Russian activists strip their clothes to protest proposed pension reforms

Activists from the “Open Russia” movement have resorted to picketing in the nude, after local officials in Rostov-on-Don refused to issue a permit to protest a federal initiative to raise the country’s retirement age and the value added tax. On Facebook, Open Russia activist Anastiasia Shevchenko shared photos of herself and fellow activist Maria Krivenko, standing apparently naked in the street, holding a sign reading, “They’ve robbed us down to our undies.” “Join our flashmob and share your photos online with similar posters and the hashtag #ТрусЫПротеста [Protest Undies],” Shevchenko wrote.

This isn’t the first time Open Russia has tried to use the female form to drum up publicity for its efforts. Early last year, when the movement was advertising anti-Putin protests on April 29, 2017, Open Russia’s Twitter account posted a photograph of a buxom young woman with promotion stickers taped across her nipples. (Then project coordinator Maria Baronova later claimed to have stolen the idea from a Navalny supporter.)

On June 14, on Day One of the FIFA World Cup, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced massive changes coming to Russia’s pension system: the retirement age will start rising gradually next year, growing from 55 to 63 for women and from 60 to 65 for men. The same day, Medvedev also announced that Russia will raise the Value Added Tax from 18 percent to 20 percent, though existing VAT benefits on foods, children’s goods, and medical supplies will remain untouched, to ensure that “the burden doesn’t fall on [ordinary] people,” the prime minister said.