Putin branded a ‘b****’ by Moscow man with bizarre banner | World | News

A man has been jailed in Moscow after climbing a billboard and displaying a bizarre banner calling Putin a “b****”.

The man – Dmitry Shapovalov – reportedly scrambled up onto the billboard to pull off his stunt with the odd sign.

A court described how the man was repeatedly asked to come down from his vantage point with his poster which read: “Putin, where are you, b****? Make room for me.”

But Mr Shapovalov “ignored their instructions” and later “resisted and physically obstructed them.”

He pleaded guilty, according to reports, and explained that he simmply wanted to express his political beliefs.

He was sentenced to 15 days in jail for disobeying police, TV station RTVI reported.

The court ruling says: “He sat there for about two hours, after which police officers arrived and, after learning his name, asked him to climbed down.

“He refused, as he had decided to stay there for a bit longer. After sitting for about another 30 minutes, he saw several police vehicles and an ambulance arrive.

“Then he decided to climb down on his house because he was cold. He did not resist the police officers.”

Protests are rarely held in Russia.

President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on them with even more force since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

Political opponents have also been targeted by Putin in recent years.

The most famous example is Alexei Navalny, who grew to prominence exposing alleged corruption at the heart of Russian politics because of his criticism of Putin.

Earlier this year, Navalny died while serving a long prison sentence in Russia, sparking international outrage. He had been behind bars since he returned from Germany in January 2021, jailed on various charges that he has always denied.

In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with Novichok while on a flight.

In the Russian elections, Putin also barred anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhin from standing despite his growing support.