Russian models and influencers have taken to their social media to protest against the rise in Russophobia and call out luxury brand Chanel for refusing to sell their products to those who will be taking them to Russia. However, the actions of these Russian women have been met with heavy criticism as many point out to them that it is because of Putin that Ukraine continues to suffer and thousands have been displaced from their homes and many have lost their family members to this ongoing war.
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Russia's rich and influential people are taking to their social media to raise their voices and criticize luxury brand Chanel after the brand refused to sell its products to those who could take them back with them to Russia.
Chanel has taken the step following the European Union sanctions that ultimately prohibits the sale of luxury goods priced higher than €300 (AUD $436, £250) to Russia.
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Taking the initiative, model Victoria Bonya took to her Instagram with a short clip in English where she spoke to her 9.3m followers, making a bold move against the luxury brand.
"If Chanel house does not respect their clients, why do we have to respect Chanel house?" she asked, before cutting up her handbag with scissors.
Following suit, Russian TV presenter and actress Marina Ermoshkina also joined forces by cutting up her bag to demonstrate her stand against 'Russophobia-supporting brands'.
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"Not a single item or brand is worth my love for my motherland and my self-respect... if owning Chanel means selling my motherland, then I don't need Chanel," she said in the short clip.
Russian DJ Katya Guseva also supported Ermoshkina in her own video.
"I always dreamed that a Chanel handbag would appear in my wardrobe and it happened last year," Guseva said.
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"But after I learned about the brand's policy towards Russians, I decided to remove these bags from my daily life until the situation changes and support the challenge from Marina Ermoshkina."
She did not call on others to cut up their bags though, as she does not support 'the destruction of things'.
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"Chanel is just an accessory," she explained.
"An accessory that for some reason decided that it had the right to humiliate people, my compatriots, decided to discriminate people on the basis of nationality, which I will not tolerate."
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Though Guseva seems to be against the idea of destroying luxury handbags, many have criticized these Russian influencers as the world points out that thousands of Ukrainians are suffering because of Putin's war in Ukraine.
Their actions comes after Chanel issued a statement via BBC news saying it 'complies with all laws applicable to our operations and employees worldwide, including trade sanction laws'.
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"We are currently working on improving this approach and we apologise for any misunderstanding this may have caused. Welcoming all our clients, regardless of where they come from, is a priority for Chanel," the label said.
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