.
The stunt comes amid a rise in protests – especially from women – against Putin’s war in Ukraine.
And the Russian authorities are now seeking to crush new cases of opposition to the dictator.
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Sayan Bose
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