‘Sex is cool, but Putin’s death better': Russian woman fined for text on tote bag

A Russian woman claimed that she was fined by the police authorities for sharing an image of a tote bag which had a text that stated ‘Sex is cool, but President Putin’s death is better.’ The woman, identified as Aleksandra, was requested to pay 30,000 rubles (approximately 25,872 Rupees) on grounds of “discrediting” the Russian military, as per a report from The New York Post. This action was taken under a provision of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Aleksandra stated that the accusations against her were in part derived from a series of screenshots taken from her personal Instagram account. These screenshots displayed a photo of a cotton bag with blue English text reading, “Sex is cool, but President Putin’s death is better.” Furthermore, the images exhibited a bag displaying the phrase “No to war” along with other graffiti expressing dissent against Russia’s ongoing military involvement in Ukraine.

⚡️In Krasnodar, a girl was fined 30 thousand rubles for a bag with the inscription "Sex is cool, but Putin's death is better" 👀 pic.twitter.com/CoFb644r5o

— Ukraine News 🇺🇦 (@Ukrainene) August 3, 2023

On June 28, officers dressed in plainclothes visited her residence in Krasnodar and took her to the Ministry of Internal Affairs office for questioning. During the process, she claimed that she was compelled to reveal her tattoos to the officers, including a design on her upper arm featuring a dog wearing a rainbow scarf with the text “The dog is gay.” “They instructed me to roll up the sleeves of my T-shirt, inspected all my tattoos, requested translations of the English inscriptions, and even photographed my tattoos and face,” the woman said. “It was quite amusing to witness a police officer assert that the rainbow scarf tattoo constituted 100% propaganda,” Aleksandra was quoted by the human rights organization Sphere. Aleksandra was not permitted to make contact to her lawyer. Moreover, she was subjected to mockery by a police official who questioned her upbringing. The Magistrate’s Court levied a fine exceeding $2,000 (Rs. 1,65,367) for offenses related to “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” and the accusation of “discrediting.” “I may not have precise details about their methods of discovery and reasons for their interest, but I speculate that someone lodged a complaint upon noticing my Instagram page… I feel disheartened that even on my modest social media platform, has become problematic and risky to voice my perspective,” Aleksandra was cited as stating to The New York Post.