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Sports Blogger Defends Russian Women

Vasily Minyaytsev

One of Russia’s most popular bloggers has called on his fellow countrymen to stop recriminating women for getting friendly with foreign World Cup fans.

Yury Dud, a sports journalist whose YouTube videos frequently gather millions of views, earlier this week posted a picture on Instagram alongside a heart emoji. The picture featured a girl dressed in Russian traditional gear holding hands with a man wearing a Mexico jersey and a sombrero.

The post sparked a barrage of critical reactions with one commenter accusing Russian women of “unacceptable behavior.”

In a blog post on the Sports.ru site titled “Our girls are being told off for hanging out with foreigners. Leave them alone, ey,” Dud hit back at what he said was a widespread tendency to criticize Russian women for fraternizing with foreigners.

Saying women had the right to decide who they slept with, he proceeded to list why “Foreigners are much more attractive than we are.”

“They keep themselves fit, not just during their youth but far into old age. They’re open […] They smell nice,” Dud wrote. “They don’t mistake the word ‘pedicure’ for ‘pedophilia.’”

He added that many Russians did not have the opportunity to travel, and therefore “for millions [of Russians, foreigners] are little different from aliens.”

“Don’t cry ‘Shame!’ at beautiful summer love or humiliate yourselves,” he advised Russian men.

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