Foreign Affairs

Drunk Man Attempts Selfie, Accidentally Rips Off Communist’s Arm

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A man in the Russian city of Prokopyevsk got drunk Wednesday and tried to take a selfie with a statue of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, destroying it in the process.

According to local outlet FlashSiberia, witnesses say the 30-year-old man tried to hang on the plaster statue’s outstretched arm, which could not support his weight and came crashing to the ground. He then unsuccessfully tried to piece the statue back together.

Police identified the man from fingerprints left on the statue, as well as a nearby beer bottle. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs already had his fingerprints on file. (VIDEO: Top Russian Politician Calls For Ethical Twerking)

He will also face a fine of 20,000 rubles for his actions — the equivalent of just over $350, Vesti.ru reported.

Police said the statue, located near the stadium of the local football team, FC Shakhtyor Prokopyevsk, had previously been damaged by children.

Last month, another Lenin statue in the same province was beheaded by drunk men with a sledgehammer, according to Lenta.ru. Those men face criminal charges, after which local authorities intend to rebuild the statue.

This is not the first time individuals’ urgent need for selfies has caused disturbances. In May, tourists damaged a 300-year-old statue in Italy while climbing it in attempts to take a photograph. And in February, Cambodia banned two American sisters from the country for four years after they took partly-naked selfies at a Buddhist sacred site. (RELATED: Why Do Tourists Keep Getting Naked At Cambodian Temples?)

And the impulse has even proven deadly. Earlier this week, a U.S. Air Force commander revealed that an airstrike which destroyed an Islamic State terrorist base was ordered based on intelligence from a selfie posted to social media.

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