Thong-wearing bikers hunted by cops after breaking coronavirus lockdown in Russia
POLICE in Russia have had to crack down on some thong-wearing bikers caught breaking the country’s coronavirus lockdown.
Footage shot in the city of Cheboksary showed two scantily-clad women taking part in a ride to mark the start of the summer season for biking enthusiasts.
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A voice is heard on the video saying the stunt was “to cheer up from coronavirus”, but the ride caught the attention of authorities after the clip spread on social media.
Russians are not permitted to go out except for essential purposes.
Police are now taking action against the riders of the bikes and the women as well as the person who was driving the car from which the footage was shot.
“The identities of all the participants of the ride have been established,” said a police source.
The bikers were fined for driving “unregistered vehicles”, while law enforcement is considering punishing the women for “minor hooliganism” during lockdown.
One of the women, Nastya Ivanova, 25, a fitness trainer, said: “We had fun, we laughed.
“Now we will bear responsibility for our actions.”
She added: “We were obeying the traffic rules.
“We take coronavirus calmly.
“We both wore helmets with masks underneath them, so we were not scared to get sick.”
The other woman, Olesya, a car sales manager, said: “This was in fact our first-ever ride on bikes.
“We didn’t mean to have such hype, with the videos discussed everywhere, including Russian federal TV stations.
“We were shocked by the reaction.
“So far we were not [fined] – but maybe police just didn’t get to us yet.”
Cheboksary is the capital of the Chuvashia region, which has had 723 coronavirus infections and eight deaths.
Social media comments were divided over the ride.
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One said: “May I ask you a question? How do you manage to live without [a] brain?”
But another replied: “Don’t forget your sense of humour.”