Abdalkin is a communist regional legislator from the Samara region, about 1,000 kilometers southeast of Moscow. The politician recorded a video of himself watching President Putin’s nationwide speech on his computer. That speech took place shortly before the anniversary of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In the video, which Abdalkin posted to YouTube, he has noodles hanging from his ears as he sarcastically expresses his “full support” for Putin’s “great performance”. There is an expression in the Russian language, “hanging noodles on someone’s ears”, which means “to lie to someone”.
In the speech, President Putin repeatedly defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accused the West of, as he has repeatedly done in the past, “starting the war”.
While Abdalkin’s satirical noodle protest found support online, it quickly drew criticism from politicians. The Russian Communist Party, which is loyal to the Kremlin, criticized Abdalkin and distanced itself from his actions.