The children of some of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs are rebelling against Putin on Instagram and calling for peace
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Waiyee Yip
Mar 7, 2022, 22:00 IST
Among the loudest voices is socialite and TV host Ksenia Sobchak, who has been regularly sharing posts condemning the attacks with her 9.3 million Instagram followers.Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images
Some children of rich Russians are protesting the invasion of Ukraine on social media.
Among the loudest voices is Ksenia Sobchak, a socialite and TV host who has regularly shared posts condemning the attacks with her 9.3 million Instagram followers.
Sobchak, who's been called "Russia's Paris Hilton," is the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the first democratically elected mayor of St. Petersburg. Despite her family's close ties to the president, she became an unlikely challenger to Putin in the 2018 presidential race.
In a post last week, Sobchak urged peace, writing that "global geopolitical interests cannot be more important than the simple, peaceful life of millions of people."
A post shared by Ксения Собчак (@xenia_sobchak)
Maria Yumasheva, the 19-year-old granddaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, expressed support for Ukraine on the first day of the attacks.
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Yumasheva is the daughter of the billionaire Valentin Yumashev, a trusted advisor to Putin who has been credited with helping the president come to power, the BBC reported.
On her Instagram account, she posted a photo of the Ukrainian flag alongside a broken-heart emoji and the caption "No to war." She has disabled comments on the post.
A post shared by masha yumasheva (@yumashkaa)
Her Russian footballer fiancé, Fedor Smolov, 32, posted a black square on his Instagram account, also with the caption "No to war!!!" alongside emojis of a broken heart and the Ukrainian flag. Comments on his post were also disabled.
A post shared by Fedor Smolov (@smolovfedor_10)
Others condemned the invasion via Instagram Stories.
Sofia Abramovich, the 27-year-old daughter of the tycoon Roman Abramovich, posted an Instagram Story in late February that said, "The biggest and most successful lie of Kremlin's propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin."
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The image included the text "Russia wants a war with Ukraine" with the word "Russia" crossed out and replaced with "Putin."
The post has expired, but a screenshot was shared on Twitter.
Russian celebrities have also condemned the invasion on their Instagram accounts.
Irina Shayk, a supermodel with 17.7 million followers, posted a picture of a peace sign and said she would donate to Unicef and Red Cross Ukraine.
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A post shared by irinashayk (@irinashayk)
Natalia Vodianova, a supermodel with 3.3 million followers, wrote in a post: "As a mother my heart goes out to all mothers who are suffering the consequences of recent events in Ukraine and everyone effected by this conflict.
"Women will be the ones carrying most burden of this conflict and I want them to know that they are not alone," she continued.
A post shared by Natalia Vodianova (@natasupernova)
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