Instagram influencer faces up to five years in jail after ‘tickling breast' of famous war statue in video

An Instagram influencer is facing up to five years in jail after "tickling" the breast of a famous war statue.

Alena Agafonova, aged 23, posted a video beneath The Motherland Calls monument in Volgograd, southwest Russia, on Instagram last year which appears to show her tickling the right breast of the figure. The video caused outrage at the time, and she could now be handed a jail sentence because of her actions.

The memorial, which is a 279ft statue of a woman brandishing a sword, commemorates the "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" - one of World War 2's most epic battles. It was declared the tallest statue in the world in 1967, and it is also the tallest statue in the eastern hemisphere outside of Asia.

The video has now been officially banned in Russia. Agafonova, who is Russian, went into hiding in Sri Lanka soon after the video was posted. She was subsequently put on Russia’s wanted list following the incident and earlier this month she was brought back to her her homeland.

The influencer was immediately transported from Moscow to Volgograd and will now be detained for two months pending further investigations. She has posted a video offering an apology for her act since the first video was posted, but she still faces criminal prosecution in Volgograd and a sentence of up to five years.

In the video, which some believe has been posted on the order of law officials, she said: "I address all residents of Russia and Volgograd and ask everyone not to commit the acts I did last year because of my stupidity.

“I didn't even think that I could insult someone's feelings. I ask all Russian citizens for forgiveness.” She also offered “deep apologies” for her behaviour.

Agafonova has been accused of “desecration of a burial site” and “cynical actions that disregard the norms of morality”, as well as the “rehabilitation of Nazism”.

Footage showed Alena handcuffed as a law enforcement officer reprimanded her for her actions. "I am informing you that the investigative department for the Central district of Volgograd has a criminal case against you for the desecration of a symbol of military glory of Russia," he said.

The officer added that her video had been an "insult to the memory of defenders of the fatherland".