CAN’T TAKE A JOKE

Russian Satirist Faces Eight Years in Jail for YouTube Video That Mocked Local Officials

The video depicts a fictional local official firing a grenade at a suspicious bag at a bus stop, only to reveal a stash of carrots.

A Russian satirist is reportedly facing up to eight years in jail after posting a comedy sketch on YouTube in which a fictional local official blows up a big bag of carrots. Reuters reports that nearly two million people have watched the video, titled “Vitaly Nalivkin prevented a terrorist act,” in which a hapless official fires a shoulder-launched grenade at a suspicious bag at a bus stop, only to reveal a humble carrot stash. Sketch director Andrei Klochkov has now been charged with hooliganism and could face a maximum eight years in prison if convicted, according to his lawyer Alexei Kletskin. The lawyer dismissed the charges as “completely ridiculous” and claimed the actors used legally purchased firecrackers, not explosives, to create the harmless explosion at the bus stop. Klochkov’s group of satirists, known as “Barakuda,” posted a crowdfunding page to help cover their legal costs, saying: “You know we are not criminals!”