UK firm fires Russian over voting for Putin

The expat was targeted by activists over her social media posts about the election

The London real estate brokerage Egre has fired one of its agents after complaints from a Ukrainian activist, who argued that she should be punished for voting for Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The three-day election in Russia saw Putin win 87% of the vote, according to the official tally published on Monday. Russians living abroad were also able to cast their ballots at embassies and consulates, including in the UK.

The queue outside the embassy in London drew the attention of one Nazar Smyk, who lives in the UK and describes himself as a buyer of equipment for the Ukrainian military.

“Not all Russians are oppositionists,” Smyk wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. “There are also c**ts such as Yulia Vorobyova. She openly votes for Putin while living in London. Do you know what happens to supporters of war?”

A follow-up post showed what Smyk claimed to be screenshots of Vorobyova’s Instagram, in which she purportedly said she was on her way to cast her vote at the embassy despite the pouring rain.

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“When Western media think we (Russian people) don’t vote for Putin. Well, we do!” said one of the captions from the screenshots. “Mission accomplished,” said another. 

Smyk then posted the address of her employer, with a call to “show Yulia what she needs to be responsible for.”

When Vorobyova made her account private, Smyk called her a “dumb c**t” and said it was too late. “We will f**k you and the company you work for,” he added. 

On Tuesday, Smyk posted a letter he received from Egre, revealing that Vorobyova had been dismissed. 

“It has recently come to our attention that one of our consultant agents, Yulia, has posted a pro-war message on social media,” the company said. “Yulia is no longer associated with our company.”

Юлія нахуй вилетіла з компанії :)

ТРО Лондон працює 🚬🚬🚬 pic.twitter.com/pzfiiaxwvq

— Nazar Smyk (@nazar_london) March 19, 2024

Smyk also said he had spoken with Egre’s owner and that “in order to show its pro-European position, the company will donate funds for the humanitarian needs of Ukrainians through the British-Ukrainian fund,” as well as vet any new hires – presumably to ensure they weren’t Russians with unapproved political beliefs. 

After Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the US and its allies moved to ban Russian officials, plants, animals, artists and even certain letters of the alphabet, all in an effort to show their support for the government in Kiev.