A YouTube video showing a man in military uniform riding a pink bike across a St. Petersburg sidewalk.
Just a normal day in Russia?
A St. Petersburg driver got a surprise recently when a soldier — or someone who appears to be a man in a military uniform — rode past him on a pink bike near the House of Soviets.
The surprise was two-fold: Why was the man wearing a uniform that looked like it came from the U.S. military or NATO? And why was he riding a pink bike?
In comments written below the YouTube video, which was posted a few days ago, commentators wondered dryly whether NATO or U.S. troops had infiltrated St. Petersburg.
In any case, you can only hope that the bike rider didn't get stopped by the police. Perhaps he would not only have faced tough questions about his outfit during a document check but also a threat to detain him for riding a pink bike. After all, St. Petersburg led the country last year in embracing vague anti-gay legislation that has prompted international outrage, including a drive by U.S. gays to boycott Russian vodka and the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The law levies fines and other penalties on people accused of the vague charge of promoting homosexuality to minors.
