Armed troops and graceful ballerinas in white tutus posed together in a ‘creative’ attempt by a military recruitment center to mark Russia’s beloved holiday – Women’s Day. The jaw-dropping juxtaposition split the internet.
An empty subway station was chosen as a location for the overnight shoot earlier this week. The images were published on the Vkontakte (Russian Facebook) page of the recruitment center in Yekaterinburg, the city in the Urals.
Entitled “The man’s strength is in the love and tenderness of a woman,” the collection was put together to celebrate International Women’s day, a public holiday in Russia when females are expected to be given flowers and various presents.
Think of it as a combination of Valentine’s and Mother’s Days, and no surprise that the eyebrows-raising pictures prompted a storm of mixed reactions online.
Many called it a “great idea.”“Strength and tenderness. Manliness and femininity. So cool,” an enthusiastic commenter wrote.
Others called it “absolutely surreal.” Some just couldn’t comprehend why the metro was chosen as the venue, while others wondered how subway security could let people armed with assault rifles in.
The photoshoot was actually greenlighted by the subway administration and the city authorities.
Some were annoyed that the troops in the images were pointing their guns at the audience and decried the project as “propaganda of militarism.”
One female commenter also pointed out to the authors that March 8 was actually about women’s rights, but not “love and tenderness.”
“Next year, make photos of female soldiers sporting the same gear – that’s going to be cool and on point,” she wrote.
The recruitment center in the Urals was not the only military unit pushing the envelope of creativity to celebrate the ladies. A tank division in Moscow region posted a well-choreographed ‘tank ballet.’
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