A Russian official in Siberia who was fired after she appeared in Playboy magazine has been unable to find new employment in the months since she lost her job.
Anna Anufriyeva, 27, resigned after five years as the Tyumen region’s chief government procurement specialist when her superiors learned of her entry in a Playboy Russia contest in May. The glossy men’s magazine has spoken out in support of Anufriyeva, saying it regrets that “publishing erotic photoshoots is still a risky step for women that can lead to problems.”
“I was told at a recent interview that I acted unethically and I can’t work at government agencies,” Anufriyeva told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news website’s Siberian affiliate in an interview published Monday.
The former civil servant said she does get recruited by private commercial organizations. Potential regional and municipal employers tell her that “unlike other public servants, I’m not a role model,” she said.
Asked by the Sibreal.org news website whether she was forced to resign, Anufriyeva said “let’s just say they weren’t talking me out of submitting the resignation letter.”
“In essence, it was society that fired me and not the employer,” she said in an earlier interview with Playboy Russia.
Anufriyeva told sibreal.org that she had organized the photoshoot for herself and that she had wanted to do it at least once in her life. She submitted the photos to Playboy's Girl of the Year 2019 contest after seeing an Instagram ad for the contest.
Anufriyeva’s story comes a year after another Siberian state employee’s firing over a pinup photo series sparked a nationwide campaign of Russian teachers posting photographs of themselves in swimsuits online.
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