A Putin ally blames the West for trying to turn his people into slaves as a viral trend sees teens dress up as furry animals and attack people on the streets.
Across Russia and other former Soviet countries, teenagers are seen in bizarre videos mimicking the animals they are dressed as by crawling on all fours, growling, meowing or barking.
One teenager, who bit at least one passer-by after pretending to be a dog, is being hunted by the police in Uzbekistan.
READ MORE: Inside bizarre furries craze as ‘misunderstood’ followers slam fetish claims
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Putin is targeting the craze called ‘kvadrobing’, which first hit the headlines in Russia after a woman in Omsk, Siberia, was filmed walking her son on a lead while he scampered on all fours, pretending to be a dog, reports the Times.
Police said they were investigating.
The Russian version of what Westerners call “furries” has lead the Russian government to say Brussels and Washington have instigated this.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the Russian parliamentary chairman, alleged the West has started a “de-humanisation” project that aimed to turn people into “silent puppets”. Russian lawmakers are now working to introduce a legal ban on children identifying as cats and other animals.
Yekaterina Mizulina, head of Russia’s Safe Internet League, said: “I constantly receive letters about quadrobers, they write about being bullied and attacked. Other letters are from teenagers who say they were attacked by quadrobers while walking in a park.”
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