Despite the hot weather, she insisted the change of jacket was a change of season, not a complaint.

Antonida Smolina, a 38-year-old journalist from Veliky Ustyug, faced police scrutiny after sharing a photo of herself wearing a yellow down jacket on social media. The seemingly innocuous act against a blue sky background sparked accusations of promoting Ukrainian overtones and was seen as undermining President Vladimir Putin’s government and military.

“A regional police officer came to me and said that a certain Valery P had filed a statement against me,” Ms. Smolina said, describing the encounter. The allegation was the color of her jacket A symbol reminiscent of an enemy, challenging the authority of the state.

Antonida Smolina is a 🇷🇺journalist. He has this profile picture on vKontakte.Over the weekend, a local police officer came over to say that a local resident did not like the photo, writing: “She was photographed wearing a yellow down jacket against a blue sky background, reminiscent of a hostile symbol pic.twitter.com/o5Nrvahbez

— Roman M🐦 (@Fbeyeee) April 9, 2024

In her defence, Ms Smolina argued that the color of her jacket, more accurately described as “Crayola”, highlighted the absurdity of the situation. The incident highlights the chilling effect of Russia’s strict laws, where even clothing choices can be politicized. Social media users scoffed, emphasizing the absurdity of linking everyday items to political subversion.

One user wrote: “Yellow banned? Rainbow banned? Gray wins.” Another netizen quipped: “The next step is to ban the yellow sun in the blue sky, which is a symbol of the enemy.”

Smolina expressed concern about the oppressive atmosphere of political paranoia.

“This post that is so offensive to Valerie P has nothing to do with politics, but politics is killing the souls of my fellow citizens,” she wrote.

Despite the hot weather, she insisted the change of jacket was a change of season, not a complaint.