A routine “how I spent my vacation” blog post landed a Russian regional legislator in hot water and his fellow lawmakers are preparing to lambast him over his photo in the nude.
Artyom Samsonov, who sits on the legislature of the Far Eastern Primorye region, covered his genitalia with a diving mask in the photo, which was taken on a deserted beach in Thailand and still available on his Livejournal as of Friday afternoon.
But the seductively concealing gesture did not save him from the rage of his colleagues. The party’s regional branch is looking into Samsonov’s actions and will likely slap him with a reprimand for indecent behavior, a party secretary said.
However, Samsonov may face a fine if he commits the offense again, a source in the party said, Primamedia.ru local news website reported.
Bloggers claimed it was not the first time Samsonov posted nude photos of himself shot on vacation, Primamedia.ru said, without providing any links.
Samsonov traveled to Thailand with his family on April, some four months after becoming a legislator. His blog report of the trip, posted in June, contains no explicitly racy material, though he posed with local transvestites for a couple of shots under the watchful gaze of his wife and child.