Zagitova’s “Bold Swimsuit Photo Posting” Leaves Us with Mixed Feelings

Alina Zagitova, gold medalist in women’s figure skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, has been making headlines after revealing a “bold swimsuit” on her Instagram account.

Zagitova released a photo of herself wearing a denim jacket over a black swimsuit. The bottom of the swimsuit appears to be a pair of gray sweatpants, which is very summery.

However, Zagitova may have her own “goal” in posting such bold photos.

Zagitova, a figure skater born in 2002, won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics at the young age of 15 years and 9 months. However, after that, her performance declined due to a poor performance, and she decided to suspend her participation in competitions. She did not just retire, but commented that she had no intention of standing still or leaving. Under such circumstances, she participated in ice shows and other events. She also participated in the Beijing Olympics as a reporter.

Incidentally, Zagitova is known as an influencer. Her Instagram account has more than 1.12 million followers. She has many Japanese followers, and Japanese comments are frequently seen on her posts, which she herself often transmits in Japanese.

However, the frequency of Zagitova’s Instagram updates has dropped drastically recently. This is due to the “Instagram ban” imposed by the Russian government. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia, which has been tightening its control over speech, has also tightened its restrictions on social networking services. The 80 million Insta users in Russia were also subject to the ban.

Recently, Zagitova has been updating more on Telegram, a social networking service originating in Russia, and less on Instagram. Japanese fans who are not familiar with Telegram will be happy to see her posting on Instagram in this way. This bold post also eases the depressing atmosphere a little. However, when I think of the situation she is in in Russia, I cannot honestly say that I am happy for her.

With antipathy toward Russia growing daily, she may be posting these bold photos in her own way to make people feel a little more familiar with the country, or she may be sending them out as a survival strategy in her own way as media exposure is inevitably limited.

I hope that we will soon return to a world where anyone can say what they want, where they want, and the recipients can enjoy it without thinking.