A lottery winner from western Russia has been forced to delete her social media accounts and remain indoors after hitting the multimillion jackpot earlier this month.
Natalya Vlasova, 63, won a record-breaking half a billion rubles ($8.5 million), although her name didn’t surface until two weeks after the announcement, prompting a nationwide search.
Since then, Vlasova and her daughter Yekaterina have been forced to delete their social media accounts, the Vesti Voronezh news program reported on Monday.
“Relatives say that, in addition to requests for help, they began to receive threats from extortionists,” Vesti reported.
Vlasova, a pensioner from the Voronezh settlement of Panino, will receive the payout in installments after the New Year. The sum amounts to approximately 39,000 times the average monthly pension in Russia.
The previous record lottery payout of 350 million rubles went to a resident of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk in early 2016.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
