Russian State Duma deputy Natalia Poklonskaya mounted an unruly horse to wish her online followers a Happy New Year, an earnest gesture marred only by the cynicism of social media.
“Let those who are noble and bring justice and goodness ride high in the New Year,” Poklonskaya tweeted on Tuesday as she struggled to steady the steed while also holding a champagne glass.
Online users, however, wondered why the deputy did not clamber onto a pig, in reference to the upcoming Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese zodiac.
As a State Duma deputy, Poklonskaya, 38, has gained notoriety for her public obsession with Tsar Nicholas II, who was canonized by the Orthodox Church in 2000.
This year, her ruling United Russia party colleagues have shunned Poklonskaya for defying status quo and casting the only opposing vote against the controversial plan to raise Russians’ retirement age.
