Russia has escalated its crackdown on public indecency by targeting a Ukrainian OnlyFans model, Lolita Bogdanova, who poses topless before the revered St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s iconic Red Square.

The incident, which took place in 2021 prior to the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has resurfaced, igniting a fierce backlash from Russian officials and placing Bogdanova on the Kremlin’s international “most wanted” list.

Hailing from Makiivka, now under Russian control, the 24-year-old model’s bold photoshoot has stirred controversy amidst Russia’s intensified push for traditional values, a shift starkly observed under Vladimir Putin’s recent terms. Bogdanova, who initially apologized for any religious sentiments offended by her actions, claimed the images were distributed without her consent.

Despite her apology, Russian authorities are now fervently pursuing her, with a prominent church figure even demanding a display of “repentance” from the model.

While Bogdanova had agreed to remain in Russia pending an investigation, recent Instagram posts suggest she may have eluded authorities, possibly finding refuge in the United States. The Russian Interior Ministry, maintaining a veil of secrecy, has yet to disclose the specific legal grounds for their pursuit of Bogdanova, only revealing that she is sought “under a criminal article.”

This development underscores Russia’s hardline stance against perceived moral transgressions amid its broader campaign against individuals challenging the country’s conservative resurgence. Furthermore, the incident casts a spotlight on the Kremlin’s efforts to quell dissenting voices within the Orthodox Church, particularly those advocating for peace in the beleaguered nation of Ukraine.

OnlyFans, the platform Bogdanova is associated with, has publicly condemned Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, going so far as to suspend Russian creators’ accounts in alignment with international sanctions against Moscow. This act of defiance by the content-sharing platform amplifies the ideological divide between Western liberalism and Russia’s tightening grip on cultural and moral orthodoxy, a divide that Bogdanova, unwittingly or not, finds herself at the heart of.